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What are the best Linux distributions for laptops?

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15 Options Considered

15 Options ConsideredPriceDefault Desktop EnvironmentRelease Schedule
Arch
CLIRolling Release
Manjaro
XFCE, KDE, Gnome, Budgie, Cinnamon, Deepin, i3, LXDE/lxqt, and MATERolling Release
Ubuntu
GNOME(various editons with MATE, Xfce, LXDE and other)2 Year LTS / 6 Month Releases
elementary OS
PantheonN/A
Deepin
Deepin Desktop EnvironmentRolling release
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Arch

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Endi Sukaj
Top Pro

As slim or copious as you want it

•••
Arch keeps its core repositories slim and free of unnecessary dependencies. At first installation only a bare system is set up. You can easily get the other applications through the package manager. The repositories are nearly as full as those of Ubuntu, while they are often more up to date. That w...
Endi Sukaj
Top Pro

Excellent documentation

•••
Arch's goal of simplicity means there's usually one preferred way to get things done - through organized and well documented configuration files. This focus, combined with the community's recognition that configuration files can be intimidating, has resulted in excellent documentation t...
Endi Sukaj
Top Pro

No restrictive handholding, pure control over everything

•••
Arch is mainly aimed at experienced Linux users, there is no hand-holding and not much in a way of UI elements when trying to install or tweak settings.
Endi Sukaj
Top Pro

Helpful community

•••
If searching through the wiki or the forums for any problems turns nothing, any question on the official forums, Arch subreddit or the IRC channel will be answered within minutes. There will probably be no hand-holding however, Arch users prefer to point anyone to a resource that may help them inst...
Endi Sukaj
Top Pro

Fast and simple package management

•••
pacman has performance advantages over apt-get and yum in both database operations (thanks to being written for speed) and download times (by virtue of using better mirrors than other distributions tend to select by default). There are also fewer default repositories to download from, and all packa...
Endi Sukaj
Top Pro

Simplicity is absolutely the principal objective behind Arch development

•••
The design approach of the development team focuses on elegance, code correctness, minimalism, and simplicity, and expects the user to be willing to make some effort to understand the system's operation.
Endi Sukaj
Top Pro

Cutting edge rolling release

•••
Arch Linux follows a rolling release model which allows users to stay on the most up-to-date versions of the software they are using.
Endi Sukaj
Top Pro

A package for almost everything

•••
If you need to install something, chances are someone in the Arch community has already made a package for it. This makes it incredibly easy for you to install and maintain all of the non-media content on your computer.
Endi Sukaj
Top Pro

Support for a large variety of hardware

•••
From latest wacom pads to obscure wireless cards in laptops Arch's hw support has been and continues to be good. It has worked on laptops where other leading distro's like debian/ mint/ ubuntu failed to detect and work with all hardware.
Monika
Endi Sukaj
Top Pro

Excellent package management with the AUR

•••
The AUR is a repository with a very extensive catalogue of build/install scripts that are contributed by users. While these scripts are inherently less secure than conventional packages maintained by a distro's authors, it's still way easier to verify the security of install scripts than it...
Monika
1Mark
Top Pro

Stripped down to the bone

•••
Since it's stripped down, it's fast and you don't have to deal with bloatware.
Paolo
cosmo
Top Pro

Helpful 3rd party installers

•••
There are extreamly helpful 3rd party installers such as Anarchy Linux (Formerly Arch Anywhere).
Francisco
Aaron Nel
Top Con

Not ready out of the box

•••
You have to install your day-to-day software requirements manually.
Endi Sukaj
Top Con

Manual install process

•••
The installation process for Arch Linux is not as streamlined as it is in other distributions. You have to install the OS, Desktop Environment, Network software and configure everything by yourself.
Endi Sukaj
Top Con

Not for the faint of heart

•••
Arch only holds your hand a little bit of the way. While documentation is great, you are expected to know what you're doing. The result is that when you find the solution for a problem on a forum or elsewhere, the response may be completely over your head. If you're not well-versed in Linu...
Endi Sukaj
Top Con

Requires some background with Linux and the command-line to setup

•••
Going in with zero Linux knowledge is not really recommended when wanting to install Arch, though it can be a good learning experience for those that are dedicated to trial and error as well as reading many faqs.
Endi Sukaj
Top Con

Documentation only makes sense if you know how to adjust it

•••
While the documentation is a very valuable reference for experts, the recipes often don't actually work on your own computer. Some articles are outdated, incomplete, contradictory or duplicated. Only if you are expert enough to know which steps to skip, to adjust or which other documentation pa...
Endi Sukaj
Top Con

Too many package upgrades that require manual intervention

•••
Every year or so there is a update to ArchLinux that will break your system unless you first read the front page of archlinux.org. This happened with SystemD and with a few other updates that require you to do prior steps befor pacman -Syu.
Endi Sukaj
Top Con

Problems with driver/kernel/gpu consistency

•••
Arch has no proper desktop support, you must craft your system together. Things may work for the first but generally it takes days to configure a stable and working system. This is NOT ideal for a desktop user.
Endi Sukaj
Top Con

Instability can be an issue

•••
Endi Sukaj
Top Con

Fragile packages

•••
Updating an Arch system is always a gamble. The problem could be as simple as a package having a bug causing a program to crash on start or it may be something bigger like the WiFi or Bluetooth no longer working. There is also the slight chance the system may not even boot at all after a large upda...
Alex
CaringRosmerta
Top Con

Not ready out of the box

•••
You have to install your day-to-day software requirements manually.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Package manager is so naive

•••
For example, it doesn't allow you to purge (remove package and it's configuration files).
Endi Sukaj
Top Con

Multiple Aur helpers

•••
Arch has strict reasoning behind what goes into the official repositories accessible by pacman. As a result, many other projects end up in the Arch User Repository (AUR). Effectively using Arch, and getting easy access to all of the available software, means either manually downloading and installi...
Endi Sukaj
Top Con

Rolling release requires bandwidth

•••
Arch uses a rolling release model for updates. Unlike, for example Ubuntu where a new version is released every six months, packages are updated when they are ready. The advantage is a very up to date system and that the work of upgrading can be spread over a longer span of time to a point where it...
See 23 more Pros & ConsSee 23 more Pros & Cons

Manjaro

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DebonairDadhikra
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.
Chloe Montanez
Aaron Nel
Top Pro

Latest kernels

•••
An arch-based distro which includes the latest kernels which have better hardware support.
DebonairDadhikra
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.
DebonairDadhikra
Top Pro

All major desktops and even less common once like budgie, lumina, lxqt, deepin, enlightenment etc can be directly installed from official repositories

•••
Also available as independent variants.
DebonairDadhikra
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.
DebonairDadhikra
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.
DebonairDadhikra
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.
DebonairDadhikra
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.
DebonairDadhikra
Top Pro

Support for multiple kernels

•••
Manjaro has built-in support for multiple kernels as well as a way to easily install them.
DebonairDadhikra
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.
DebonairDadhikra
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.
DebonairDadhikra
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...
SpontaneousCeraon
Top Pro

Deepin desktop environment is a worthy attraction

•••
SpontaneousCeraon
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.
Chloe Montanez
InquisitiveShu
GregariousCarmanor
Top Pro

Manjaro

•••
Excellent distro.
Ray
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Bad way of handling dependencies

•••
Manjaro is based on Arch linux. Arch linux and its derivatives have a bad way of handling dependencies - it does that by installing a whole another program containing the required dependencies.
DebonairDadhikra
Top Con

Nothing new

•••
There is nothing new in manjaro compared to any other arch based distribution.
DebonairDadhikra
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". I am sure 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.
cosmo
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.
cosmo
Top Con

Security issues

•••
Since packages are not updated as fast as in Arch, critical security updates may not come as fast as needed for packages that may have issues.
Ray
Lucifer Morningstar
Top Con

Often breaks grub

•••
Installing Manjaro can make Ubuntu go missing. Linux Kernels were updated and Ubuntu reappeared after running grub-update.
See 19 more Pros & ConsSee 19 more Pros & Cons

Ubuntu

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Zack H
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...
Zack H
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.
Zack H
Top Pro

Wide range of software out of the box

•••
The default apps available in Ubuntu cover the gamut of most anyone's needs. From music, video or office applications Ubuntu has an app that will cover the users needs.
Zack H
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.
Zack H
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.
Zack H
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".
Zack H
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.
Endi Sukaj
Lucifer Morningstar
Top Pro

Very stable

•••
LTS version of Ubuntu has a 5 year guaranteed updates and is ensured by Canonical so, you don't have to worry about system breaking and stuff like that.
Zack H
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.
Zack H
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.
Endi Sukaj
ExceptionalOsiris
Top Pro

Backed by a company

•••
This means that the system must run well, otherwise they will lose money. There is no better incentive!
Zack H
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.
Zack H
Top Pro

Cares about stable drivers

•••
Zack H
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.
Zack H
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.
Zack H
Top Pro

Good UI for small monitors

•••
Becaue the menu usually is in the title bar and the launcher auto-hides, the whole screen can be used by an application.
Ubuntu Tech
cosmo
Top Con

Canonical (author) is proprietary

•••
Canonical is focused on making money so you can see many propertiary offers by them and the OS has built in trackers (Amazon).
Zack H
Top Con

Relatively high system requirements

•••
The default Unity 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...
cosmo
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.
cosmo
Top Con

Fixed release model

•••
Major updates to the OS are limited by Ubuntu's fixed release model. While this might make sense for a server distribution on a production system, this makes very little sense for a desktop distribution on a personal computer.
cosmo
Top Con

Random system errors may pop up

•••
Zack H
Top Con

Tends to do its own thing

•••
Ubuntu has a user interface that is specific to Ubuntu and is now working on its own display server. It also tends to have configuration that is done slightly different (and arguably more beginner friendly) than elsewhere. So while this is a great Linux distribution in its own right, it might not...
Zack H
Top Con

Unity and other Ubuntu-specific software is problematic

•••
Unity is awesome and user-friendly at many places. But it's not customizable at much extent. Getting rid of it can be either not possible or very problematic. Same is true about other Ubuntu-specific software. A lot of things don't work as expected. Even though the repository is based on De...
Zack H
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.
Zack H
Top Con

Company stays behind it

•••
Zack H
Top Con

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

•••
cosmo
Top Con

Software can be outdated, if not severely outdated

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

Security and privacy issues arising from integration with proprietary services

•••
For example, unless disabled, Ubuntu will send your searches off to Amazon's servers and intrusively suggest products on the desktop itself.
Zack H
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...
Zack H
Top Con

Unity interface might be confusing for new users

•••
Unity does not align itself with the normal desktop paradigm and thus has a bit of a confusing UI in comparison to the norm of a Windows user.
See 28 more Pros & ConsSee 28 more Pros & Cons

elementary OS

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HumbleAchuhucanac
Top Pro

Simplicity, limited configurability

•••
Sane defaults with less confusion for new users.
HumbleAchuhucanac
Top Pro

UI design consistency

•••
Excellent uniformity between all the stock application and an overall extremely clean design with simple animations.
Kristaps
Top Pro

With new tweak tools customisation is not a problem

•••
Now the OS is amazingly customisable
Kristaps
Top Pro

Consistent development practices

•••
All Elementary apps are written in Vala and hosted on Launchpad, 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...
Kristaps
Top Pro

A dedicated StackExchange site

•••
elementary OS has a dedicated StackExchange site where users can easily find answers to common questions.
Kristaps
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.
Kristaps
Top Pro

Built on Ubuntu

•••
Built on Ubuntu LTS with all its qualities and support.
Kristaps
Top Pro

Lightweight & fast

•••
Runs well on limited-resources hardware, including netbooks or chromebooks.
Kristaps
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.
Ubuntu Tech
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.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Emacs doesn't work

•••
Emacs crashes due to a partial gnome library update.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Very slow development cycle

•••
elementary does not offer any release date for their stable releases going more with a "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.
Ubuntu Tech
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.
Kristaps
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

UI doesn't let you change anything

•••
Every installation of elementaryOS looks exactly like the same.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

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

•••
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Not very configurable

•••
Alex
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Upper panel requires extra space

•••
The upper panel in Elementary OS requires more space. This can be a problem for computers with small monitors.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Boring UI

•••
It can be very boring.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Problems with basic functions

•••
Problems often arise with functions like keyboard layout and touchpad.
Ubuntu Tech
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.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Outdated or bad default applications

•••
Paolo
Chloe Montanez
PersistentGebeleizis
Top Con

Not free

•••
See 20 more Pros & ConsSee 20 more Pros & Cons

Deepin

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Ubuntu Tech
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.
Francisco
Ubuntu Tech
Top Pro

Easy to install

•••
Installing Deepin OS is very easy. It's even easier than installing Ubuntu.
Ubuntu Tech
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.
Ubuntu Tech
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.
Ubuntu Tech
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.
Ubuntu Tech
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...
Ubuntu Tech
Top Pro

Rolling release

•••
It's a rolling release. Meaning that it will get updated automatically.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Pro

Quite stable

•••
Even though it's based on Debian unstable, it's still quite stable and their new program called "Deepin repair" made the OS even more stable then it was before.
Ubuntu Tech
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.
Ubuntu Tech
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.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Pro

Launches programs faster

•••
Programs load and launch faster in Deepin than other Linux distributions. It takes only about 3 seconds to launch Chrome.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Pro

Based on Debian

•••
It is based on Debian which is the best Linux distribution for desktops.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Pro

Great design to the app store

•••
The app store is gorgeous.
Ubuntu Tech
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".
Ubuntu Tech
Top Pro

Not based on Ubuntu

•••
Some people don't like Ubuntu nor its derivatives.
Ubuntu Tech
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.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Pro

Has their own tool kit

•••
They have their own tool kit called "Deepin Tool Kit". And they themselves uses it.
Ubuntu Tech
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.
ThoroughDedun
Top Pro

Best for daily use

•••
Ubuntu Tech
Top Pro

Company behind it

•••
The Wuhan Deepin Technology is behind this Linux distribution. Because there is a company behind it, the company has to make the OS as good as possible.
Alex
SophisticatedEkkeko
Top Con

Poor dark mode implementation

•••
Choosing dark theme does not change system application theme, you have to manually activate it from the menu, and not all of them have that option.
See 19 more ProsSee 19 more Pros

Fedora

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Chloe Montanez
Top Pro

Bleeding edge

•••
Now it has Wayland by default, you have basically the latest of everything in Linux.
Chloe Montanez
Top Pro

Lots of packages available

•••
Fedora repos + REMI + RPMFusion, and now Microsoft is developing software for RedHat, which is available for Fedora as well. You can also add repos for CentOS, OpenSuse; and somehow Arch people like Fedora people, so aur repo also works perfectly.
ImmaculateDiana
Top Pro

Leading edge of innovation yet surprisingly stable

•••
Despite being on the innovation edge, Fedora has been surprisingly stable in the past few years,
ImmaculateDiana
Top Pro

Spins for various desktop environment work well

•••
Fedora Spins work quite well and availability of updated respins, every fornight or so, are an added advantage.
ImmaculateDiana
Top Pro

Bug reporting and fixing

•••
It is easy to report a bug in Fedora, The developers follow it up and fixes are released quite fast. Community involvement in the process is commendable
Kristaps
Top Pro

Spins and Labs

•••
Spins are images with a different WM/DE, and Labs are filled with a specific theme of packages.
Kristaps
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 s...
Kristaps
Top Pro

Integration with GNOME

•••
It perhaps has the best integration with GNOME (GNOME software works out of the box).
Kristaps
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.
Kristaps
Top Pro

Backed by the biggest Linux kernel contributor

•••
Fedora is backed by RedHat, the 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.
Chloe Montanez
Top Pro

Stable under Gnome and KDE

•••
Chloe Montanez
Top Pro

Easy to install a new window manager

•••
You can just dnf a window manager, like KDE, Bhodi, Pantheon etc., and then switch between them in Gnome Login. If you don't like gnome login, you can dnf another login manager - literally plug and play.
Kristaps
Top Con

Unstable

•••
Some packages may break, because there isn't an option to test them before rolling them out.
Kristaps
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...
Kristaps
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.
Kristaps
Top Con

Wayland does not work with Prime/Optimus

•••
On a pc with hybrid video, you must use Gnome on Xorg to let the Prime or Optimus technology work.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Slow

•••
It is quite slow on some computers
WhiteLilac
WittyLempo
Top Con

Dependent on Red Hat , dnf/rpm package ecosystem

•••
Similar to Mint's dependence on Ubuntu, Fedora is dependent in many ways on Red Hat. It's hard to tell for sure, but Fedora's obviously better funded than most all "free beer" distros, and it's pretty obvious where that money is coming from.
Chloe Montanez
Top Con

Gnome maybe too simplistic for some people

•••
You cannot really customize gnome to look like other things, and gnome nautilus is still too simple, it does not have enough features. Also, there is no icon by default on Desktop, that bothers some people.
See 17 more Pros & ConsSee 17 more Pros & Cons

Xubuntu

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Ray
Top Pro

Quick boot time

•••
Boots at about double the speed of most distributions.
Ray
Top Pro

Conservative, yet modern

•••
It comes with all Ubuntu goodness but without bloat, a perfect mix between new ideas and usability.
Ray
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.
Ray
Top Pro

Great performance

•••
Xubuntu is very fast and makes good use of resources.
Ray
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.
Ray
Top Con

UI is pretty generic without customization

•••
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.
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Mint

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Zack H
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...
Zack H
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.
Zack H
Top Pro

Easy installation and configuration

•••
Zack H
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 Windo...
Zack H
Top Pro

Complete and stable

•••
Complete and stable
Zack H
Top Pro

Provides LTS (long term support) versions

•••
Zack H
Top Pro

Popular

•••
Linux mint is currently the most hit page on DistroWatch. Because of its popularity, long term support is pretty guaranteed.
Zack H
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.
Zack H
Top Pro

Good community support

•••
InterestingSet
Top Pro

XFCE Support

•••
Xfce aims to be fast and lightweight DE
Zack H
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.
Monika
InterestingSet
Top Pro

XFCE Support

•••
Xfce aims to be fast and lightweight DE.
Zack H
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.
RespectfulUlanji
Top Con

Does not handle multiple languages well

•••
Zack H
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 packa...
Zack H
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.
WittyLempo
Top Con

Overdependent on Ubuntu

•••
They have tried to address this with a Debian-based release, but generally, packages, updates and even full upgrades follow Ubuntu slavishly.
Alex
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Cheap Windows substitute

•••
Linux Mint tries to be like Windows when it could be different and provide options.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Outdated software centers

•••
Many of the offered options are older versions.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Many proprietary (closed-source) packages

•••
By default, Linux Mint includes almost all the proprietary packages just to improve the user experience.
Ubuntu Tech
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 st...
Zack H
Top Con

Too many kernel crashes

•••
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openSUSE

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JollyTethra
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.
JollyTethra
Top Pro

"Tumbleweed" Rolling Release

•••
Regular and easy upgrades to stable and well tested software.
JollyTethra
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.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Poor support for nVidia drivers in Tumbleweed

•••
No native driver support and nouveau may be broken, especially for KDE, and not suitable for some GPUs.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Some clear differences from other Linux distros

•••
This might be a systemd issue or OpenSUSE specific, but changing certain text files does not update things. They must be edited in YaST, or in /etc/sysconfig/
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Complex permissions policy

•••
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Old kernel by the Leap version

•••
Kernel in Leap 42.3 is in version 4.4, that's pretty old.
Ubuntu Tech
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.
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Solus

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cosmo
Top Pro

Heavily optimized

•••
Ikey, the lead developer, used to work for Intel on the Clear Linux project, and he has brought with him many unique and powerful optimizations previously limited to Intel's custom distribution.
cosmo
Top Pro

Modern desktop environment

•••
The default desktop environment used by Solus is called Budgie and is quite nice and minimalistic.
cosmo
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.
cosmo
Top Pro

Rolling release

•••
cosmo
Top Pro

Built from scratch

•••
cosmo
Top Pro

Exclusively for desktop systems

•••
cosmo
Top Pro

Responsive

•••
System boots quickly and stays responsive. Does what operating system should do, and does it really well.
cosmo
Top Pro

Stable

•••
The system itself is very stable. All packages in the repository seem to be carefully picked, well prepared and run stable.
Monika
HumorousChiron
Top Pro

Great package management

•••
The software center makes it really easy to install the latest software. Including third party software.
cosmo
Top Con

Limited to the x86_64/AMD64 architecture

•••
If you want to use this distribution on anything else, you're out of luck.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

No USB Image writer

•••
Ubuntu Tech
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.
Ubuntu Tech
Top Con

Software a bit slower to launch than for other distributions

•••
See 11 more Pros & ConsSee 11 more Pros & Cons

Peppermint Linux OS

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Monika
JM80
CulturedArke
Top Pro

Much better on old laptops than most distros

•••
The only distro that is "faster" would be Puppy Linux Slacko.
CulturedArke
Top Pro

Comes with a variety of helpful tools

•••
Works great with teamviewer, synaptic, XNview, KODI and Pdf-Xchange editor (via playonlinux). Netflix works awesome with chrome browser. The ICE SSB tool is great for creating web apps that run as if you installed them locally. The Software Boutique (packaged with The MATE Welcome softwa...
JM80
CulturedArke
Top Pro

Fast and light on resources

•••
Ram Consumption is the same as LxLE, but more efficient and because of Whisker Menu and other tweaks that let us feel more like we have a XFCE desktop environment, as keyboard shortcuts, for instance, it looks like we'got here the fastest and lightest, globallty speaking. Very good on performan...
CulturedArke
Top Pro

Looks great

•••
The XFCE Whisker menus and dark theme are well designed. Easy to move the panel to the top and add plank on the bottom.
Know any negative aspects of this option?
See 3 more ProsSee 3 more Pros

openSUSE Tumbleweed (rpm based)

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KDE Neon

NonchalantBastet
Top Pro

The best looking Linux OS

•••
It really is a great and stunning looking OS.
NonchalantBastet
Top Pro

Configurability

•••
KDE Neon uses KDE as its desktop environment, which is highly configurable, but also has great defaults.
Know any negative aspects of this option?
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Ubuntu Budgie

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Zorin

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Zack H
Top Pro

Bundles tools for changing the look and feel of the distribution

•••
Zorin includes look changer and theme changer.
Zack H
Top Pro

Good selection of pre-installed software

•••
Zorin includes a good selection for everyday tasks out of the box.
Zack H
Top Pro

Partial Windows compatibility

•••
Zorin includes WINE and PlayOnLinux to run many Windows applications and games.
Zack H
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 2 more ProsSee 2 more Pros
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290 Community Recommendations

cosmo
Lucifer Morningstar
Aaron Nel
Travis Rigg
0xREDev
Don John
Horațiu Cristian Filip
iboyperson
Barbara Glowa
Fatwa Arif Kusuma
Muhamad Abdul Rosid
+243
Request recommendations from the community
IntellectualTakhar
IntellectualTakhar
Contributor for 4 days
1
Total 
Recs.
0
Total 
Karma
openSUSE
Recommended 4 days ago
Great choice if you want a rolling release with all preinstalled, Yast is great if you need a manager for a DE besides Gnome
See full
Ray
Ray
Contributor for 7 months
348
Total 
Recs.
70K
Total 
Karma
Xubuntu
Recommended 6 days ago
Great alternative to Ubuntu when doing a fresh install if you're a fan of Xfce like me.
Pro
 Comes with lightweight applications
Pro
 Great performance
Pro
 Customizable
Pro
 Conservative, yet modern
Pro
 Quick boot time
Con
 UI is pretty generic without customization
See full
cosmo
cosmo
Contributor for 3 months
38
Total 
Recs.
4.1K
Total 
Karma
Solus
Recommended 2 months ago
Probably the absolute best desktop distribution available for x86_64/AMD64 computers. It's got everything: rolling release, heavily optimized, beautiful, and easy to use.
Pro
 Modern desktop environment
Pro
 Easy installation
Pro
 Rolling release
Pro
 Built from scratch
Pro
 Exclusively for desktop systems
Pro
 Responsive
Pro
 Stable
Pro
 Heavily optimized
Con
 Limited to the x86_64/AMD64 architecture
See full
CulturedArke
CulturedArke
Contributor for 2 months
1
Total 
Recs.
200
Total 
Karma
Peppermint Linux OS
Recommended 2 months ago
after using linux lite (can't remember ver. but is the most recent) and peppermint 8 on a hp pavilion ze 2000 with amd semprom mobile +3000 single core at 1.8 ghz with 1.5 gb ram ddr-1 , broadcom wireless , and ati xpress m200(?) with shared memory of 256mb bios ver 27, I have found that ubuntus do not...
Pro
 Looks great
Pro
 Fast and light on resources
Pro
 Comes with a variety of helpful tools
Pro
 Much better on old laptops than most distros
See full
JollyTethra
JollyTethra
Contributor for 2 months
2
Total 
Recs.
200
Total 
Karma
openSUSE
Recommended 2 months ago
Blood free bleeding edge. OpenSUSE Tumbleweed is stable but up-to-date. YaST makes admin easy.
Pro
 Easy installation and administration
Pro
 "Tumbleweed" Rolling Release
Pro
 Amazing choice for both newbies and power users
See full
cosmo
cosmo
Contributor for 3 months
38
Total 
Recs.
4.1K
Total 
Karma
Ubuntu
2 months ago
Ubuntu is a server distribution trying to be a desktop distribution, and it shows. Updates are sparse and difficult compared to similar desktop distributions like Solus, Manjaro, and Antergos. The use of novel and niche software is similarly difficult.
Con
 Unstable
Pro
 UTF-8 is the default character encoding
Con
 Tends to do its own thing
Con
 Relatively high system requirements
Con
 Doesn't shutdown/standby properly on Lenovo laptops (b, e & g series)
Pro
 Just works out of the box
Pro
 Good PPA repositories available
Con
 Random system errors may pop up
Con
 Canonical (author) is proprietary
Con
 Canonical does not respect Ubuntu users' preferences
Con
 Software can be outdated, if not severely outdated
Con
 Security and privacy issues arising from integration with proprietary services
Con
 Fixed release model
See full
cosmo
cosmo
Contributor for 3 months
38
Total 
Recs.
4.1K
Total 
Karma
Manjaro
Recommended 2 months ago
It's all the goodness of Arch Linux wrapped and delivered in an easy, breezy package.
Pro
 Manjaro
Pro
 Latest kernels
Pro
 Arch User Repository access
Pro
 Based on Arch and user friendly
Pro
 Support for multiple kernels
Pro
 A rolling-release distribution
Pro
 Improved stability due to a longer testing period for new packages
Pro
 Stable and consistently up to date
Pro
 Installation is a breeze
Pro
 Uses low memory
Pro
 Excellent graphical package manager (Pamac)
Pro
 Friendly community
Pro
 All major desktops and even less common once like budgie, lumina, lxqt, deepin, enlightenment etc can be directly installed from official repositories
Pro
 Good documentation and forum
Con
 The Manjaro unstable repository is slow to sync with the Arch stable repository
Con
 Security issues
See full
cosmo
cosmo
Contributor for 3 months
38
Total 
Recs.
4.1K
Total 
Karma
Arch
Recommended 2 months ago
Always up to date, and incredibly stable for a rolling release distribution.
Pro
 A package for almost everything
Pro
 Simplicity is absolutely the principal objective behind Arch development
Pro
 As slim or copious as you want it
Pro
 Excellent package management with the AUR
Con
 Manual install process
Pro
 Fast and simple package management
Pro
 Support for a large variety of hardware
Pro
 Excellent documentation
Pro
 Cutting edge rolling release
Pro
 No restrictive handholding, pure control over everything
Con
 Not for the faint of heart
Pro
 Helpful community
See full
LivelyLuna
LivelyLuna
Contributor for 2 months
1
Total 
Recs.
0
Total 
Karma
Peppermint Linux OS
Recommended 2 months ago
Easy to use!
See full
IntuitiveKinieGer
IntuitiveKinieGer
Contributor for 4 months
1
Total 
Recs.
50
Total 
Karma
Ubuntu
Recommended 4 months ago
Very nice, customizable and stable distro. A lot of functions out of the box.
See full
Currently displaying 10 out of 290 total recommendations.
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