What are the easiest Linux distributions for Windows users to get acquainted with?

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

KDE Plasma is very familiar to Windows users

Top Con

Weekly manual updates

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. See More

Top Con

Can still be unstable

Here are the details of it. 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

New packages and security updates are held for testing longer

Packages are usually about two weeks behind Arch's stable repository. While some urgent security updates are released as soon as they become available, other security updates are held for testing longer. See More

Top Pro

KDE Plasma is very familiar to Windows users

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

Uses low memory

By using XFCE (or LXDE, Fluxbox, supported by community) as the default desktop on an install, Manjaro is able to have a low memory footprint. See More

Top Con

Calls itself "stable," but actually just holds Arch Linux repositories back for a week.

Top Pro

Support for multiple kernels

Manjaro has built-in support for multiple kernels as well as a way to easily install them. See More

Top Con

Nothing new

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

Top Pro

Arch User Repository access

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

Top Con

Bad Dependencies

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

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

Very good looking desktops

All desktops look good by default. See More

Top Pro

Excellent graphical package manager (Pamac)

Features include: providing notifications of available updates; mirror management; 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 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 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 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 Pro

Steam installed by default

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 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

It is extremely easy for a Windows user to get along with this OS. See More

Linux Lite

Top Pro

Windows-alternative

Top Con

Not compatible with UEFI

Linux Lite is not compatible with UEFI. You have to enable Legacy Mode to install Linux Lite. Which makes this OS a little behind latest OS. EDIT: False statement, Linux Lite has supported UEFI since Series 2.x See their download page for a 4.x UEFI build - https://www.linuxliteos.com/download.php See More

Thomas Highbaugh's Experience

An overall functional choice for some older hardware just a few glitches here or there and helps ease one into the woods of Linux without the Manjaro meltdown. Xfce is always great though See More

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu LTS

Default Desktop Environment:Xfce

Top Pro

Active forum and helping community

The forum is pretty active and the community is very friendly & helpful. The creator of Linux Lite itself is active on the forum and helps in getting problem sorted out! See More

Top Con

Just another Fork

Just like ubuntu it is just another fork or another debian with a different default package selection of packages that are all available in debian and ubuntu. See More

Phillip Smith's Experience

Really like this distribution, great for older machines, excellent performance, win95 like experience See More

Top Pro

Beginner friendly

Linux Lite renames software it comes bundled with to be more user-friendly, it gives suggestions on what additional software the user might be interested, support on how to keep the system up to date, etc. It should especially be familiar to Windows users, since the desktop layout and the basic way you interact with it is similar. See More

Top Con

Working with local files can be messy

All XFCE distros are known for having little bugs here and there but Linux Lite takes the cake as local HTML files get executed as if they were shell scripts instead of being opened on Firefox. See More

EmbiggenedTawals's Experience

I "fix" computers (PCs) for mostly older folks and have altogether 55 years of experience with computers, 36 of those with PCs. I have resurrected quite a few older machines with Linux Lite (and SSDs!) just because Ubuntu, Mint and others were just too heavy on resources. And my mostly old, computer illiterate customers can handle XFCE's menu system just fine. See More

Top Pro

Has an efficient Update Manager

Updating Linux Lite is made a breeze by Update Manager. See More

Top Con

Uses the ubuntu repositories

It uses the same repositories as ubuntu, so all packages are compiled to support all features and desktops of all ubuntu desktops which gives you additional dependencies. See More

Top Pro

Highly customizable

Linux Lite is a highly customizable OS. Background, icons, panel location, panel appearance, menu appearance and almost everything else you can imagine. See More

Top Pro

On whatever hardware, it just works!

Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Dell, HP, Gateway, eMachines and others, Linux Lite just did not care and just works. See More

Top Pro

Based on XFCE

Linux Lite is based on XFCE. It makes Linux Lite extremely appropriate for old hardware without any compromise in features. Linux Lite is also loaded with lightweight apps which ensure smooth workflow. See More

Top Pro

Works well with under 4 Gb RAM

Linux Lite seems to bring to life machines with 2-4 Gb RAM. There must be something that adjusts when it sees lower specs. See More

Top Pro

Good performance

Even on an old machine Linux Lite perform most everyday operations quickly and without stability issues. See More

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

Zorin

Top Pro

Windows desktop style

Top Con

Violates freedom 0 for desktop layouts

They claim to be free as in freedom, but they're not free as in free beer, yet free beer is described in freedom 0, "freedom to use the software". Software that you can't make money off is considered nonfree because it's "discriminating against businesses", yet when you're doing the same discrimination on your users, it's considered ok. So what exactly are you paying for in Ultimate edition? Not new exclusive programs or anything, just "premium" desktop layouts. See More

EmpatheticBanaitja's Experience

very well polished ui See More

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu LTS

Default Desktop Environment:Gnome (heavily customized)

Zorin OS uses GNOME desktop environment with a shell to make it look like Windows. And GNOME desktop environment is one of the heaviest desktop environments. See More

Top Pro

Stable

Top Con

Heavy on RAM

C_Corp2k2 R's Experience

Tends to run most windows Programs quite well, using the pre-installed 'PlayOnLinux' Application. *Though, you may want to go into the advanced configuration to install the frameworks named '.NET' and the 'DirectX' related ones *If you are installing more modern, windows-only games. See More

Top Pro

Partial Windows compatibility

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

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

AlanK AtWork's Experience

SLOW See More

Top Pro

Bundles tools for changing the look and feel of the distribution

Zorin includes look changer and theme changer. See More

Top Con

Cannot connect to DSL connection

On some versions of Zorin OS, you cannot connect to DSL connection easily as it is based on a modified version of gnome-shell. See More

Top Pro

Good Selection of pre-installed software

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

Top Con

Slow in opening text files

Zorin is slow at opening text files, sometimes it can even take up to a few hours to open a text file. See More

Top Pro

Definitely a good gaming OS (for the Lite-free version)

The 64x Lite edition is perfect for those gamers who want to move on from Windows, yet keep most of their game library. It only uses *~700 MB of RAM, when idle. See More

Top Pro

Ubuntu-based

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

Top Pro

Installer can set up dual boot

Top Pro

Accessibility features

The days of instability of Fedora are quite in the past. Since version 20 the distro has seen continually improving stability and easy update path. Despite having new software and often beta versions, it still offers a lot of stability. See More

Fedora

Top Pro

Stable with new software

Top Con

Frequent breakage

Fedora is a testbed distribution. As such, it frequently has beta software that isn't quite production ready See More

Specs

Based On:Red Hat Linux

Default Desktop Environment:GNOME

Package Manager:RPM Package Manager, DNF package manager

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 Pro

Frees developers from some backward compatibility restraints

Top Con

Nonfree software requires jumping through hoops

For a Windows user who wants an easy Linux distribution to get acquainted with, having to go through all the work to listen to an MP3 file will probably be demoralizing. See More

Top Pro

Focuses on innovation

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

Top Pro

Upstream contribution

Provides a lot of software fixes are provided upstream keeping distro based patches to a minimum See More

By default, Deepin looks kinda like macOS but it can be made to look like Windows by right-clicking on the dock and changing the mode from "Fashion Mode" to "Efficient Mode". See More

Deepin

Top Pro

Can be made to look like Windows easily

Top Con

Slow on some computers

Very slow - launching apps takes more time than other distros. On the other hand - booting and shutting down is very fast on SSD. See More

RodJLinux's Experience

This is the best 'out-of-the-box' install I've ever seen. It just looks so nice when installed, really no need to tweak or play around with the settings much after installing. It is one of the most professional looking Linux distros ever. In "Efficient" mode it would be very comfortable for a Windows user. "Fashion" mode would probably be more suited to MacOS users. See More

Specs

Main Usage:Desktop, Showcase for the Deepin Desktop

Origin:China

Official Supported Architectures:amd64

Even though it is based on Debian unstable, it is still pretty stable and you will hardly ever get a dependency issue. See More

Top Pro

Very stable

Top Con

Slow default repos

Download speed for packages from the default repos, is abnormally slow if you don't choose the correct sever. See More

AlanK AtWork's Experience

BEAUTIFUL! See More

Top Pro

Easy to use

It's very easy to use. You can easily uninstall a program by going to the menu then right-clicking on the preferred app and selecting "Uninstall" option. See More

Top Con

Customization is a bit hidden

GUI is not straight forward for changing GTK+ or QT themes. See More

Top Pro

Enjoy the simplicity of Deepin's desktop

The desktop interface and apps feature an intuitive and elegant design. Moving around, sharing and searching etc. has become simply a joyful experience. See More

Top Pro

Great design to the app store

The app store is gorgeous. See More

Top Pro

Excellent apps

Having Deepin installed also means you have thousands of quality apps to choose from. The apps which come with installation will suit your needs to browse the Internet, listen to music, watch videos, talk with friends, editing documents or simply any task you want to do at home or in your office. See More

Top Pro

Quite fast

It runs quite fast on some computers. See More

Top Pro

Rolling release

It's a rolling release. Meaning that it will get updated automatically. It will always be the latest version, no need to re/install to get the next version. See More

Top Pro

Includes a lot of packages in the official repository

The official repository of deepin OS includes over 73,000 packages. See More

Top Pro

Includes both Windows and macOS style interface

Top Pro

Easy to install

Installing Deepin OS is very easy. Even easier than installing Ubuntu! See More

Top Pro

Blur and transparent design

Deepin has a blur and transparent design throughout the OS, which makes it one of the, if not the, most beautiful Linux distro. See More

Top Pro

Exciting applications

It has some exciting applications, such as Deepin Graphics Driver Manager which can easily change between free and proprietary drivers without any issue. See More

Top Pro

Not based on Ubuntu

Some people don't like Ubuntu nor its derivatives. See More

Top Pro

VLC media player works without any issue

In some cases, VLC media player has some problems with Ubuntu or Ubuntu-based Linux distros. That isn't the case with Deepin. See More

Top Pro

Well-designed in every detail, developers have a professional aproach to the system

Deepin has a sane default set of apps including custom apps of their own design that gives the distro a very consistent look and feel. By working with the community on these tools as well as custom translations there is a great sense of polish when using it that is not often seen when using such a new desktop environment. See More

Top Pro

Automatically cleans package cache

Deepin automatically cleans package cache. Cleaning package cache is a good thing as it will make the OS much faster and lighter. See More

Top Pro

Supports Flatpak

Deepin OS supports Flatpak. It also has some Flatpak programs installed by default. See More

Top Pro

Company behind it

The Wuhan Deepin Technology is behind this Linux distribution. See More

Top Pro

Gives warning messages when upgrading packages using apt

Deepin uses their own modified version of apt. When there is a distribution upgrade available and if we try to upgrade by running "sudo apt upgrade", then this modified version of apt gives this warning message, "DDE programs will work abnormally if run this command. Run sudo apt dist-upgrade or sudo apt full-upgrade instead." See More

Top Pro

Quite lightweight

Deepin 15.7 is lighter than Windows 10 and Ubuntu. See More

Top Pro

Great support for graphics cards

Deepin OS includes a program called "Deepin Graphics Driver Manager" which can easily install a good driver for the graphics card. See More

Top Pro

Based on Debian

It is based on Debian which is the best Linux distribution for desktops. See More

Top Pro

Launches programs faster

Programs load and launch faster in Deepin than other Linux distribution. It takes only about 3 seconds to launch Chrome! See More

Top Pro

Has their own tool kit

They have their own tool kit called "Deepin Tool Kit". And they themselves uses it. See More

On the surface YAST looks simple enough, but inside can be as complicated as a WindowsOS registry. Yast also interferes in the working of basic linux features eg. setting a user wide proxy using the standard DE tool See More

openSUSE

Top Con

Using YAST is not user-friendly for beginners

Top Pro

All you need is pre-installed

The installation is big, but that also means you rarely need to use the package manager for basic things. See More

Specs

Based On:Jurix>SUSE

Default Desktop Environment:Plasma, GNOME, Xfce, LXQT

Package Manager:RPM Package Manager

No native driver support and nouveau may be broken, especially for KDE, and not suitable for some GPUs. See More

Top Con

Poor support for nVidia drivers in Tumbleweed

Top Pro

User friendly

Default desktop setup is very similar and familiar to a Windows user. See More

Top Con

Patterns and Packagekit are a nightmare

patterns don't let you uninstall a package and packagekit used for updates is a pain See More

Top Pro

Reliable

The packaging team is dependable resulting in system updates that come in a timely fashion and systems which rarely, if ever, break due to packaging. The versions of software that are selected and the configuration of them is typically extremely high quality. See More

Top Pro

Outstanding community support

OpenSUSE has a VERY active user community. Questions on forums are generally answered in minutes. See More

Top Pro

Built-in drivers

Does the job needed and has the hardware drivers for the application built-in by the H/W supplier. See More

Top Pro

Dedicated professional community

Directions on other desktop Linux's often force you to use GUI packages or have steps that introduce security issues. OpenSUSE has a professional community and directions are usually geared toward GUI and CLI with similar steps. See More

Top Pro

"Tumbleweed" Rolling Release

Regular and easy upgrades to stable and well tested software. See More

Top Pro

Amazing choice for both newbies and power users

OpenSUSE is very easy in terms of installing packages, administration and customization, yet very powerful in the same. Every user should find his own piece of cake in this OS. See More

Top Pro

Supports RPM packages

Popular format shared with distros like Fedora, RHEL, Scientific Linux, Mageia etc. See More

Top Pro

Very stable

Stable, reliable, rock solid. See More

Top Pro

Easily get packages from other sources

SUSE Build Service offers packages from the same sources as Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu, SUSE Linux Enterprise and other distributions. This is the most underused package tool in Linux today. See More

Top Pro

Probably the best KDE desktop experience

Both Gnome and KDE desktop options are well polished to fit with the opensuse theme and environement, so either desktop is a great choice. See More

Top Pro

One-Click install

Much better system then other distros for installing any package. It is as simple as clicking on one button and typing in your password. Adds a repo to your system keeping everything updated at the same time. See More

Top Pro

Easy installation and administration

openSUSE makes use of a GUI tool called YaST to install and setup an openSUSE system. YaST is very easy to use and makes the process of installing and maintaining an openSUSE installation a breeze. See More

Top Pro

Extremely reliable

The packaging team is dependable resulting in system updates that come in a timely fashion and systems which rarely, if ever, break due to packaging. The versions of software that are selected and the configuration of them is typically extremely high quality. See More

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

Ubuntu

Top Pro

Great community support

Top Con

Fundamentally different UI

The default desktop environment Ubuntu uses, called Unity, has window buttons on the left, taskbar on the left, "Start" button in the top left corner, etc. See More

SuccinctAtai's Experience

Ubuntu is the biggest Linux distribution for a reason. I’m more of an Arch guy nowadays, but Ubuntu is familiar (based on Debian, my first distro) and it is by far the easiest Linux to get working out of the box. If a Windows user came to me asking for a Linux distribution to try, Ubuntu would be my first and second recommendations. See More

Specs

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

Default Desktop Environment:GNOME

Package Manager:Debian Package Manager, Snap Daemon

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 Pro

Just works out of the box

Top Con

More resource intensive than expected

Just a more complex Windows OS. Not that it is entirely bad, but Unity has a much bigger learning curve. See More

Phillip Smith's Experience

I used this distribution on several machines, I never found it stable, not a fan of their standard UI, not recommended for older machines as it is resource heavy. See More

Top Pro

Extremely popular

Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux distributions so it has more complete apps than other distributions and also has a lively and great community. See More

Top Con

A lot of the answers in the official forums come from inexperienced users with limited understanding of Linux

The community jumps in to help with hacks and quick fixes without understanding issues like security. Often advice like chmod 777 and sudo xyz etc. ends up causing more damage than solving the issue. Lack of pre-installed security software like app armour, SElinux or even an activated firewall allows the user to shoot himself in the foot and the community often provides a bigger gun to do so. See More

Top Pro

Polished UI

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. For developers this means working on the same OS as your servers, but with the benefits of a UI designed for humans. See More

Top Con

The stability has dwindled overtime

Annoyances like the system not going to sleep, app crashes and fixes that never arrive have started plaguing this distro. See More

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

Unity offers very limited customizability

The Unity desktop environment is practically non customizable with the user only being able to change certain themes and icons and adding a dock. See More

Top Pro

Very customizable

Offers themes and packages that change the complete look of the system - for example, it can look like OSX or Windows. See More

Top Con

Custom PPAs required for most software

To get the most software available, user must add several PPAs to the system. That has major problems: 1) Terminal recommended for adding a PPA, which can scare away users 2) A PPA can potentially distribute malware by creating a "newer" version of a package than available in other PPAs, such as the Linux kernel. 3) PPAs must be recreated and re-added with every major system update See More

Top Pro

Looks good

Ubuntu looks clean even when running from a LiveCD. 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

Stable

It‘s one of the most stable Linux Distros. 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

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

Includes adware

Advertisers pay to have their links or software preinstalled. Like the links to Amazon installed by default in the dock. See More

Top Pro

Has a clean Gnome interface

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

Top Con

Canonical (author) is proprietary

Canonical is focused on making money so you can see many proprietary offers by them and the OS has built-in trackers (Amazon). 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 Con

Canonical does not respect Ubuntu users' preferences

In 2012 it became impossible in Ubuntu to move the close-window-button back to the upper-right corner of the window, where it always was before. To the questions of their users Canonical replied that they know better than users where it would be convenient for users to have the close-window-button. 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

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

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 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 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 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 Pro

Company behind it

This means that the system must run well, otherwise they will lose money. There is no better incentive! See More

Top Pro

Cares about stable drivers

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

The default XFCE UI is pretty generic and sometimes ugly unless customized to suit the user's needs and liking. Customization in XFCE is easier than on Unity, but still hard for beginners. See More

Xubuntu

Top Con

UI is pretty generic without customization

Top Pro

Comes with lightweight applications

Xubuntu is designed as a lightweight operating system and Linux distro. It uses XFCE by default and comes packed with XFCE applications which are generally pretty lightweight. See More

Thomas Highbaugh's Experience

One of my favorite distros and the only way I can tolerate canonical at all See More

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment:Xfce

The desktop environment used in Xubuntu has not been update in over two years and is developed at a snail's pace. See More

Top Con

XFCE development is slow

Top Pro

Customizable

Official distro of XFCE, one of the most customizable desktop environments. In XFCE you can create as many tasks bars as you need and configure every one of their elements and behaviours. You can also change any icon, font, color... etc. Literally there's nothing you can't change in GUI. See More

Phillip Smith's Experience

Great light weight, stable distribution. One of my favorites See More

Top Con

Redundant

There is absolutely no reason to install it, since it uses the same package repositories as Ubuntu and you can transform any Ubuntu install into a Xubuntu install. See More

RodJLinux's Experience

I use this on my Kodi box, and while it is light-weight it isn't the most frugal distro available. I find it difficult to deal with (settings, etc) as it seems so old-fashioned in the way it is set up, very Gnome2'ish. But 'each to their own' ... I have to admit I'm biased as I'm a KDE Plasma fan and not so keen on anything Gnome. See More

The stage3 tarball provides a prebuilt kernel, allowing you to be up and running quickly and build your custom kernel from a fully operational system. See More

Funtoo

Top Pro

Binary kernel in stage3

Top Con

People who don't want to learn shouldn't use it

The whole funtoo user experience is tailored so you can use the distribution on every single piece of hardware that is probably in your house. With Funtoo, it's only a question of time to get something running on a piece of hardware. Unlike other distros, the learning curve might be steep at the beginning, but once you're over it you are completely in the driving seat. But that means you have to learn continually. See More

Specs

Based On:Gentoo

Default Desktop Environment:N/A

Init-System:OpenRC

Package Manager:Portage

Changing a desktop environments should not break your system. Running on older or non-mainstream hardware shouldn't make it impossible to install your distribution. Basically, if it's a computer, your distribution should be able to run on it. Funtoo is a rare distribution where you can actually do that. Also, you can use rpm packages and they will mostly work. I replaced 4 distributions with Funtoo, because software and drivers that worked only on one of the four distributions worked on Funtoo out-of-the-box. Skype also works. Funtoo might have a steep learning curve at the beginning, but afterwards you will be in the driving seat, and you will not hit a wall afterwards: editing source files, creating your own packages, running on other platforms that are not i686 or x86_64 will not require finding another distribution. If you want to learn one distribution that works, this is it. See More

Top Pro

Simplified install over Gentoo using special tools and scripts

Top Pro

One of the only sane distributions out there

Top Pro

Binary packages of hard-to-install stuff

It comes with a binary Debian kernel, which means the graphic tablet is working properly. Also, browsers like Firefox and Chrome are available in binary form, so you don't have to compile everything from source if you lack the time. Also, the arduino-bin package really simplifies development with arduino, so you don't have to setup a cross-compiler etc. See More

Elementary's user interface guidelines means that third party apps look strange in this desktop environment and not everything is supported out of the box. See More

elementary OS

Top Con

Third party apps may feel strange

Top Pro

Beautiful and consistent UI

The OS ships with custom applications for basic tasks (web browsing, text editing, multimedia, etc.) and they are all based on the same guidelines and are really well designed. Learning to use them is really easy. See More

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment:Pantheon

Origin:UK

Minor things like power management or default mail client leaking memory are still broken and it just doesn't feel finished. See More

Top Con

Still not very stable

Top Pro

Simplicity, limited configurability

Sane defaults with less confusion for new users. See More

Top Con

UI doesn't let you change anything

Every installation of elementary OS looks exactly the same. See More

Top Pro

If you like MacOSX, the UI/UX is similar

Top Con

Doesn't support 32-bit hardware anymore

One can install pantheon DE from new Ubuntu's repo but Elementry OS is not making new ISO's nor is it supporting them. It's confusing to new uses. See More

Top Pro

Based on Ubuntu

This brings the stability and offers a great selection of available software and drivers. See More

Top Con

The desktop doesn't let you to put icons by default

Top Con

Poor Linux community reputation

The devs of elementary OS feel anyone not paying for their Ubuntu respin are not worthy of using it. Which upset a good bit of people. Obviously the core dev team have issues with their community outreach and PR. See More

Top Con

Not very configurable

Top Con

Heavy animations

It has some animations that don‘t run good on older hardware. See More

Top Con

Upper panel requires extra spaces

The upper panel in Elementary OS requires more space. This can be a problem for computers with small monitors. See More

Top Con

Emacs doesn't work

Emacs crashes due to a partial gnome library update. See More

Top Con

Window control button placement may be unintuitive to some

elementary OS has window controls on the left side of the window. It may be less intuitive to users coming from other operating systems that put window controls on the right. See More

Based On:Softlanding Linux System

Slackware

Default Desktop Environment:KDE SC

Init-System:SysVinit

Package Manager:Pkgtool

Debian was good to use but has limited documentation and is difficult to pick up. Ubuntu MATE brings the ease of design and logic of the Gnome 2 style desktop so it's easy to get around coupled with the vast documentation, forums and ease of learning/using the Ubuntu system. See More

Ubuntu MATE

Top Con

Too much bloat included by default

Top Pro

Simplicity of Gnome with the power of Ubuntu

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment:MATE

Package Manager:Debian Package Manger

Users who want the latest and greatest software would be happier using Arch Linux, Antergos or another rolling release distro. However, because Ubuntu MATE is based on Ubuntu, users still have access to a large repository of recent software. See More

Top Con

Not bleeding edge

Top Pro

Works great on old laptops

It does not have a lot of system requirements so it works pretty well even on older laptops. See More

Top Pro

Perfect for people who like Gnome 2

The goal of MATE is to maintain the look and feel of Gnome 2, while maintaining compatibility with Gnome 3. To that end, it has also forked and renamed many of Gnome's core applications. It benefits from the years of work and polish that have gone into the Gnome project. See More

Install Gentoo can fail because of this issue. Compiling your own kernel is not for the faint of heart and it's time consuming and learning intensive. A prebuilt kernel would really help to get a grip on the system first before diving into the internal workings of Linux. See More

Gentoo

Top Con

Custom compiling a kernel is a daunting task

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 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 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 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 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 Con

Has no live images with graphical interface

Full installation is hand-made with a CLI (Command-Line Interface) 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

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

Deepin DE

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Mint

Top Pro

Familiar user interface

Top Con

Security may be an issue

Linux Mint by default does not have auto updates turned on for things such as xorg or the kernel, thus leaving users with potentially insecure software. See More

Say What's Experience

Used it for a while - better than Fedora - little weak on print driver support. Very nice desktop front end layout. The bell ringer is ability to install alongside another Windows OS. See More

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu LTS

Default Desktop Environment:Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce

System is very stable that one you install, you don't need to worry about crashes. See More

Top Pro

Very stable

Top Con

Outdated software centers

Many of the offered options are older versions. See More

Phillip Smith's Experience

Windows 95/XP/7 like interface, 4 great choices of desktops standard, I like XCFE for its lightness for older machines or speed on modern machines or for a win95 experience. Cinnamon is just a great Desktop, darn near perfect IMHO. Stable, well supported through great user groups, easy to install, newbies to Linux can just jump straight in and start using with little fuss. See More

Top Pro

Full multimedia support out of the box

Linux mint focuses first on usability, and thus provides proprietary multimedia support out of the box. This makes it a good choice as a distro if you're installing it for a novice user that is unable to install full multimedia support themselves. 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. They've also blocked certain powerful features of synaptic, the default Ubuntu/Debian package management application. See More

Rafael Social User's Experience

Easy to install, very hardware friendly, nice desktop design and very stable. See More

Top Pro

Compatibility with Debian and Ubuntu software builds and repositories

Mint and gains the very strong package ecosystem and software manager of Debian, including 30,000 packages. 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

Yacob Zitouni's Experience

Simple and fast 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

Does not handle multiple languages well

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

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

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

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

Mint has all ready defined package of required software

Everything you need is already there in the distribution, meaning you don't have to spend time installing additional applications unless you want. See More

Top Con

Too many kernel crashes

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 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 Pro

Dedicated upgrade process

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

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 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

Top Pro

Has more Desktop options

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

Top Pro

Not from a big company

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

Top Pro

Great support for games

Steam, Lutris, WineHQ and more. No need to install AMD Drivers. See More

Top Pro

No Unity "ugliness", 2 choices for Gnome 2/3

Upon the initial release of Unity, being that it was buggy, there was a high percentage of Ubuntu users who were looking for something more stable. Mint responded 3 years ago with keeping Gnome 2 and 3 alive with the benefit of making all hardware/drivers/codecs/adobe/proprietary-stuff work out of the box. It is not perfect, but it offers a more traditional workflow DE than Unity. Gnome allows many widgets/gadgets/tweak-tool/extensions and more. To be fair Ubuntu-Gnome is awesome too, but not quite as easy as Mint for Windows users to make an out-of-the-box easy transition. See More

Top Pro

Compatibility with Debian and Ubuntu software builds and repositories

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

Complete and stable