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What Linux distros look the best (nicest) out of the box?

26

Options
Considered

811

User
Recs.

Jul 24, 2021

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

The Best 1 of 23 OptionsWhy?

What Linux distros look the best (nicest) out of the box	Price	Based On	Default Desktop Environment
90 Endeavour OS	FREE	Arch Linux	Budgie, Cinnamon, Deepin, GNOME, i3, KDE Plasma, LXQt, MATE, Xfce
86 Manjaro	-	-	-
84 MX-Linux	-	Debian Stable>antiX	XFCE
81 Deepin	-	-	-
77 Solus	-	Scratch	-

Endeavour OS

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Top Pro

Great XFCE implementation

Their use of themes and configuration look great! See More

Top Con

64-bit only

niingu's Experience

Easy install with Calamares installer and a beautifully themed XFCE desktop. Built for speed! This is THE best Arch distribution - a perfect replacement for Antergos. And it will become even better in short time. See More

Specs

Based On:Arch Linux

Default Desktop Environment:Budgie, Cinnamon, Deepin, GNOME, i3, KDE Plasma, LXQt, MATE, Xfce

Package Manager:pacman

Init-System:Systemd

Top Pro

Helpful community

Great team of developers and excellent forum support on their official website. See More

Top Con

Same Cons that apply for Arch Linux

Top Pro

AUR support

One of the best reasons to use an Arch based distro. You can find almost every package there is in the Linux world. See More

Top Con

NET installer on the way

Top Pro

Arch Linux Wiki

Being an "easy to install version of Arch" means it is exactly easy to use the famous Arch Wiki. See More

Top Con

Kalu needs a little refinement

I applaud the developers to carry on the legacy of Antergos, the only niggling thing that I would appreciate is, while it's nice to see news about updates; my opinion is that once you dismiss the notifications they STAY dismissed. And just clicking on the icon brings kalu brings it to the foreground. Or have the functionality of turning off the news altogether would be well received. Good distro. See More

Top Pro

Good overall system quality and performance

Lean, fast and surprisingly stable. See More

Top Con

Not for everyone

Top Pro

Fast and simple package management

There can only be one Package Manager (pacman). See More

Top Pro

Support for a large variety of new hardware

Rolling release means newer, up to date, mesa and kernel versions able to handle newer hardware with better performance. See More

Top Pro

As slim as you want it

Based on Arch, Endevour OS keeps its core repositories slim and free of unnecessary dependencies. The distro comes with no bloatware, only the necessary packages. The repositories are nearly as full as those of Ubuntu, while they are often more up to date. See More

Top Pro

Easy installer

Top Pro

Great for low performance hardware

Easy on the specs and still blazingly fast. See More

Top Pro

Great hardware support

Top Pro

Stripped down to the bone

Since its stripped down, it is fast and you don't have to deal with bloatware. See More

Top Pro

Cutting edge rolling release

Exactly as Arch - allows users to stay on the most up-to-date versions of the software they are using. See More

Top Pro

No restrictive handholding, pure control over everything

The user can do whatever he wishes because the distro IS Arch - with and easy installer and great themes. See More

Top Pro

Not based on Ubuntu

Top Pro

Great community

Top Pro

Lightweight

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22 Other Options Considered

Manjaro

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Top Pro

Sane defaults atop Arch platform

Considering Arch Linux, Manjaro comes quite sufficiently setup out of the box, without the need of a special configuration. See More

Top Con

Tooltips to resize windows are too small

LikableIshum's Experience

Just a worse hype-driven Arch designed with an Android look in mind. See More

Top Pro

Clean Xfce window manager theme

Xfce by default, looks nice and modern enough. See More

Top Con

Slightly bloated

FunnySengann's Experience

I wanted a replacement for Windows 7 on my old Samsung. Unfortunately, Pop!OS which was my first choice didn't work well. I picked the second one - Manjaro and it installed without a hitch. It's been a year and I have no complaints. The default UI looks great, but it was a bit too much green for my taste. Tried the pre-installed themes. They look amazing! The Xfce DE looks great. I thought it would remind me of Windows and Gnome would be better. But Manjaro changed my mind. 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. 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

DignifiedMelete's Experience

This thing is Insanly feels good . I am using xfce in Manjaro even xfce is stunning with cutting edge technology 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

Can still be unstable

Here are the details of it. See More

kelly blak moffat's Experience

i have tried so many distros, but with my experience with different distros, i would say manjaro is more stable and help is readily available online. 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

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 of us, it renders an otherwise nice distro a no-go. See More

RespectfulUlanji's Experience

i installed it in first place beacuse it looked so nice out of the box. Very easy to use distro. See More

Top Pro

Reasonable typefaces

Top Con

Bad way of handling dependencies

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

Insertish's Experience

I've used Manjaro across several devices now, and it is the nicest looking straight out of the box. 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

Bad dependencies

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

Electrux Redsworth's Experience

Great looking out of the box, especially the Xfce edition. 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

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

Mark Shepherdson's Experience

Runs very well and easy to use and set up See More

Top Pro

Ability to dual boot easily through grub

If you like dual booting, Manjaro is your distro. It remembers the last OS used. 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

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

Nothing new

There is nothing new in manjaro compared to any other arch based distribution. See More

Top Pro

Very good looking desktops

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

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

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

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

Good documentation and forum

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

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

Same cons that apply to Arch Linux

Since it is based on Arch Linux. 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 Con

It's Archbuntu

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 Con

Bad dependencies

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

Top Pro

KDE Plasma

Top Con

No gfvs pre-installed

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

Deepin desktop environment is a worthy attraction

Top Pro

Steam installed by default

MX-Linux

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Top Pro

No systemd

Top Con

Not beautiful and doesn't have a good appstore

Specs

Based On:Debian Stable>antiX

Default Desktop Environment:XFCE

Package Manager:Debian Package Manager

Init-System:SysV-init & systemD

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 Pro

Lightweight

Top Pro

Based on Debian

Top Pro

Very stable

Top Pro

Easy to use

Top Pro

Easy install

Top Pro

Supports non-free drivers

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 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 Pro

MX Snapshot: lets you make your own distro

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

Deepin

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Top Pro

Design

Really great UI, inspiring and easy to understand. See More

Top Con

Dark theme doesn't work

The QT based system is great and beautifully polished but the dark theme doesn't work. See More

RodJLinux's Experience

Very solid, easy to use distro especially for Linux "newbies". Beautiful design and very polished. I'm not a newbie myself but I like this stable, rolling release design. I don't want to keep (re)installing my OS every two years or so to keep up with the latest. See More

Specs

Package Manager:Debian Package Manager

Main Usage:Desktop, Showcase for the Deepin Desktop

Official Supported Architectures:amd64

Top Pro

Great UI

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 Con

Slow default repos

Download speed for packages from the default repos, is abnormally slow. See More

Hanike's Experience

Wonderful environment with built-in graphical app store, proprietary media center and driver manager. Easy to use and to transition to, it's the perfect system for those who want to use a Linux distro but prefer the beautiful interface of MacOS or Win10. But be aware that it requires a good hardware to run smoothly, otherwise you may face some slower operations. Have at least 4GB of RAM before installing, and always install it before Windows in case you want a dual-boot. See More

Top Pro

Easy to use

Almost everything you need is on their own store. See More

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

EmpatheticAnu's Experience

After scrounging through a dozen linux distos in search for an elegant out of the box design. Deepin has quenched all my thirsts for that. It gives even non linux distros a competition when it comes to looks 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 Con

Customization is a bit hidden

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

SkyFire's Experience

Ahh. Deepin is the best looking linux distro in the world. it's just beautiful! it's now based on debian so it's stable. it has many great preinstalled packages. See More

Top Pro

Includes both Windows and macOS style interface

Top Con

The development team seems to not know what they are doing

Deepin has changed the base 4 times, and the name 3 times. The Desktop Environment also has been changed 4 times. See More

Peter J. Mello's Experience

Nothing else in technology looks quite as luscious as Deepin DE's last couple releases. It really is a work of art if you can see art within a UI. It's a little too simple for me to keep installed on anything I use frequently, but I do really love running it for a couple weeks after each major release just to soak in the beauty. See More

Top Pro

Blur and transparent design

Deepin has a blur and transparent design throughout the OS, which makes it one of the most beautiful Linux distros. See More

Top Con

Deepin store apps not up to date

Top Pro

Great User Interface and UX Design

Deepin team is clearly focused on keeping the interface beautiful and functional, prioritizing an excellent user experience through the whole system. See More

Top Con

Installer lacks features

Top Pro

Easy to install

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

Top Con

Old Kernel

Doesn't support Intel Core i5 8th gen. (intel UHD graphics 620). See More

Top Pro

Based on Debian

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

Top Con

Very slow installer

Because the servers are in China. 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 Con

No try-before-installing

You can't run it from an USB to test it before installing and it's a bit heavy to run from a VMware environment, which makes it impossible to try it out before deciding to install it to your computer. 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 Con

Based in China

Top Pro

Can be made to look like Windows easily

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

Top Con

Strange development organization

There aren't any sort of improvements over Deepin v15.1, though the only changes are icons, that become better. See More

Top Pro

Great design to the app store

The app store is gorgeous. See More

Top Con

Cannot customize desktop environment.

Because the developers have locked down desktop customization is A HUGE detractor against the idea of setting things up how you want. See More

Top Pro

Rolling release

It's a rolling release. Meaning that it will get updated automatically. See More

Top Con

Pretty laggy

Top Pro

Quite lightweight

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

Top Con

The only Linux distro that cant restart normally (on a PC)

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 Con

Mix of toolkits

GUI is partialy written in QT, but also in GTK+. See More

Top Pro

Very stable

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

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

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

VLC media player works without any issue

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

Top Pro

Has their own tool kit

They have their own tool kit called "Deepin Tool Kit". And they themselves uses it. The advantages of using their own toolkit is that they can create any missing library or libraries for their work whenever they need to. See More

Top Pro

Great company behind it

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

Top Pro

Best for daily use

Top Pro

Supports Flatpak

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

Top Pro

Launches programs fast

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

Top Pro

Not based on Ubuntu

Some people don't like Ubuntu nor its derivatives. 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

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

Network managment

Deepin has the facilities to create VLAN and other configuration like Wifi Hostpot on their GUI. See More

Top Pro

Seamless transition form Windows to Linux

Easy to install, comes with default packages to typical needs e.g. Chrome, WPS office, System Monitor and a bunch of multimedia utilities. It's easy to install and uninstall applications, it has a great app store and is fast. On the same laptop runs much faster than Windows 10 did. See More

Top Pro

Seemless transition form Windows to Linux

Easy to install, comes with default packages to typical needs e.g. Chrome, WPS office, System Monitor and a bunch of multimedia utilities. Its easy to install and uninstall applications, it has a great app store and is fast. On same laptop run much faster than Windows 10 did. See More

Solus

Top Pro

Good looking Budgie flagship experience

It looks good out of the box and you can customize it as per your needs. See More

Top Con

Slow development

Kazumi's Experience

Material design interface, many features out of the box. Clean and nice system overall. See More

Specs

Based On:Scratch

Package Manager:eopkg package manager(PiSi fork)

Init-System:systemd

Release Schedule:Rolling

Top Pro

Modern desktop environment

The default desktop environment used by Solus is called Budgie and is quite nice and minimalistic. See More

Top Con

The default desktop environment is not very customizable

Maybe because it's a relatively new project still in its infancy and this may be fixed in the future, but Budgie is not very customizable. You can only change the theme and wallpaper. See More

kevin's Experience

It's fast, stable, and free! See More

Top Pro

Easy installation

The installation procedure for this distribution is quite simple. It's GUI based and all you have to do is to follow the instructions given by the installation window itself. See More

Top Con

Software a bit slower to launch than for other distributions

Top Pro

Responsive

System boots quickly and stays responsive. Does what operating system should do, and does it really well. See More

Top Con

No USB image writer

However, this can be solved from console or downloading other writers. See More

Top Pro

Seamless Packages

It may not have the most obscure packages, but the packages it does have is a good number of everything a Linux user needs. Gamers, developers, desktop users, etc. all have the necessary packages and then some. The packages themselves are integrated perfectly and are very well updated. See More

Top Con

Important third-party repos are badly mantained

Google Chrome and Flash are available but do not install. See More

Top Pro

Rolling Release Model

Wich means you don't have to suffer from version to version updates that can break it. See More

Top Pro

Great package management

The software center makes really easy to install the latest software. Including thid party software. See More

Top Pro

Stable

The system itself is very stable. All packages in the repository seem to be carefully picked, well prepared and run stable. See More

Top Pro

Most stable Rolling Release Distro

Top Pro

Rolling release

Pop!_OS

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 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

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment:GNOME

Package Manager:Debian Package Manager

Init-System:Systemd

Top Pro

Pop! makes GNOME look really good

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

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

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

Top Pro

Nice gnome theme dy default

Has nice gnome theme looks really good. 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

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

PsychOS

Top Pro

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

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

Specs

Based On:Devuan

Default Desktop Environment:XFCE

Package Manager:Debian Package manager

Init-System:SysVinit

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 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

KDE Neon

Top Pro

Configurability

KDE Neon uses KDE as its desktop environment, which is highly configurable, but also has great defaults. See More

Top Con

Harder to run on older PCs

NonchalantVarmanpaz's Experience

Extremely minimal desktop distro that uses KDE Plasma 5, and that's what I was looking for See More

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu LTS

Default Desktop Environment:KDE

Package Manager:Debian Package Manager

Init-System:Systemd

Top Pro

Bug-free KDE Plasma experience

This is in contrast to Kubuntu, which (at the time of writing) is notorious for having many bugs in its implementation of KDE Plasma. See More

Top Con

Overwhelming configurability

It's hard to just get to work when you're given every option under the sun to configure, customize, tweak and alter the experience. The result is that people spend more time fiddling and less time getting things done. See More

Top Pro

Works out of the box

Since it's built on the strong Ubuntu base, KDE Neon works seamlessly with a huge variety of hardware. See More

Top Con

Steep learning curve for beginners

It's a really sparse, bare-bones system, no automatic driver install for example. It can be quite hard for someone not used to Linux. See More

Top Pro

The best looking Linux OS

It really is a great and stunning looking OS. See More

Top Pro

Very customizable

Top Pro

Works well on low-end computers

Mint

Add Video or Image

Top Pro

Familiar user interface

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

Top Con

Looks ugly

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

Neil Lewis's Experience

Cinnamon Mint is the easiest distribution I’ve found, with a great desktop experience. See More

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu LTS

Default Desktop Environment:Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce

Package Manager:Debian Package Manager

Init-System:Systemd

Top Pro

Complete and stable

Complete and stable See More

Top Con

Security may be an issue

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

AmbitiousNgai's Experience

The Mint implementation of the Xfce desktop is especially handsome right out of the box. To my eye, it is much more aesthetically pleasing than distros featuring Xfce, such as Xubuntu. 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

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

FriendlyHorus's Experience

Mint Xfce is one of the few Xfce distros that looks great right out of the box. 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

Dropping support for Xfce and KDE

Linux Mint 18.3 is the last version of Mint which contains a Xfce and KDE versions of Linux Mint. After this release, starting from Linux Mint 19, the developers are not going to make a Xfce and KDE versions. See More

HilariousSaccimi's Experience

I'm coming from Windows and hate it for its overall control over you, so Mint was here for me to keep the same interface while feeling in control. It also means thousands of commands, shortcuts, and other quick access and settings that are easy to find or create. Took me a little while to start mastering it (like a full year maybe), but once you do it lovely does the job... until you find better eventually ^^ 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

Not very beautiful

Linux Mint is just polished.... not beautiful. It looks like the ancient Windows 95 with flat themes. See More

PoisedHauhet's Experience

it just works 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

The Linux Mint website once provided malware

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

InfluentialHannahannah's Experience

it just works See More

Top Pro

Variety of options

Linux Mint Mate Edition. See More

Top Con

Outdated software centers

Many of the offered options are older versions. See More

Top Pro

Looks great without tweaking

Mint's aesthetics are first-rate. From the greeter/login screen to the desktop, everything is beautiful without tweaking. However, it is easy to configure to your own taste as well. 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

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

initial loading slow

after login it takes 1 minute (black screen) to load desktop See More

Top Pro

Customizable

Quite customizable by default. See More

Top Con

Developers don't take security seriously

Linux Mint team are notoriously unconcerned by security threats. You can read more here. See More

Top Pro

The easiest option ever

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

Top Con

Can be boring

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

Linux Mint developers doesn't collaborate with other open source projects when fork and develop their own versions of common programs just to name them differently without adding extra functionality or helping the original projects

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

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

Popular

Linux Mint is currently the most hit page on DistroWatch. Because of its popularity, long-term support is pretty guaranteed. See More

Top Con

Cheap Windows Substitute

Mint tries to be like Windows, when it could be different and provide more options. 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

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

Linux Mint Debian Edition

Based directly on Debian. See More

Top Con

Does not handle multiple languages well

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

Too many kernel crashes

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

Compatibility with Debian and Ubuntu software builds and repositories

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

Zorin

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Top Pro

Bundles tools for changing the look and feel of the distribution

Zorin includes look changer and theme changer. 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

ConvivialSilenus's Experience

Especially Zorin OS 16, probably one of the cleanest Linux desktops, like you have to try it! See More

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu LTS

Default Desktop Environment:Gnome (heavily customized)

Package Manager:Debian Package Manager

Init-System:Systemd

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

Proptietary

HonestUkur's Experience

Finally stopped on Zorin after distro hopping through dozens of distros. Great balance between stability , appearance , updates and resource usage. See More

Top Pro

Windows desktop style

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

Hanike's Experience

Excellent as an alternative system to carry on with you in an USB or to have installed in your ultrabook/netbook. It's very customizable. See More

Top Pro

Partial Windows compatibility

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

C_Corp2k2 R's Experience

I tend to use this OS on my Samsung Intel-Atom Netbook. Simply beautiful! See More

Top Pro

Excellent USB Linux to carry on bag

Since it's very lightweight and comes with a good amount of built-in apps, Zorin is perfect to carry with you in your bag. See More

AwesomestFulgora's Experience

It's a very nice looking OS with a new xfce version. Because it's based on Ubuntu, it's my go-to linux anytime and I would recommend it to anyone. See More

Top Pro

Stable

Top Pro

Ubuntu-based

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

Top Pro

Low resources consumption

Top Pro

Installer can set up dual boot

Top Pro

Accessibility features

elementary OS

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Top Pro

UI design consistency

Excellent uniformity between all the stock applications. See More

Top Con

Problems with basic functions

Problems often arise with functions like keyboard layout and touchpad. See More

RespectfulBoreas's Experience

gorgeous, if a little unstable. fresh installs once a year fix that. See More

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment:Pantheon

Init-System:Systemd

Main Usage:macOS-like Desktop, Showcase for the Pantheon Destop

Top Pro

Extremely user-friendly

This distribution promises you a very tailored user experience and it does deliver on that promise. The developers provide you with a custom desktop environment and a set of neat programs. And the whole desktop looks simply gorgeous. See More

Top Con

UI doesn't let you change anything

Every installation of Elementary OS looks exactly like the same. See More

IngeniousDionysus's Experience

Just fantastic!! I'm average user and tried every distro on my laptops. This on is simply the best! See More

Top Pro

Sane defaults, simplicity, limited configuration

Sane defaults with less confusion for new users. See More

Top Con

It hangs

Sometimes hangs, just like Windows. See More

nicwow's Experience

Amazing UI, however not very "freedom respecting" when it comes to FLOSS. See More

Top Pro

Lightweight & fast

Runs well on limited-resources hardware, including netbooks or Chromebooks. See More

Top Con

Missing major functionality

Elementary opts for reskins of applications that excludes expected app features, e.g., changing spell check language. See More

ProductiveAmaethon's Experience

It is the best out there! See More

Top Pro

Ease of use

What can be easier to use than a Mac look-alike? See More

Top Con

Not very configurable

davidak's Experience

Well designed linux distribution that just works. See More

Top Pro

Consistent development practices

All elementary apps are written in Vala and hosted on GitHub, and there are standard APIs such as Contractor for applications to interact with one another. This is different from most distros, in which apps are written in a variety of languages. This design decision makes it easy to get started developing for elementary OS and to understand how the various pieces fit together. See More

Top Con

Old base and applications

The slow release schedule makes the applications outdated. It drags behind Ubuntu LTS (on which it's based) which itself drags behind Ubuntu which is often still quite far behind Arch for example. See More

Top Pro

Built on Ubuntu

Built on Ubuntu LTS with all its qualities and support. See More

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 Pro

If you like MacOSX the UI/UX is similar

Top Con

Heavy animations

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

Top Pro

A dedicated StackExchange site

Elementary OS has a dedicated StackExchange site where users can easily find answers to common questions. See More

Top Con

Defaults to Nouveau drivers, which can cause graphical issues

Rather than giving the option of non-free drivers. See More

Top Pro

Simplicity, limited configurability

Sane defaults with less confusion for new users. See More

Top Con

No proprietary driver installer

Elementary OS removed the driver installer of Ubuntu. See More

Top Pro

With new tweak tools customization is not a problem

Now the OS is amazingly customisable. See More

Top Con

Boring UI

It can be very boring. See More

Top Pro

With new tweak tools customisation is not a problem

Now the OS is amazingly customisable. 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

Top Pro

Active Google+ community

There is a place where Elementary users can ask their questions and usually get answers pretty quickly. Not only by the other users, but the devs are pretty active themselves, often engaging in the discussions on the hows, whys and plans of the os. See More

Top Con

Ultralight typeface

Appears modern but is difficult to read. See More

Top Pro

It is based on Ubuntu

This means the wide variety of repositories and Debian's available are easily usable in Elementary OS. It is built on Ubuntu LTS with all its qualities and support. See More

Top Con

You can't put any icon on the desktop

By default, you can't put any icon nor right-click on the desktop. Which can be a problem for those who like to put icons on the desktop. See More

Top Con

Doesn't support 32-bit hardwares 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 makes confuzzled to new users. See More

Top Con

Doesn't support lots of Wi-Fi network cards

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

Based on Ubuntu

Some people hate Ubuntu and it's derivatives. See More

Top Con

Offers proprietary software

Installs proprietary software, sometimes impossible to disable. See More

Top Con

Emacs doesn't work

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

Top Con

Very slow development cycle

Elementary does not offer any release date for their stable releases going more with an "it's done when it's done" attitude. Making depending on newer apps a difficulty as well as a poor choice for those that need consistent release schedules for their OS. See More

feren OS

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Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu>Linux Mint

Default Desktop Environment:KDE

Package Manager:Debian Package Manager

Init-System:systemd

Ubuntu

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Top Pro

It's a starting point for most as it has all the tools you would ever need

Top Con

It's too bloated with nonsense

You can't delete a lot of things and the whole system is too simplified. See More

Jean Paul BERES's Experience

Ubuntu Mate is not anymore a clone of Gnome2 but offers with its Mate Tweak the possibility of changing the complete layout ! Highly recommended ! See More

Specs

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

Default Desktop Environment:GNOME

Package Manager:Debian Package Manager, Snap Daemon

Init-System:Systemd

Top Pro

Looks good

Ubuntu looks clean even when running from a LiveCD. 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

ModestSeonangsin's Experience

good support online See More

Top Pro

Clean and organized GUI pie

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

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

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

Software can be outdated, if not severely outdated

If you try to download "unpopular" software, you may find you're downloading a version that's several years old. 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

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

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

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

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

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 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 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 Con

Not supporting 32bit processors anymore

Ubuntu 18.04 is not made for 32 bit processors. Canonical officially declared that Ubuntu won't make ISO's for 32bit in future. 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

OpenSUSE LEAP

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Top Pro

Very stable

Stable, reliable, rock solid. See More

Top Con

Limited community support

The community is fairly small, and there is no indication on the forums regarding when a issues will be solved. See More

Specs

Based On:Jurix>SUSE

Default Desktop Environment:Plasma, GNOME, Xfce, LXQT

Package Manager:RPM Package Manager

Init-System:Systemd

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

Top Con

Bloated and slow

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 Con

Packman repository has to be added to have good software support

Top Pro

Easy to use

KDE is good and yast is the greatest. See More

Top Con

YAST not intuitive at all

On the surface YAST looks simple enough, but inside can be as complicated as a WindowsOS registry. Using YAST is not user-friendly for beginners. 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 Con

Startup takes a long time

Top Con

Old kernel by the Leap version

Kernel in Leap 42.3 is in version 4.4, that's pretty old. See More

Fedora

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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

Specs

Based On:Independent

Default Desktop Environment:GNOME

Package Manager:RPM Package Manager, DNF package manager

Init-System:Systemd

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

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

Fast and stable updates

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 Pro

Backed by one of the biggest Linux kernel contributors

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

Top Pro

Integration with GNOME

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

Top Pro

Strong commitment to free software philosophy

Kubuntu

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Top Pro

Customizable

You can easily adjust the workspace to your needs. See More

Top Con

Ubuntu does not comply with free software bases

RodJLinux's Experience

It took a while but KDE Plasma 5 is finally stable and (mostly) bug free. It is beautiful and can be configured to look like anything you want it to. It is a tweakers delight! See More

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment:KDE

Package Manager:Debian Package Manager

Init-System:Systemd

Top Pro

Incredibly beautiful

KDE is probably the best looking Desktop Environment in all OSes. It easily beats all Windows (but then again so do many) it beats Cinnamon and one could say even OSX in looks and flexibility but not in stability. See More

Top Con

Often unstable

There have been several bugs reported. Some of these bugs are: shutting down randomly, refusing to boot, refusing to shut down, menus may act strange, icons may disappear, etc. See More

ExcellentUtnapishtim's Experience

I switched 1 year ago from Windows 10. I will never use windows again !! This OS is so smooth and great to look at; everything is easy to locate and stable. Never had a problem ! Not one ! You won't be disapointed after you set it up for yourself. See More

Top Pro

Full featured desktop environment that is actively developed

Unlike some abandoned, unfinished distros, Kubuntu is up to date and offers a fully functional desktop environment that targets workstation users. See More

davidak's Experience

It's too complex for me. I just want to get work done... See More

Top Pro

A lot of third party support.

Steam works great. Highly configurable but not required. PC novices that require a lot of hand-holding may be scared of all the options afforded to them. You basically get out what you put in. Steam works a treat, if gaming is important to you. See More

Top Pro

KDE Plasma

Plasma updates via backports See More

Top Pro

Stable as hell

Super stable, never crashes. See More

Top Pro

Light

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