What is the best alternative to&#x20;Tails?

Contains too many tools for hacking. Those tools are not already included in BackBox or ParrotOS. See More

2779 425

score 259 · Answer 2

Kali Linux

Top Pro

Better than ParrotOS, BackBox for hacking purpose

Top Con

Not intended to be a daily driver

This distro was written for pen testing and security work. It is not meant to be a day-to-day OS (unless that's your job). See More

Top Pro

Standard pentest tool set

Top Con

Very old packages

E.G. Firefox's current version is 61 but Kali linux consists of its 52th version. Though kernel is not that old. See More

Top Pro

Live session distro used for forensics

259 97

score 1728 · Answer 3

Ubuntu

Top Pro

Lots of support

As the most popular Linux distribution, there's a wide range of sources for support online if you ever need help, including the Ubuntu Wiki, Ubuntu Forums and the Ask Ubuntu Stack Exchange site. See More

Top Con

No rolling release

New Ubuntu versions are released two times a year, during this period almost all software receives only security updates and minor bug fixes. See More

Top Pro

Use it on almost any device

Not just for laptops - Ubuntu was designed with tablets and touchscreen devices in mind, and with phone support on the way. Ubuntu also has Long Term Support releases, as well as a version oriented toward servers, so you can use the same OS at work or on mobile as you do on your desktop. See More

Top Con

Relatively high system requirements

The default GNOME desktop environment is a resource hog which requires hardware accelerated graphics rendering in order to run smoothly, making out of the box Ubuntu unsuitable for low end systems and older hardware. Even mildly aged hardware, you'll get far better performance out of a lighter desktop environment like LXDE or XFCE. See More

Top Pro

Good PPA repositories available

PPA repositories allow you to install the latest version of your preferred software while keeping the rest of the operating system "stable". See More

Top Con

Unstable

Some people pointed out that updating Arch is a high risk affair. And one should carefully read forums before doing it. The same is true about Ubuntu. Making system updates (like it was with 10.04 to 11.04) that screw so many things up became a routine. Even LTS releases should not give confidence that it will work. See More

Top Pro

Simplicity

Ubuntu is designed to be used by everyday people. Because of that, Ubuntu has tried hard to make a user interface that's intuitive and looks pleasant and clean. See More

Top Con

Binary incompatible to Debian

Ubuntu releases are based on Debian testing/unstable, however, unlike other Debian-based distributions they are not binary compatible due to different libc versions, so you can't install Debian packages in Ubuntu and vice versa. See More

Top Pro

Great long term support release schedule (2 years)

This allows for users to always have a new supported release available without long unkown wait times in between. See More

Top Con

Splits the Debian community

The most packages are imported from Debian but Ubuntu uses own bug trackers and develops its own patches. See More

Top Pro

Stable

It‘s one of the most stable Linux Distros. See More

Top Con

Snaps advertised as native packages in apt

When you try to install a normal Firefox package, it instead installs a Firefox snap. See More

Top Pro

Wide range of software out of the box

The default apps available in Ubuntu cover the gamut of most anyone's needs. From music, video or office applications Ubuntu has an app that will cover the users needs. See More

Top Con

Extremely un-customizable

Top Pro

Just works out of the box

Lots of support for hardware, lots of pre-installed software, and a smooth install process means less time downloading drivers, less time digging through configuration files, and less time deciding on software to use just to get up and running. It also means less time digging through forums looking for support. See More

Top Con

Doesn't shutdown/standby properly on Lenovo laptops (b, e & g series) and desktops (Thinkcentre)

Ubuntu has some serious issue with some Lenovo laptops and desktops. Sometimes, it doesn't shutdown correctly. See More

Top Pro

Perfect for collaboration on open source projects

This is probably the best option when collaborating on open source projects in hardware. This is mostly because packages and tools are readily available via software center. See More

Top Con

A tweaked Gnome version

Instead of original Gnome desktop with Ubuntu you get a tweaked Gnome and most of the tweaks makes user experience worse. See More

Top Pro

Flexible

The setup for personal use is simple enough for anyone to achieve, and can easily be modified to act as a server. Programs and all features are easy to find and use, and first-timers can easily pick up on how to use it. See More

Top Con

Redundant

With the removal of Unity, there is no point in choosing Ubuntu over Debian anymore because everything else is imported from Debian to Ubuntu. See More

Top Pro

Dedicated software center

The Ubuntu Software Center offers a GUI interface for installing new apps which is extremely easy and welcoming for beginners to Linux. But it should not be used by more advanced users since the method of installing through the terminal is much faster and easier after one is used to it. See More

Top Con

Systemd

Top Pro

Company behind it

This means that the system must run well, otherwise they will lose money. See More

Top Con

Not so strong at all

Top Pro

Good UI for small monitors

Because the menu usually is in the title bar and the launcher auto-hides, the whole screen can be used by an application. See More

Top Con

Company stays behind it

Top Pro

Snaps

You can get up to date and stable apps right inside the snap store (Ubuntu Software). The snap store has official snaps provided by major publishers, so you can get most of the software you need without having to add third party PPAs to your system. See More

Top Con

Native apps are still being updated

Top Pro

Looks good

Ubuntu looks clean even when running from a LiveCD. See More

Top Pro

Cares about stable drivers

Top Pro

UTF-8 is the default character encoding

Beginning with Ubuntu 5.04, UTF-8 became the default character encoding, which allows for support of a variety of non-Roman scripts. See More

Top Pro

Unified search

Type any query into the Dash Home, and search will look through files, stores and web-pages to find what you are looking for. See More

Top Pro

Has a clean Gnome interface

Gnome has lot of extensions available and can be custmoized rather easily. See More

Top Pro

Runs at low resources

Run far faster than Windows on Dell laptop. See More

Top Pro

Support Active Directory

As of Ubuntu version 21.04, Active Directory is supported out of the box. See More

Top Pro

Beautiful font rendering

Ubuntu has one of the best font rendering on Linux. It is thanks to how good the Ubuntu fonts are crafted by the Ubuntu team. See More

Specs

Based On:Debian Stable(core) Testing/Unstable(universe/multiverse)

Languages:German

Default Desktop Environment:GNOME

Puppy Linux requires 128MB of RAM and 333Mhz of CPU, although 256MB of RAM is recommended. See More

1728 556

score 706 · Answer 4

Puppy Linux

Top Pro

Extremely low minimum system requirements

Top Con

A bit ugly

Using puppy makes you feel like you just jumped 20 years into the past. Being that the purpose of Puppy Linux is to run or really low resource machines the software used is often on the older side, which is precisely why it has a 20 year old look. See More

Top Pro

The whole OS runs off of RAM

Since Puppy Linux is completely loaded and run off of RAM instead of HDD, it's read/write speed is not a factor. See More

Top Con

Not as light as it used to be

It's light, but not as light as it was 1-2 years ago. See More

Top Pro

Designed to run as a live USB/CD

A portable version, that can be carried on a thumb drive without requiring installation, weighs less than 100MB; a Live CD - less than 150MB. You can even save your settings and files for Puppy on the external device/media. Running off a live CD also has security benefits, as your system will reset to the known config after each boot. See More

Top Con

Smallest software library ever

You can barely find any precompiled packages for Puppy. See More

Top Pro

Different distro based versions available

Puppy Linux offers a few different releases. The first is an Ubuntu based release called Tahrpup, by using this version the user is able to take advantage of all software and support from Ubuntu. The second version is called Slacko, which is built upon the Slackware binaries. The third is called Wary and it is built to support older hardware than the rest. And the fourth is called Quirky, which is used as a base to explore new ideas. See More

Top Con

No built in compositing

Being a low resource distro there is zero built in compositing for the JWM window manager. Though one can be added through a bit of work. See More

Top Pro

Linux distro designed for this exact purpose

Top Pro

Offers a long term support release

Puppy Linux offers an LTS release called Precise. See More

Top Pro

It can be the only distro that works

Sometimes, Puppy Linux is the only distro that works on an old machine: all other distros are more demanding. See More

Top Pro

JWM used as window manager

JWM is a low resource window manager that is used in most Puppy Linux installs. See More

You build the package from a source you can see and read. You decide which features you want to build in and which aren't needed. You can choose build options, optimisation and whatever else fancy stuff you want modified. With a binary distribution this simply isn't possible. See More

706 111

score 1171 · Answer 5

Gentoo Linux

Top Pro

Full control of the software

Top Con

Not beginner-friendly

You have to read a lot of instructions to start, even if you are familiar with Linux. Furthermore, as you have to configure the kernel and init system, expect some boot failures at beginning. See More

Top Pro

Fully customizable

The usage of advanced features like USE flags makes it more customizable than any binary distribution. See More

Top Con

Since everything must be compiled it takes a lot longer to update

And if you have to update the kernel or some heavy software like Chromium it can takes hours if not more on weaker hardware. See More

Top Pro

Freedom

You are free to do whatever you want with it. As a result, its configuration reflects your unique taste and personality. See More

Top Con

No default installer

Installation must be done manually by following instructions in the handbook. See More

Top Pro

Portage's emerge is powerful

Portage is a package management system with a huge amount of options and features. See More

Top Con

Customized package installation can take a long time and cause installation failures

The Gentoo package management system allows you to configure what compilation flags packages should support - i.e. specific processor flag support (SSE, SSE2, etc.), -O1, -O2, -O3 optimization, etc. If you accept one of the default flags, Gentoo downloads binaries from the server. However, if you decide to optimise, it can and will download all source packages and start compiling allthe programs and libraries on your system. If your chosen flags don't work with a particular library, installation will fail. See More

Top Pro

Great for anyone who is serious about learning the intricacies of Linux

It's useful for both beginners and professionals. For the installation, Gentoo offers various types, which are referred to as stages. Basically meaning how in depth you would want to go into the process of installation. For beginners it's useful to choose for a starting distro due to its various stages that can be very time consuming but beneficial as you learn the composition in general of Linux. See More

Top Con

Somewhat outdated solutions

While being outdated per se is virtually impossible for a rolling-release distro with a large community, a large portion of said community sticks to outdated solutions. For example, Gentoo's primary init system is OpenRC, which is cumbersome and awkward to use and provides little control over the system. While you can just choose systemd, it will require some tinkering. Other examples include stubbornly declaring an initramfs a last resort and an "oh my god 1337 H4XX0RZ surely have nothing better to do than trying for a month to exploit some vulnerability to steal my pony art, I have to fortify so hard my performance and ease of use will suffer" 90s security mentality. Because of just how much freedom Gentoo provides you with, this usually isn't a big deal though. See More

Top Pro

Can by optimized to any given CPU by using proper compile flags

Since everything is being built on your PC you can fine-tune the code to make use of your CPU. And all it requires is two lines of string variables in a global config. See More

Top Con

Too hard

Top Pro

Portability

There are many architectures available for Gentoo : i386, x86-64, PowerPC, PowerPC 64, sparc, DEC Alpha, ARM, MIPS, PA-RISC, S390, IA-64, sh, m68k. See More

Top Pro

Can be officially systemd-free

Gentoo's default init system is OpenRC. Gentoo also officially supports systemd-free Gnome and udev. Users are free to choose any init system they want. See More

Top Pro

Documentation and community are second to none

Provides a whole handbook to refer to during setup and usage. See More

Top Pro

A very large collection of software is available

There are more than 19.000 packages available in the official repository. And even more with overlays. See More

Top Pro

Gentoo does not impose a standard look-and-feel

Top Pro

Superiority and smartness

You get superiority and get called smart daily for going through the processes of punishing yourself to a compile install you also get a cool neofetch logo. See More

Top Pro

Live USB installation

Installation via a Live USB allows you to go back and fix mistakes from it without having to restart the whole installation process. See More

Manjaro allows the user to access of the Arch User Repository, a very large user-maintained repository of packages for Arch Linux and derivatives. See More

1171 220

score 4059 · Answer 6

Manjaro Linux

Top Pro

Arch User Repository access

Top Con

Can still be unstable

Here are the details of it. See More

Top Pro

Based on Arch and user friendly

Manjaro is an Arch-based distribution with all the benefits of the Arch ecosystem and community but with the added benefit of being much more user-friendly than Arch.The overall features it provides is hard to beat. Arguably be the best desktop distro with lts kernel. Consumes very less ram. See More

Top Con

Slightly bloated

Top Pro

Support for multiple kernels

Manjaro has built-in support for multiple kernels as well as a way to easily install them. Using LTS kernel makes this distro stable and less buggy. See More

Top Con

Installation is extremely buggy

There's no easy way to switch from local keyboard layout if non-Latin installer language is selected. See More

Top Pro

Improved stability due to a longer testing period for new packages

Packages from Arch's repositories are tested (about two weeks) longer for stability and compatibility issues. Patches are applied, when necessary, before being made available in the stable repositories. See More

Top Con

Very slow development for 32-bit hardwares

ArchLinux-32 community maintain their forums every day. They upload new ISO's every month. But Manjaro-32 community upload new ISO's in every 6 month. And provide only a DE-mate. See More

Top Pro

Friendly community

If you ask questions of users in their forums or on other platforms, they are willing to help you. Also according to the developers, they are open to new ideas in order to make the distro better. See More

Top Con

Weekly manual updates

Since it is rolling release, it needs updates nearly every week, which (though are checked for automatically) must be manually downloaded, confirmed and installed. That may annoy or scare off many new users. See More

Top Pro

Stable and consistently up to date

Manjaro receives regular updates, but more importantly these updates are stable. The updates are rolled out, which means you can easily update the software without needing to re-install. See More

Top Con

The Manjaro unstable repository is slow to sync with the Arch stable repository

The Manjaro unstable repository syncs with the Arch stable repository and if any package has moved, it gets moved to stable. Manjaro gets package updates a bit than Arch. See More

Top Pro

Installation is a breeze

Calamares installer and MHWD is the reason why this distribution is good for desktop user- friendliness! Audio codecs, latest packages,latest kernel and easy upgrade to the latest build makes it the best choice for new users. See More

Top Con

Imcompatible with Arch User Repository and archlinuxcn

Because Manjaro packages are not synced with Arch, using AUR or archlinuxcn could break dependencies. See More

Top Pro

Excellent graphical package manager (Pamac)

Features include: providing notifications of available updates; mirror management; Snap support, Flatpak support and AUR support (with the option to suppress unnecessary confirmations during the install process); update settings (frequency, whether to check for updates from the AUR, packages to ignore updates for); and a history of packages installed, updated, or removed (from the official repositories - AUR packages are not currently tracked). See More

Top Con

Bad dependencies

This is similar to the mac0S experience in that you're not allowed to remove plank. See More

Top Pro

Good documentation and forum

The Manjaro community is very helpful, and there are lots of tutorials. See More

Top Con

You can't change the default theme in certain applications

Although it is possible to change the default dark theme, this has no effect on Firefox, which appears to have the dark theme "hard coded". Hardened Linux pros may find a way to change this, but for the rest, it renders an otherwise nice distro a no-go. See More

Top Pro

A rolling-release distribution

Manjaro uses a rolling release method for all updates, so once a system is installed, as long as the user regularly updates there is no need to re-install. See More

Top Con

Deepin desktop environment is not a worthy attraction, there is a problem with changing Multi language layout

Top Pro

Very good looking desktops

All desktops look good by default. See More

Top Con

Nothing new

There is nothing new in Manjaro compared to any other Arch based distribution. See More

Top Pro

All major desktops and even less common ones like Budgie, Lumina, LXQT, Deepin, Enlightenment, etc. can be directly installed from official repositories

Also available as independent variants. See More

Top Con

Redundant

It's just Arch Linux with an easier installer so there is no reason to use it. See More

Top Pro

Uses low memory

By using Xfce or Plasma (or LXDE, Fluxbox, supported by community) as default desktop environments, Manjaro is able to have a low memory footprint. See More

Top Con

Same cons that apply to Arch Linux

Since it is based on Arch Linux. See More

Top Pro

Manjaro provides its own distribution-specific tools such as the Manjaro Hardware Detection (mhwd) utility, and the Manjaro Settings Manager (msm)

Run automatically during the installation process, it allows for Manjaro to work fully on your system 'straight out of the box', without the need to manually identify and install the necessary drivers or to manually edit the appropriate configuration files. Also usable via the terminal after installation, the features of the mhwd command include: The choice of free (i.e. open-source) or non-free (i.e. proprietary) drivers Identification and listing (general or detailed) of your system's hardware Identification and listing (general or detailed) of installed drivers Listing of available drivers for installation (free and proprietary) Support of hybrid graphics cards (e.g. Nvidia Optimus) Easy removal and installation of drivers (selected automatically, or you can identify and choose your own) See More

Top Con

It's Archbuntu

Top Pro

Different editions to select from + Manjaro community

You can choose between different Manjaro editions which have their own change in features, and there is also Manjaro community editions where the community can make their own changes. See More

Top Con

Black screen after boot, no login possibility

Top Pro

Steam installed by default

Top Con

No gfvs pre-installed

So no Trash (and possibly smartphone file system access via USB) support. See More

Top Pro

Deepin desktop environment is worthy attraction

Top Con

Bad way of handling dependencies

Manjaro is based on Arch Linux. Arch Linux and its derivatives have a bad way of handling dependencies. To handle dependencies, it installs a whole another program which contains the required dependencies. See More

Top Pro

Full access to AUR

Top Pro

an Nvidia ISO version with drivers pre-installed.

Works perfectly. See More

Specs

Based On:Arch Linux

RAM:64

Default Desktop Environment:XFCE, KDE Plasma, GNOME

Init-System:systemd

New users may be unaware of what software is available for Linux, but Zorin includes a good selection for everyday tasks out of the box. See More

4059 776

score 553 · Answer 7

Zorin OS

Top Pro

Good Selection of pre-installed software

Top Con

Limited desktop styles in Free Version

All free editions only offer Windows XP, 2000, and 7 and Gnome 2. You have to pay $9-10 in order to get Unity (Ubuntu) and Mac OS X themes. See More

Top Pro

Ubuntu-based

Zorin is compatible with Ubuntu's sizable repositories of Free Software. See More

Top Con

Even with v16 Pro, zero tech support replies

Do not pay for Pro. You’re supposed to get tech support with your $39 purchase. After contacting them a few months ago about the inability to install build tools due to their wonky custom versions, to date there has been no answer. You could find a friend and get them to send you the theme and look packages. The rest is all available easily in the Ubuntu catalog. See More

Top Pro

Stable

Top Pro

Bundles tools for changing the look and feel of the distribution

Zorin includes look changer and theme changer. See More

Top Pro

Partial Windows compatibility

Zorin includes WINE and PlayOnLinux to run many Windows applications and games. See More

Top Pro

Accessibility features

Top Pro

Windows desktop style

The desktop UI was made to resemble Windows 7, but alternative settings are available. See More

Top Pro

Installer can set up dual boot

Top Pro

Zorin Connect

Allows syncing notifications with your phone. See More

Top Pro

Ubuntu got too big

Ubuntu uses too much resources, Zorin uses less. See More

Top Pro

Low resources consumption

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu LTS

Default Desktop Environment:Gnome / Xfce

Unlike Debian, Devuan offers no unfree netinstall media, so if your system needs unfree drivers (e.g a laptop or a tablet), you'll have to download the Debian firmware on a separate USB. See More

553 158

score 616 · Answer 8

Devuan GNU+Linux

Top Con

Difficult to install on non-free hardware

Top Pro

It's Debian

Devuan is Debian just without systemd, it just mirrors the the Debian archive and repacks packages that have hard dependencies on systemd. See More

Top Con

No systemd

Top Pro

Stability

It is stable like Debian. See More

Top Con

Fragmentation

Forked distributions like Devuan and Artix fragment the Linux community and hurt the original project. Debian users who do not want systemd should use Slackware or BSD instead. See More

Top Pro

Excellent for normal people

It is easy to use and is a good choice for beginners. See More

Top Pro

No Systemd

Top Pro

Most decent look amongst other XFCE distros

Default XFCE theme is unique of all the XFCE distos including MXLinux, Xubuntu etc. See More

Specs

Based On:Debian

Default Desktop Environment:Cinnamon, KDE Plasma, LXQt, MATE and XFCE

OS Family:GNU/Linux

Release Schedule:Long-term support (stable edition) and rolling release (testing and unstable editions)

PsychOS is designed for older/lighter, 32-bit, i686 hardware with plans to go even further back with i486 (PsychOS486), i386 and older (PsychDOS), and so on and so forth as opposed to always trying to run on the latest hardware, not that it could in most cases anyway since 32-bit i686 operating systems will run on most x86_64 ones. See More

616 104

score 329 · Answer 9

PsychOS

Top Pro

Runs well on older, 32-bit hardware (i686)

Top Con

Bloated

Over 3000 packages by default including several package managers. See More

Top Pro

RetroGrab is really cool

It lets you install old software for use with emulators like DOSBox but run them as if they were normal programs from the normal applications menu. See More

Top Con

7 package managers included

There should only be one. See More

Top Pro

No fuss. Just works.

A lot of the programs are already set up for you. Just boot it and go. This is definitely one of the better SHTF distro's. See More

Top Pro

QuickEdit

There's a yad-based tool you do not see on any other GNU/Linux distro in which you can simply right-click pretty much any file and then use the "QuickEdit" option to quickly edit small things about a file such as size if it's an image or video, convert the file, or even render the file if it's a Blender project. It's nice not having to open an image with GIMP every time I want to resize or convert something. See More

Top Pro

The IceWM option looks and functions nice

Most GNU/Linux distributions that include IceWM as a desktop environment option don't do too much to it, if a t all. PsychOS seems to have a customized or themed version that actually doesn't feel you with dread and still uses many of the keyboard shortcuts from XFCE. See More

Top Pro

Lots of command-line tools

Lots of command-line tools and I really like the CLIMax thing. It's a good tool to have if you want to spend time in the command-line but aren't that experienced. Also, it plays a quick, one-time ascii animation when you go into the tty for the first time. See More

Top Pro

TONS of Thunar Custom Actions

PsychOS comes with a lot of Thunar Custom Actions, many of which as disabled, but they are there none the less; most probably just in case. Right-click on a DOOM WAD shows there's a menu item to play it directly using LZDoom. See More

Specs

License:GPL v3

Based On:Devuan

File Size:3.8GB ISO

Default Desktop Environment:XFCE

While it has a nice layout Slax's lack of an installer tool like Tinycore's just can't be justified. It seems strange that it comes built in with programs that some users may not want, yet it doesn't have an easy way to install it. Due to its heavier use of RAM, built in software, and lack of an installer its hard to choose it over TC. See More

329 24

score 218 · Answer 10

Slax

Top Con

Overly complicated HDD/SSD installation

Top Pro

Persistent changes

Changes you make in the configuration persist if you run from USB. See More

Top Con

Works slowly on old computers

Top Pro

Pretty fast to boot up

It was considerably fast to turn on when booting from cd. See More

Top Con

Infrequent releases

Since Slax is maintained by only one person, releases are not that frequent. So it may take a while to get bug fixes or new features once you start using it. See More

Top Pro

Modules

Standard tar archives plus some simple shell scripting produces modules that you can load dynamically into the OS for added apps and functionality. See More

Top Pro

Modern desktop

Top Pro

Small footprint

About 200mb, but with a full KDE4 environment and loads of useful apps. See More

Specs

Based On:Debian Stable

Default Desktop Environment:Fluxbox

Can create your own ISO (snapshot) and use it either as live-session and install back when needed. With the (pre-installed) Snapshot tool you can easily create an ISO of your running system and then save it to a USB (or other media) and use "your own" distro as a live session or install back whenever you like (even on a different PC with different specs with no issues). You can even give that customized ISO to friends (selecting "non-personal" ISO when creating the snapshot; thus resetting the accounts & passwords and Home folder etc.). Also you can save that ISO directly encrypted via MX Live USB Maker tool. Again, you can install MX encrypted during installation with just ticking a box, no matter if it's the official ISO or your snapshot. See More

218 53

score 619 · Answer 11

MX Linux

Top Pro

Easy to use

Top Con

Only one Desktop Environment

Top Pro

MX Snapshot: lets you make your own distro

Top Con

Its XFCE version is too laggy

XFCE is meant to be lightweight, and it's almost true for other XFCE distros but not for MX Linux. See More

Top Pro

Supports non-free drivers

Top Con

Old software

Many software applications are older. See More

Top Pro

Good MX Tools and Package Installer

MX Linux comes with its own set of tools called MX Tools, designed to make life easier for users. See More

Top Con

Remixed Debian testing

It's mainly a Debian stable with some recompiled/backported Debian testing packages. See More

Top Pro

Easy install

Top Con

Includes non-free drivers

Top Pro

Based on Debian

It is based on Debian and not based on Ubuntu. See More

Top Con

More than 50 tweaking softwares pre-installed

Top Pro

Lightweight

Top Con

Longer boot time

Top Pro

Very stable

Top Con

10s of media players preinstalled

Top Pro

No systemd

Top Con

Too much preinstalled applications

Top Pro

Can also be used as an emergency tool

It has almost all tools to repair non booting systems or recover files & folders and save them on a safe place. And when thought together with it starts quick on live-session. In addition, you can do these with "your own", customized distro (snapshot). See More

Top Con

Causes overheating on some hardwares

Other debian based XFCE distros- Xubuntu, Debian XFCE, Devuan leave small footprint on system whereas MXLinux uses too much CPU resources on same system. See More

Top Pro

Live-Session boots fastest after Puppy

After Puppy Linux (which's aimed to run from RAM and which is smaller in size) the second fastest (head & shoulders) booting one (together with the sister project antiX) and also has the option "toram" to run from RAM. Yes, not only when compared to full distros, even far faster than small sized or tiny distros, especially when booted to "live-session", about 2 - 2.5 times faster on an old single core laptop. See More

Top Con

Installer and configuration tools are different

Installer and configuration tools are different and can take some time getting used to. See More

Top Con

Too much customization

Specs

Based On:Debian Stable>antiX

Default Desktop Environment:XFCE

Init-System:SysV-init (default) & systemD

Fedora is backed by RedHat, the 2nd biggest Linux kernel contributor in the world. Using a distribution made by RedHat means that it will be fine-tuned to work as efficiently as possible since it's made by the same people who work extensively on the kernel and know its ins and outs. See More

619 130

score 1525 · Answer 12

Fedora

Top Pro

Backed by one of the biggest Linux kernel contributors

Top Con

Too many changes to upstream packages leading to a "Fedora way" of doing things

Linux should be Linux, but Fedora is constantly introducing breakage and changes which move things in the wrong direction and make things worse for everyone. See More

Top Pro

Integration with GNOME

It perhaps has the best integration with GNOME (GNOME software works out of the box). See More

Top Con

Dnfdragora needs work

As the default package installer, this piece of software needs a lot more polish. It's not explicit in saying things are installed, more granularity in package selection is needed, and the ability to move columns around to see if you're installing the correct version. See More

Top Pro

Focuses on innovation

By using bleeding edge software, Fedora allows for innovation to take place by testing out things which other distros are not willing to try due to fears of having instability issues. See More

Top Con

Slow

It is quite slow on some computers. See More

Top Pro

Fast and stable updates

Top Con

Updating to a new release can be problematic

While there are a few tools on offer that will upgrade an old Fedora release to the newest, there can often be problems with these methods. Some that may not even crop up at first but will show later down the road. Being that upgrading can be an issue, it can be exacerbated by the fact that Fedora updates every six month, which means twice a year there is a risk of completely borking ones install. See More

Top Pro

Frees developers from some backward compatibility restraints

Fedora has a relatively short life cycle: version X is supported only until 1 month after version X+2 and with approximately 6 months between versions this means that a version of Fedora is supported for approximately 13 months. This promotes leading-edge software because it frees developers from some backward compatibility restraints. See More

Top Con

Proprietary drivers are unsupported

Fedora does not support proprietary drivers, meaning that users may have problems with a lot of hardware when using Fedora. The software to make that kind of hardware work can be installed, but it can be done only through third-parties and it's not easy for the average user. See More

Top Pro

Spins and Labs

Spins are images with a different WM/DE, and Labs are filled with a specific theme of packages. See More

Top Con

Controlled by big corpos

Top Pro

Strong commitment to free software philosophy

Top Con

Optimus support is straight terrible

Running on a laptop with optimus gpu or the driver for your powerful gpu is not gonna happen. See More

Top Pro

Fast performance

Top Con

Unstable

Some packages may break, because there isn't an option to test them before rolling them out. See More

Top Pro

Very good integration with Flatpak and Snap Packages

Top Con

Not for beginners

It is not a user-friendly distro like ubuntu, PCLos. You will be required to learn a lot of commands even for simple activities. See More

Top Pro

Huge array of binary packages ready to install

Top Con

86'ed

Description of the word. Support for 32-bit architecture ended with Fedora Release 30. See More

Top Pro

Can still be installed in a bad sector on the hard disk

Top Con

Wayland does not work with Prime/Optimus

On a pc with hybrid video, you must use Gnome on Xorg to let the Prime or Optimus technology work. See More

Top Pro

Linus Torvalds' distro of choice

Top Pro

Create user after the installation

Very good for selling PC‘s with Fedora. See More

Top Pro

Frequent updates to latest versions of software, so quick security and other bug fixes

Latest version software often means quick bug fixes, more useful features. For example, for a daily user of TeX, the latest TeX distro is a must. It's also useful to be able to use recent external hardware such as USB Wi-Fi dongles or printers. See More

Top Pro

Minimalist GNOME

Fedora Workshop does not come with bloatware. It is a minimal GNOME installation, which makes it very simple and nice to use out of the box. See More

Top Pro

The best choice for sysAdmin and developers

Nearly flawless, perfect performance and consistency with development and operational software. See More

Specs

Based On:Independent

Default Desktop Environment:GNOME

Package Manager:RPM Package Manager, DNF package manager

Mint is highly recommended for both users coming from Windows, as well as users coming from Ubuntu, but unhappy with Ubuntu's recent, rather dramatic interface changes. Mint provides an updated interface with a look and feel similar to Gnome 2, with an application menu reminiscent of the Windows 7 Start Menu, with categorization and search. See More

1525 282

score 2224 · Answer 13

Linux Mint

Top Pro

Familiar user interface

Top Con

Outdated software centers

Many of the offered options are older versions. See More

Top Pro

Already functional out-of-the-box

Mint comes bundled with software for browsing the web, editing pictures, browsing files, watching videos and even a full office suite (LibreOffice). An average user can use Mint right away after a fresh install, using all the software that comes with the distribution to complete most of their daily tasks. See More

Top Con

Does not handle multiple languages well

Top Pro

Compatibility with Debian and Ubuntu software builds and repositories

Mint gains a very strong package ecosystem and software manager of Debian, including more than 30,000 packages available from the Debian repositories. See More

Top Con

The Linux Mint website once provided spyware

The website for Linux Mint was hacked in 2016 and its download links led to a modified ISO, which contained spyware. See More

Top Pro

Complete and stable

It's based upon Ubuntu LTS or Debian. It depends on which one you select - Linux Mint or Linux Mint Debian Edition. The Debian Edition is even more stable. See More

Top Con

Looks ugly

The default theme and wallpaper looks outdated and bland. Luckily that is easy to change in the settings. See More

Top Pro

Easy installation and configuration

Linux Mint uses the same installer as Ubuntu. It is very easy to use for beginners, and also allows more advanced users to choose their own partitions. Linux Mint's Cinnamon desktop is highly customizable and can be made to look however preferred. See More

Top Con

Upgrade process between version can be painful

The Linux Mint team offers a method to upgrade the OS between versions but they tend to recommend clean installs, which isn't always suitable for everyone. However, following the upgrade process currently is less than straightforward and is easily capable of leaving your system in a confused state. See More

Top Pro

Provides LTS (long term support) versions

Long Term Support versions are versions of software that are continuously updated for an extended period of time, even after newer versions are launched. LTS versions will typically get feature additions and enhancements for an extended period of time, then security updates up until its End of Life. An LTS release should typically be considered good for at least 5 years. See More

Top Con

Political

Clement Lefebvre, the lead developer of Linux Mint said “I don’t want any money or help coming from people who support the actions of the Israeli government.” See More

Top Pro

Good community support

There are several different ways to get support for this distribution, including the forums, their IRC channel, or their github repositories if you think their software isn't behaving as it should. See More

Top Con

System updates can lead the system to being unstable

While a new installed system is stable, after an update, there is a slight chance of something not working. See More

Top Pro

Dedicated upgrade process

The Linux Mint team is very dedicated to upgrading and improving Mint, to the point where the releases are fairly predictable. They are also dedicated to their users, meaning that they are responsive to critiques, suggestions, etc. See More

Top Con

Mint 19 forces unwanted updates

Since version 19 Mint adopted Windows 10's policy to force the user to install unwanted updates and even if the user deselects them and marks them not to be installed, they're still being installed. See More

Top Pro

Cinamon environment is not beautiful and in the same time KDE environment is no longer used.

Top Pro

The OS is great for both beginners and advanced users

The OS has different update settings for different users and has easy manual within the OS. See More

Top Con

The Update doesn't work sometimes

Sometimes the update failed to configure a package. See More

Top Pro

Not from a big company

Linux Mint is not Canonical, while based upon Ubuntu. See More

Top Con

Nothing new

Just another fork of Ubuntu. Produces nothing that can't be found in another Debian-based distros See More

Top Pro

Supports proprietary software

Linux Mint does maintain a free software environment, however, it does offer full support to proprietary software (Chrome, Skype, Teamviewer). See More

Top Con

Cheap Windows substitute

Mint tries to be like Windows when it could be different and provide options. See More

Top Pro

Has more desktop options

You can choose between Cinnamon, MATE and XFCE. See More

Top Con

Limits to the support of propriatary hardware drivers

Mint has limited support for older graphics cards beyond the generic nouveau driver, and some software (like Stremio) only works with official Nvidia drivers (for example). See More

Top Pro

The easiest option ever

The distro is the easiest operating system to run ever. See More

Top Con

Many proprietary (closed-source) packages

By default, Linux Mint includes almost all the proprietary packages just to improve the user experience. See More

Top Pro

Pretty desktop

Linux Mint has a quite pretty default desktop. Cinnamon is adopted by other distros also. See More

Top Con

Linux Mint tries to force people to use less powerful custom package management system

The custom package management system is slow, frustrating, and forces you to select and install one package at a time. Can't select a whole load of packages and then run the installations in one go. See More

Top Pro

There is a "system restore" tool to restore the OS if something breaks

This tool backs up the core OS files to an external drive with an option for full encryption. See More

Top Con

Very boring to boring people

Top Pro

Low learning curve to go from installation to advanced configuration

Mint is extremely easy to install, and with community support, easy to move onto adjusting the OS to meet your specific needs. The vast majority of instructions for undertaking configuration work and are easy to understand. See More

Top Con

Too many kernel crashes

Linux Mint Xfce keeps crashing 5-6 times a day with no way to fix it. Endless rebooting. It is the most unstable distro. See More

Top Pro

2016 hack listed here as a Con, was very quickly dealt with and is a non-issue over 4 years later.

Top Pro

Mint 20 will actively avoid the Snap landmine planted by Canonical in Ubuntu 20.04.

Top Pro

MATE desktop (as an option)

MATE is a classic desktop as opposed to the newer "Unity" desktop. For people who prefer the classic style this is one of only few modern distributions with still active MATE desktop development. See More

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu LTS

Default Desktop Environment:Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce

Nel post installazione si apre la finestra che ti permette di scegliere, in tutta semplicità, impostazioni desktop. Bello per un utente desktop che non vuole perdersi nella miriade di opzioni kde See More

2224 463

score 269 · Answer 14

feren OS

Top Pro

Post installazione

Top Con

...

Top Pro

Stabile

Basata su Mint... la stabilità è assicurata! See More

Top Pro

Bella

Bella da vedere. Permette di lavorare e rilassarsi con semplicità. L’attenzione ai dettagli grafici rende il lavoro più piacevole See More

Top Pro

Scelta kernel

Feren semplifica la scelta del kernel tramite un’apposita sezione. See More

Top Pro

Hardware

Installare hardware è semplificato tramite l’interfaccia di Feren See More

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu>Linux Mint

Default Desktop Environment:KDE

Init-System:systemd

It is made to be KISS (keep it simple, stupid), so you have to do everything by hand. See More

269 32

score 395 · Answer 15

Slackware

Top Pro

Strong adherence to UNIX Principals

Top Con

Not user-friendly

Top Pro

Stable

Uses stable, plain-vanilla packages from upstream. See More

Top Con

Large size live ISO

One needs to vain 3GB+ data for downloading one slackware ISO. See More

Top Pro

Ideal to learn more of Linux

Follows the original Linux roots. It still sees Linux as a free clone of UNIX so the distribution tries to be UNIX-like. See More

Top Con

Narrow repos

Doesn't offer the same amount of options as other distros do. See More

Top Pro

One more distro which is init based

Some users don't like to install systemd based distros because they increase booting and processing speed. See More

Top Con

Niche/small community

Slackware is its own niche and has a small community. See More

Top Pro

Oldest surviving Linux distro

Besides Debian (which was first released in August 1993), it is the oldest still maintained Linux Distribution and was first released in July 1993. See More

Top Con

Very slow release cycle

Hasn't updated in 3+ years. See More

Top Pro

Package management

Uses standard tar archives with shell scripting as packages. See More

Top Con

Dependency issues

When it comes to dependencies, Slackware shows more issues than many other distros. See More

Top Pro

Super fast

Top Pro

No systemd

Specs

Based On:Softlanding Linux System

Default Desktop Environment:KDE SC

Init-System:SysVinit

Package Manager:Pkgtool

A single instance of Void will be supported forever without needing to reinstall (you can update the system every day instead of having to install one major update every 6 months or so). See More

395 61

score 768 · Answer 16

Void Linux

Top Pro

Rolling release

Top Con

Not suitable for those new to Linux

Documentation is scarce, NTFS partitions aren't automatically mounted, etc. See More

Top Pro

Very minimal

More minimalistic than Arch since it doesn't use systemd. See More

Top Con

Not popular

Void Linux is not a popular Linux distro. So, if you run into a problem then it's likely you won't find any fix except from the maintainers. See More

Top Pro

Runit init system

An init system with the "do one thing and do it right" mentality. Void Linux does not support systemd. See More

Top Con

Nvidia CUDA cumbersome to setup

If your using a Nvidia card with programs that require CUDA for fast rendering (Blender), you can expect some trouble getting it to work as it's not included with the Nvidiadriver of the nonfree repo. See More

Top Pro

Easy to use installer

Unlike it's closest competitor, Arch, Void includes a very user-friendly and simple installer in the ISO. See More

Top Con

No packages

Void developers refuse to package brave. See More

Top Pro

Runit is fast and easy to configure

Runit init system is incredibly fast to boot and very simple to use. See More

Top Con

Manual unclear about base configuration

Manual does not explain how to fix GRUB and gives no partition hints to the available options. See More

Top Pro

Different DE's live ISO's are available

Arch Linux doesn't make ISO's with different DE's. One need to manually install it through CLI version. But Void which is competitor of Arch, provides a wide range of DE's ISOs. See More

Top Pro

Very lightweight

Base installation can idle at less than 250 megabytes of RAM. See More

Top Pro

XBPS (X Binary Package System)

A brand new package manager that is fast, full-featured, and tailored specifically for Void Linux. See More

Top Pro

BSD-like improvements with Linux

Full support for LibreSSL, an OpenSSL fork focused on maximizing security. The xbps-src package builder works in a similar manner to BSD's ports collection. See More

Top Pro

Musl image available

Musl libc is lighter and faster than bloated glibc. Musl has been argued to be more secure overall than glibc also but is also not supported by all software. See More

Top Pro

Friendly forum

Unlike the Arch Forum, it is a friendly forum (although small). See More

Top Pro

Xbps-src

Xbps-src is a source packages collection which is pretty similar to FreeBSD's ports and may replace AUR for Void users. See More

Top Pro

Many packages

There are some packages in official repos, than may be found only in AUR. See More

Top Pro

Cool Neofetch logo

Neofetch looks good. See More

Top Pro

No systemd

Uses runit instead of systemd. See More

Specs

Based On:Independent

Default Desktop Environment:CLI, XFCE, Cinnamon, Enlightenment, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, GNOME

Init-System:runit

Package Manager:XBPS & xbps-src

Has a 70-90MB memory footprint. See More

768 133

score 435 · Answer 17

antiX

Top Pro

Extremely lightweight

Top Con

Not really free and not available for download in Iran

Top Pro

Quick installation

The installation procedure for antiX is quick and painless. It installs the OS and grub in no time. See More

Top Pro

Works well on 32-bit PC

Fewer distros are available to work on 32-bit machines. This works well on old Toshiba. Quick enough on older machines not to notice any lagging. See More

Top Pro

Stats appear on the desktop

Top Pro

Works very well on ASUS 1005HA netbook

Faster than other distros tested, including many on this list. See More

Specs

Based On:Debian Stable

Default Desktop Environment:IceWM

Init-System:SysVInit

If you're a fan of flat desktop interfaces reminiscent of Material design on Android, you'll like the theme that comes as a default in Pop! OS. The desktop and title bars all use a bright turquoise theme that makes the interface feel happy and borderline retro-chic. I found it to be like something you'd find printed on a ringer t-shirt. See More

435 84

score 908 · Answer 18

Pop!_OS

Top Pro

Pop! makes GNOME look really good

Top Con

64-bit only

Some older PCs still have 32 Bit processors. This limitation will be a major con for those who use an older PC since they will not be able to install, run it in a VM or live media See More

Top Pro

User-friendly installer

The visually appealing and easy to use installer makes dual booting as easy as it can be. See More

Top Pro

Nice gnome theme dy default

Has nice gnome theme looks really good. See More

Top Pro

Ready to play games, out of the box

If you still miss how easy it was to just click-install and play games in Windows, Pop! will give you that similar expectation. See More

Top Pro

A separate NVIDIA version

Most linux distros seem to hate Nvidia's graphics cards e.g. Fedora and OpenSUSE. System76 have decided to be kind. They have decided to form a good relationship with Nvidia fans and Nvidia itself. By creating a separate installation media that is dedicated for providing support to Nvidia's graphics cards. Even going as far as putting Nvidia's driver updates on Pop!_Shop for users to easily access and install. See More

Top Pro

Optimized for modern hardware

Whereas normally, to use a brand new computer with a Linux OS, you would typically try to use unstable and sometimes buggy drivers - or struggle without hardware support until a stable release comes along. See More

Top Pro

Made by a hardware seller

System76 is a hardware company. It configures machines to ship with Linux pre-installed. This means its entire business model centers around delivering a quality desktop Linux experience. As a result, the company pours more attention onto the desktop. It can fix visual issues and may be able to provide a smoother overall experience than you would have installing a different version of Linux on your machine yourself. Providing Pop!_OS also empowers System76 to make certain fixes for users directly rather than having to coordinate with Canonical or the broader Ubuntu community. See More

Some packages flat out won't work because systemd is non existent, sadly pipewire needs systemd to run. Hopefully Pipewire becomes usable soon. Edit: Pipewire does work but you will have to make a startup script. See More

908 157

score 1216 · Answer 19

Artix Linux

Top Pro

No systemd

Top Con

No systemd

Top Pro

Runit

Artix actively supports the runit init system known from Void Linux. (Equally besides the OpenRC init system known from Gentoo). See More

Top Con

Few Arch packages might not be available yet

Developers are working migrating all packages into their own repositories while ensuring there's no systemd malware. See More

Top Pro

Lightweight

Only the software you would need like Terminal emulator, file manager, media player and a browser. See More

Top Con

No tiling WM (i3/sway) out of the box

Top Pro

Compatible with Arch Repositories

It is fully compatible with almost all packages from community, extra, multilib and AUR. See More

Top Pro

Close to bare Arch Linux

No learning curve if you're coming from Arch or any of its derivatives. See More

Top Pro

Rolling distro

Top Pro

Flexibility

You can have a functional system in less than 10 mins using GUI installer OR you can do it "the Arch way". See More

Specs

Based On:Arch Linux

Default Desktop Environment:Bash (Unix shell), Cinnamon, KDE Plasma, LXDE, LXQt, MATE and XFCE

Package Manager:Pacman

OS Family: GNU/Linux