UtilitiesLinux

What are the best Linux distributions for Xfce?

30
Options 
Considered
0
User 
Recs.
Last 
Updated

Manjaro vs Linux Mint Xfce Edition vs Debian GNU/Linux

 vs Artix Linux vs MX-17 vs Endeavour OS vs Linux Lite vs Peppermint Linux OS vs MX Linux vs Arch Linux vs Whonix vs Void Linux vs Xubuntu vs Gentoo Linux vs Zorin OS vs Archman Linux vs openSUSE Tumbleweed vs Voyager Linux vs SolydXK vs Fedora vs Pop!_OS vs Devuan GNU+Linux vs antiX vs ArcoLinux vs Salient OS vs Ubuntu LTS vs Arch Linux Testing vs MX-16 Formerly Mepis vs Linux Lite 4.4 vs KDE Neon vs Antergos vs Elementary OS vs Windows vs Manjaro

Specs

Based On

Arch Linux

Default Desktop Environment

XFCE, KDE Plasma, GNOME

Init-System

systemd

Package Manager

pamac

Release Schedule

rolling

Main Usage

desktop

Official Supported Architectures

x64,ARM

OS Family

linux

Os Family

Linux

RAM

64

Desktop Environments

KDE Plasma

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment

-

Init-System

-

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

NONE

Default Desktop Environment

GNOME

Init-System

Systemd

Package Manager

dpkg with apt, aptitude or apt-build

Release Schedule

approximately every 24 months

Main Usage

Universal

Official Supported Architectures

amd64 (x86_64), arm64 (aarch64), armel, armhf, i386, mipsel, mips64el, ppc64el, s390x

OS Family

GNU/Linux

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

Binary

Initial Release

1993

Last Release

11.4 "bullseye"

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Arch Linux

Default Desktop Environment

Bash (Unix shell), Cinnamon, KDE Plasma, LXDE, LXQt, MATE and XFCE

Init-System

-

Package Manager

Pacman

Release Schedule

Rolling release

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

x86-64 (AMD64) and AArch64 (ARM64)

OS Family

GNU/Linux

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

Binary

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

Worldwide

Init Systems

Dinit, OpenRC, runit and s6

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

-

Default Desktop Environment

-

Init-System

-

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Arch Linux

Default Desktop Environment

Budgie, Cinnamon, Deepin, GNOME, i3, KDE Plasma, LXQt, MATE, Xfce

Init-System

Systemd

Package Manager

pacman

Release Schedule

Rolling

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

-

Os Family

GNU+Linux

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

Netherlands

Init Systems

-

Architecture

x64

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Debian>Ubuntu LTS

Default Desktop Environment

Xfce

Init-System

-

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Debian and Devuan

Default Desktop Environment

Xfce

Init-System

Systemd (not in Devuan base)

Package Manager

Debian Package Manager

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

amd64 and i386

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

United Kingdom

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Debian Stable>antiX

Default Desktop Environment

XFCE

Init-System

SysV-init (default) & systemD

Package Manager

Debian Package Manager

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

Stable System with backported Desktop

Official Supported Architectures

i386, amd64

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

Binary

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

Greece, USA

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

NONE

Default Desktop Environment

N/A

Init-System

Systemd

Package Manager

Pacman

Release Schedule

Rolling

Main Usage

Desktop with latest software

Official Supported Architectures

x86-64 (AMD64)

OS Family

GNU+Linux

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

Binary

Initial Release

2002

Last Release

-

Origin

Canada

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

5.16.0

Last Officially Updated

2020-05-16

Minimum Available Storage

800MiB

Minimum System RAM

512MiB

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Debian

Default Desktop Environment

KDE

Init-System

-

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

Live Desktop, Privacy

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Independent

Default Desktop Environment

CLI, XFCE, Cinnamon, Enlightenment, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, GNOME

Init-System

runit

Package Manager

XBPS & xbps-src

Release Schedule

Rolling

Main Usage

Universal

Official Supported Architectures

x86_64, i686, arm, arm platforms.

OS Family

GNU/Linux

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

Binary

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

Spain

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

musl / glibc

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Debian>Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment

Xfce

Init-System

Systemd

Package Manager

Debian Package Manager

Release Schedule

Point follows UBuntu)

Main Usage

Ubuntu with preinstalled Xfce desktop

Official Supported Architectures

amd64

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

Isle of Man

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

NONE

Default Desktop Environment

NONE

Init-System

OpenRC

Package Manager

Portage

Release Schedule

rolling release

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

GNU/Linux

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

Source or Binary

Initial Release

2002

Last Release

-

Origin

Canada

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Debian>Ubuntu LTS

Default Desktop Environment

Gnome / Xfce

Init-System

Systemd

Package Manager

Debian Package Manager

Release Schedule

Point (2 Year)

Main Usage

Windows-like Desktop

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

GNU+Linux

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Arch Linux

Default Desktop Environment

XFCE

Init-System

SystemD

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

monthly updated (rolling)

Main Usage

Last user (everyone)

Official Supported Architectures

x86_64

OS Family

Linux

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

rolling release

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

Turkey

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

up to date

Last Officially Updated

2021-08

Minimum Available Storage

20 GB

Minimum System RAM

1 GB

Standard Library

-

Price

Free

PackageManager

Pamac

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Jurix>SUSE

Default Desktop Environment

-

Init-System

Systemd

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

Rolling

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

Germany

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

Free

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Debian/Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment

GNOME or Xfce

Init-System

Systemd

Package Manager

Debian Package Manager

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

Live System, Desktop

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

GNU+Linux

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

Binary

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

France

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Debian Stable

Default Desktop Environment

Xfce, KDE

Init-System

Systemd

Package Manager

Debian Packgage Manager

Release Schedule

Point ( 6 Months )

Main Usage

Desktop

Official Supported Architectures

amd64

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Independent

Default Desktop Environment

GNOME

Init-System

Systemd

Package Manager

RPM Package Manager, DNF package manager

Release Schedule

Point (6 Months)

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

ARMv7 (armhfp, arm-32), ARMv8 (aarch64, arm-64), x86_64, PPC64LE, MIPS-64el, MIPS-el, RISC-V, s390x

OS Family

GNU+Linux

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

Binary

Initial Release

2003

Last Release

-

Origin

USA

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

6.08

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

42

Display Server

Wayland (default), X11

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

-

Default Desktop Environment

-

Init-System

-

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Debian

Default Desktop Environment

XFCE

Init-System

SysVinit, runit or OpenRC

Package Manager

dpkg with apt, aptitude or apt-build

Release Schedule

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

Main Usage

Servers, Industry(Stable/Oldstable) | Desktop, Multimedia(Testing/Unstable)

Official Supported Architectures

aarch64, armel, armhf, i386, ppc64le, amd64

OS Family

GNU/Linux

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

Binary

Initial Release

2016

Last Release

-

Origin

Worldwide

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Debian Stable

Default Desktop Environment

IceWM

Init-System

SysVInit

Package Manager

Debian Package Manager

Release Schedule

Point

Main Usage

Desktop

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

Binary

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Arch Linux (Rolling)

Default Desktop Environment

Openbox + Xfce + i3

Init-System

-

Package Manager

pacman

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

FREE

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

systemd

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

-

Default Desktop Environment

Xfce

Init-System

-

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

-

Default Desktop Environment

-

Init-System

-

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

-

Default Desktop Environment

-

Init-System

-

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

-

Default Desktop Environment

-

Init-System

-

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

-

Default Desktop Environment

-

Init-System

-

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Debian>Ubuntu LTS

Default Desktop Environment

KDE

Init-System

Systemd

Package Manager

Debian Package Manager

Release Schedule

Semi-Rolling

Main Usage

Desktop, Showcase for the KDE Desktop

Official Supported Architectures

amd64

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

United Kingdom

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Arch Linux

Default Desktop Environment

Cinnamon / GNOME 3 / KDE / i3 / MATE / Openbox / Xfce/ Deepin

Init-System

Systemd

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

Rolling Release

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

amd64

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

pacman

Great For

-

License

-

Based On

Debian>Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment

Pantheon

Init-System

Systemd

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

macOS-like Desktop, Showcase for the Pantheon Destop

Official Supported Architectures

amd64

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

Binary

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

UK

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

Professionals, Creatives and Students looking for an alternative

License

-

Based On

-

Default Desktop Environment

-

Init-System

-

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

Windows NT

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

EULA

Based On

-

Default Desktop Environment

-

Init-System

-

Package Manager

-

Release Schedule

-

Main Usage

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

OS Family

-

Os Family

-

RAM

-

Desktop Environments

-

Release Type

-

Initial Release

-

Last Release

-

Origin

-

Init Systems

-

Architecture

-

Current Linux Kernel

-

Last Officially Updated

-

Minimum Available Storage

-

Minimum System RAM

-

Standard Library

-

Price

-

PackageManager

-

Gnome

-

Display Server

-

Init-system

-

Package manager

-

Great For

-

License

-

Pros + Cons

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

Comment

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.
Comment

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

Comment

Pro
 Features

Tons of features available out of the box or installed.
Comment

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.
Comment

Pro
 Very good looking desktops

All desktops look good by default.
Comment

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.
Comment

Pro
 Good documentation and forum

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

Con
 Can still be unstable

Here are the details of it.
Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 Bloated

Comes stuffed with unneeded software. Usually Xfce implies hardware limitations.
Comment

Pro
 Better package manager

Pamac is much better than Octopi.
Comment

Pro
 Support for multiple kernels

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

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.
Comment

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.
Comment

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).
Comment

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)
Comment

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.
Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 As a rolling OS, it has some trouble with some applications after an update

VirtualBox is one of the worst apps for this, especially if you change Kernels
Comment

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.
Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 You can't change the default theme in certain applications

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

Con
 Uses systemd

Comment

Con
 Bad dependencies

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

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)
Comment

Pro
 Deepin desktop environment is a worthy attraction

Comment

Pro
 Steam installed by default

Comment

Con
 Nothing new

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

Con
 Redundant

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

Con
 Installation is extremely buggy

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

Con
 Same cons that apply to Arch Linux

Since it is based on Arch Linux.
Comment

Con
 Not as frequently updated as Arch

This leads to Manjaro using a bit older packages than Arch.
Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 Slightly bloated

Comment

Con
 Not for production

Rolling updates prevent it from being stable, constant need for maintenance makes it impossible to function as a workspace for anything.
Comment

Con
 Technical skill required

Must have technical knowledge to keep it functional.
Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 No gfvs pre-installed

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

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.
Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 It's Archbuntu

Comment

Con
 Nothing new

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

Pro
 Beautiful implementation of the Xfce desktop

Comment

Pro
 Everything works out of the box

Xfce is very intuitive and straightforward and Mint is very polished and stable.
Comment

Pro
 Most intuitively Windows-like

Comment

Pro
 Works on old and new hardware

Linux Mint XFCE can successfully run on all kinds of machines - for example, on a 2007, 2011, 2015, 2016 desktop PCs. It can also be installed on a USB drive and you could boot it on all of your computers.
Comment

Pro
 Very stable

Comment

Pro
 Good community support

Comment

Pro
 Built on Debian

Comment

Pro
 5 year long term support

Comment

Con
 Late on updates

Comment

Con
 Broken installer

Comment

Con
 mama

yummy yummy
Comment

Con
 mama

yummy yummy
Comment

Pro
 v v

Comment

Pro
 v v

Comment

Pro
 v v

Comment

Pro
 v

Comment

Pro
 v

Comment

Pro
 Very stable

Debian has a Stable branch, where packages are thoroughly tested before release. Furthermore Debian is know to be the definition of stable when it comes to production systems.
Comment

Pro
 Easy to find help with any problem

Debian is one of the oldest and most popular distros out there. Debian's popularity means that you will always be able to find a solution for your problem just by searching on Google, or if by chance nobody has had the problem you are having it's very easy to ask the community and quickly get a solution.
Comment

Pro
 Install and forget

Once installed you can almost forget about it and start to use your desktop for your daily tasks
Comment

Pro
 Big open-source project

The Debian project is the biggest open source project with over 5000 active contributors.
Comment

Pro
 The Debian Social Contract

Guaranteed commitment to adherence to values, principles, priorities, requirements and guidelines by the Debian project
Comment

Pro
 Great for gaming

As Debian is the base for SteamOS and because Ubuntu is based on it, it's almost certain that all Linux games will run properly and require no hacks like creating symbolic links because of some hardcoded paths.
Comment

Pro
 Strict seperation of non-free software

Debian is one of the few distros that let the user choose if he wants a free system or not.
Comment

Pro
 Wide choice of hardware platforms

Debian has the widest choice of hardware platforms, including: amd64, armel, armhf, i386, ia64, kfreebsd-i386, kfreebsd-amd64, mips, mipsel, powerpc, sparc, s390, s390x, source, multi-arch.
Comment

Pro
 Rolling or Release based

I run Debian Sid Xfce... super fast and offers the latest packages.
Comment

Pro
 A real installer

Unlike other distributions that just extract their Live image, Debian offers a real traditional and modular installer to customize the installation.
Comment

Pro
 Widely supported

Almost any software that is available for Linux provides a Debian package.
Comment

Pro
 Wide choice in desktop environments

Debian offers stable and testing CD images specifically built for GNOME (the default), KDE Plasma Workspaces, Xfce and LXDE. Less common window managers such as Enlightenment, Openbox, Fluxbox, GNUstep, IceWM, Window Maker and others can also be installed.
Comment

Pro
 Has small amount of today's bugs (e.g. no duplicate web cameras in Skype - likely not Skype's fault)

... But has not that small amount of bugs from 2016-2017 year for long term.
Comment

Pro
 Well-working team

The developer works very well so the the code is one of the best written out there.
Comment

Pro
 Highly secure system

Known for being consistent in maintaining a highly secure system. Several other popular distros use Debian as a base or core for their own Linux OS, the security being one of the main factors why it's so commonly used.
Comment

Pro
 A lot of ways to install software

You can either use aptitude, apt or apt-build to install software from the Debian package archives.
Comment

Pro
 Many ports

Debian supports almost any Kernel maintained CPU instructions set. It has also a few non Linux Ports.
Comment

Pro
 Comes with over 55.500 packages

Because of its popularity, Debian has a lot of applications available which range from productivity programs to business software, games and development tools. It comes with over 55.500 packages (software that is precompiled and ready to be installed on a local machine) -- all of them for free.
Comment

Pro
 Apt-build

It is possible to rebuild the entire system and optimize it for your hardware.(of course it is not detailed as Gentoo's USE flags)
Comment

Pro
 Standard vanilla Linux desktop

Debian runs standard Gnome, XFCE, KDE - it doesn't use its own special desktop environment, which means that users benefit from the work of the whole Linux community, Debian developers can focus on the distribution itself, and any support for your desktop environment on other distributions should work on Debian as well.
Comment

Pro
 Unique release cycle

The most Linux distros have one or two stages before a release, but Debian has five before a new stable version is released (experimental > unstable > testing > code-freeze/bug hunting > stable).
Comment

Pro
 Debconf

Depending how it is configured debconf does the most of the hard work for you and only asks you with configuration /file conflicts.
Comment

Pro
 Supports SecureBoot

You don't have to disable SecureBoot if you use it, which is useful for LiveUSB or dualboot setups.
Comment

Pro
 Great choice for returning Linux users

If you haven't used Linux for a long time, say 5-10 years, it's a great distro in which you can quickly get in the boat again. You don't have to worry about falling back. Everything is in its place.
Comment

Pro
 TUI installer

The Debian installer can still be launched as text/curses-like installer which is more compatible and keyboard-friendly than the graphical version.
Comment

Pro
 Debian Fast Track for stable

Stable gets backported software from: https://fasttrack.debian.net
Comment

Pro
 Live install images for CDs, DVDs and USB thumb drives

Debian releases live install images for CDs, DVDs and USB thumb drives, for the i386 and amd64 architectures, and with a choice of desktop environments. These Debian Live images allow the user to boot from a removable media and run Debian without affecting the contents of their computer.
Comment

Pro
 Standard archives

Debs are normal ar and tar archives with shell scripting and additional gz, bz, lzma or xz compression.
Comment

Pro
 Strict separation of non-free software

Debian is one of the few distros that let the user choose if he wants a free system or not.
Comment

Con
 No WiFi for Live System

Pretty much the only live system that doesn't offer ANY of the usual choices for a WiFi connection. Like Network Manager or WICD.
Comment

Con
 Finding help

Can be difficult to resolve an issue if you are not sure on what to search for. Lots of rabbit holes for newer user.
Comment

Con
 No good choices of fresh desktop environments

GNOME is quite outdated and buggy; KDE is too old, even in Sid it is at 5.14 branch (at Jun 13 2019 Plasma 5.16 is available in many rolling/fresh distros); XFCE behaves like crooked, visual artifacts at the taskbar and so on; Cinnamon as far as I know works better in Linux Mint compared to (almost) any other distro; For other desktop environments (e.g. MATE) can't say - these are too new (as projects) and possibly incomplete, thus might have many bugs.
Comment

Con
 Poor hardware support out of the box

For example, for WiFi adapters.
Comment

Con
 Stable release contains extremely outdated packages

If you want the newest packages, you'll have to do a minimal installation of Debian stable then upgrade to testing or you need to install testing directly.
Comment

Con
 No default support for non-free hardware

Non-free hardware will not work upon install of Debian and the user will need to search out the correct non-free software to install in order to make them work. This can be difficult if one of the things not working is the WiFi connection.
Comment

Con
 No choices

Debian basically doesn't give you any choices, even dpkg supports this feature with virtual packages: for example, it is very hard to use a different sound system than ALSA, like OSS4 or to use ALSA with pulse audio emulation, and the same goes for different init systems.
Comment

Con
 Internal quarrels harm the project

Instead of working all together to provide the best Operating System, some maintainers are just ignorant and aggressive to new ideas or new maintainers. That led to many crises and controversy in Debian's history.
Comment

Con
 Breaks if you suspend/resume

Breaks when you resume the activity on the system.
Comment

Con
 Ridiculous package splitting

Even though it makes sense to split devel and the actual binary of an application, the splitting has become as mess in debian and its derivates: for example the nvidia driver is splitted into over 40 different packages.
Comment

Pro
 Rolling distro

Comment

Pro
 No systemd

Comment

Pro
 Compatible with Arch Repositories

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

Con
 Few Arch packages might not be available yet

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

Pro
 Close to bare Arch Linux

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

Pro
 Lightweight

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

Pro
 Flexibility

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

Pro
 runit

Artix actively supports the runit init system known from Void Linux (equally besides the OpenRC init system known from Gentoo).
Comment

Pro
 Comes with a lot of goodies

Comment

Pro
 Friendly yet very configurable

Comment

Pro
 Lightning fast and stable

Comment

Pro
 Speed, encryption, drivers come with.

Comment

Con
 No systemd

Comment

Con
 So far, none.

Comment

Pro
 Great XFCE implementation

Their use of themes and configuration look great.
Comment

Pro
 Lightweight

Comment

Pro
 Easy installer

Comment

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.
Comment

Pro
 Great for low performance hardware

Easy on the specs and still blazingly fast.
Comment

Pro
 Really Fast

Currently using with xfce on 10 year old hardware and this thing flies. Love it.
Comment

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.
Comment

Pro
 Good overall system quality and performance

Lean, fast and surprisingly stable.
Comment

Pro
 Fast and simple package management

There can only be one Package Manager (pacman).
Comment

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.
Comment

Pro
 Helpful community

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

Pro
 Stripped down to the bone

Since it's stripped down, it is fast and you don't have to deal with bloatware.
Comment

Pro
 Great hardware support

Works much better than Ubuntu.
Comment

Pro
 Arch Linux Wiki

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

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.
Comment

Pro
 Great community

Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 Installer gives glitches/errors for some hardware

Comment

Con
 Broken installation

Stuck at grub rescue, no tutorial that works.
Comment

Pro
 Not based on Ubuntu

Comment

Con
 Not for everyone

Comment

Con
 Uses systemd

Comment

Con
 Kalu needs a little refinement

It's good that the developers try to carry on the legacy of Antergos, the only niggling thing that would be nice to see fixed is this: while it's nice to see news about updates, once you dismiss the notifications they should STAY dismissed. And just clicking on the icon brings Kalu to the foreground. Or have the functionality of turning off the news altogether would be well received.
Comment

Con
 NET installer updated

Comment

Con
 /

Comment

Pro
 Based on XFCE

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

Pro
 Works well with under 4 Gb RAM

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

Pro
 Good performance

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

Pro
 Beginner friendly

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

Pro
 Windows-alternative

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

Pro
 Has an efficient Update Manager

Updating Linux Lite is made a breeze by Update Manager.
Comment

Pro
 Active forum and helpful community

The forum is pretty active and community is very friendly and helpful. The creator of Linux Lite itself is active on the forum and helps to get problem sorted out.
Comment

Pro
 Low ram usage

Uses only about 560mb of ram at idle.
Comment

Pro
 Highly customizable

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

Con
 Working with local files can be messy

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

Con
 Not for beginners

It's for better for intermediate users.
Comment

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, globally speaking. Very good on performance. Download Respin 7 (March 2017), install Libreoffice and then compare, for example, opening Libreoffice Writer inside Peppermint 7, Extix 17.04, Lubuntu 16.10, Xubuntu 16.04, Backbox 4.7, Linux Mint 18.1 Xfce an Mate or Linux Lite 3.4 (and others). Finally, you'll find out that after opening a few apps in Peppermint it remains smooth and light. Nemo file explorer on Peppermint is incredibly faster than on Mint Cinnamon; lx terminal is very fast when opening; updating is fast. And after all this, distro keeps working and working very solidly and consistently along the time. And yet the look and feel of the environment is pleasant.
Comment

Pro
 Peppermint9 is stable

Peppermint 9OS (32 and 64 bit) has been updated to the Respin PPA.
Comment

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.
Comment

Pro
 Friendly and helpful forum

Comment

Pro
 Peppermint 10 is Stable

Comment

Pro
 It works well "Out Of The Box"

There are enough useful back end packages installed by default to make the system useable for normal use right after the installation of the base distro.
Comment

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 software Center) recognizes all software and installs it with one click.
Comment

Con
 Since it is based on Lubuntu, the double click speed needs to be slowed down

It's false that Peppermint 7 is tout court based on Lubuntu. Take a look at this: "Peppermint Seven makes use of the Xfwm4 window manager and Xfce bottom panel in the LXDE desktop environment. This is unlike other Linux distributions that use LXDE as the default desktop environment where it is common to use the Openbox window manager and lxpanel." And more: "Peppermint Seven is built on the Ubuntu 16.04 LTS code base and makes use of its package repositories." Contrarily to other Linux distributions, Peppermint creators never said Peppermint 7 is based on Lubuntu, like LXLE. Using LXDE and being based on Ubuntu is very different from being simply based on Lubuntu. In fact, Lubuntu is not faster than Peppermint and has loads of lacks for a nowadays OS experience.
Comment

Pro
 Very stable

Comment

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.
Comment

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).
Comment

Pro
 Based on Debian

It is based on Debian and not based on Ubuntu.
Comment

Pro
 Easy install

Comment

Pro
 Lightweight

Comment

Pro
 Easy to use

Comment

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.
Comment

Pro
 Focus on details

MX developers always pay a lot of attention to the details, to make sure everything works properly, such as good systray icons setup OOTB.
Comment

Pro
 Supports non-free drivers

Comment

Pro
 Test repository

You can update a lot of apps whithout waiting for Debian repository update.
Comment

Pro
 No systemd

Comment

Pro
 MX version 21.1 does have systemd as well

Comment

Con
 Only two Desktop Environments

Comment

Pro
 Focus on Details

MX developers always pay a lot of attention on the details to make sure everything works properly, such as good systray icons setup OOTB.
Comment

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.
Comment

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 that's accessible to newcomers, and very instructive about how Linux actually works. The documentation is often so thorough that, when searching for solutions to problems while using other distributions, such as with video card drivers, oftentimes you'll find the most effective solution in the Arch Linux wiki or on the forums.
Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 Not really for desktop

More like for posting screenshots on Reddit.
Comment

Pro
 Stripped down to the bone

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

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 package management is combined into one tool instead of being split into dpkg, apt-get, and apt-cache like on Debian distros.
Comment

Con
 pacman is a slow package manager

Compared to other distribution packages the extracting of a pacman package archives is taking ages.
Comment

Pro
 Arch Linux Wiki

The Arch Linux Wiki is very useful not just for Arch Linux users, but for anyone who uses Linux.
Comment

Pro
 Highly customizable

Tailor the system to your needs.
Comment

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 installing from the AUR, or installing an AUR helper - these work along side the main package manager (Pacman), but are a bit less standardized or heavily supported.
Comment

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 parts to plug in, you can make it work.
Comment

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.
Comment

Pro
 Simple by design

Arch Linux is actually incredibly simple. It's really just a partition scheme, package manager, Linux kernel, file system, systemd and the bare minimum of utilities needed to easily set up your hardware. This makes it super simple to build your desired system using binary packages because there no bloat getting in your way when installing or configuring packages.
Comment

Pro
 Incredible educational value

Arch gives great insight in the inner workings of operating systems, computers and data manipulation.
Comment

Pro
 Minimal

If you need something, you should install it. It has nothing as default and you can build your system from zero.
Comment

Pro
 Vanilla

Learn about Arch, learn about Linux. What works for Arch, works for many other distros too.
Comment

Pro
 Helpful 3rd-party installers

There are extremely helpful 3rd-party installers such as Anarchy Linux (Formerly Arch Anywhere).
Comment

Pro
 Rolling updates

Updating will keep the whole OS up to date (unlike Ubuntu/Debian/etc. where occasionally you will need to perform major version updates).
Comment

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 is hardly noticeably effort. However it can be difficult for people without a high bandwidth connection, or with limits on how many GB can be downloaded imposed by their internet service providers. A GB a month of downloads is quite possible. This can be somewhat offset by Arch being lightweight, besides the relatively small core, the user selects what is installed (and has to be updated).
Comment

Pro
 On average only 1 manual intervention needed a year now

The comments about issues with upgrades are over-exaggerated. Those comments assume that : A) They happen often, B) you are using a specific package with an issue, C) that package maintainers can't release a patch to the package that will work around the issue for you, and that D) Manual intervention or system recovery from such issues is hard to fix. On average once or twice a year a user may have to cut and paste some commands in the terminal to fix an issue, but that's about it. Additionally any system recovery required from such missed interventions is easy, just follow the wiki and make a live USB if your using a desktop or laptop.
Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 Works only on AMD64

It is the only official supported instruction set of CPUs.
Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 Occasional upstream package bugs

Most package maintainers look for issues that the packages might have ispecifically for arch. Which means if a package has a bug that applies to all Linux distros regardless of the flavor, the maintainer may not be able to: A) catch it before pushing a update or B) have to wait for the packages developers to fix it. This is a minor issue because most issues are often patched before the end of the day if many users rely on it, or if its a less used package there will be specific troubleshooting instructions on the arch site.
Comment

Con
 Instability can be an issue

Sometimes you can have a surprise, but in most cases it can be fixed quickly.
Comment

Con
 Not for the faint of heart

You need to be very careful with updates.
Comment

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.
Comment

Pro
 An opportunity to improve

The process of learning to setup and use Arch will improve your skills with Linux and computers in general.
Comment

Pro
 No need for external repos

The default and community repo of Arch Linux are so vast, that there is barely any need for additional software sources. And if there is, the additional software can be added to AUR, which results in the need actually growing the Arch repos.
Comment

Pro
 It is Linux at the core

This distro is barebones enough to make a new distro from.
Comment

Pro
 Huge Repositories

Although Arch Linux only comes with around 10,000 packages, you can use the Arch User Repositories (AUR) which will add over 50,000 more packages.
Comment

Con
 You have to install everything by hand on a command line

This might be seen as a CON by a lot of people that are new to Linux but as a PRO to those who want to learn something new.
Comment

Con
 Highly egoistic fanbase community

Comment

Con
 Not so great overall

Apart from the ArchBuildSystem/AUR, which brings you very quickly newer package versions, there is not really much where Arch Linux shines. You get better package managers with other systems. The most Linux distributions are far more stable than Arch. You learn more about Linux by using LFS or a source based distribution. You can customize the system much more in LFS or Gentoo.
Comment

Con
 Systemd

Uses systemd which makes it incompatible to the UNIX world.
Comment

Con
 Lost its way

It aimed to be KISS but it has lost its way and is getting more and more complex, for example, it uses systemd which is anything but KISS. It also has now some kind of package post configuration included.
Comment

Con
 No Graphical Installer

Although some derivatives such as Manjaro and ArcoLinux exist.
Comment

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.
Comment

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 update. If the user does not plan to read the forums weekly/daily or update fairly often, things can go wrong very fast.
Comment

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 would be to write them yourself. It's very useful.
Comment

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.
Comment

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 way you don't have to waste time with software you don't need or want.
Comment

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 instead of trying to outright solve their problem in a forum thread. This is quite helpful for people who want to really learn how their system works but also for other people who may stumble in that thread considering how most problems don’t have a universal solution.
Comment

Pro
 Very lightweight

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

Pro
 Runit init system

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

Pro
 Musl image available

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

Pro
 Rolling release

A single instance of Void will be supported forever without needing to reinstall.
Comment

Pro
 Very minimal

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

Pro
 BSD-like improvements with Linux

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

Pro
 Easy to use installer

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

Pro
 Runit is fast and easy to configure

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

Pro
 Xbps-src

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

Pro
 xbps (X Binary Package System)

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

Pro
 Uses LibreSSL

LibreSSL is a fork of OpenSSL by OpenBSD developers that aims to be more secure.
Comment

Pro
 Easy to use

Ubuntu's ease of use, without the nightmare that is Ubuntu's broken UI.
Comment

Pro
 Great performance

Xubuntu is very fast and makes good use of resources.
Comment

Pro
 Clean GUI

Clean graphical user interface without unnecessary graphical objects or functionality. Less is more.
Comment

Pro
 Low resources

Low resource hardware, customizable and very fast.
Comment

Pro
 Fast

Works great on older hardware without the sacrifice that comes with other distros.
Comment

Pro
 Conservative, yet modern

It comes with all Ubuntu goodness but without bloat, a perfect mix between new ideas and usability.
Comment

Pro
 Customization

Easy to modify to your liking, from the UI to the panel to how menus are accessed.
Comment

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.
Comment

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. There's literally nothing you can't change in GUI.
Comment

Pro
 Quick boot time

Boots at about double the speed of most distributions.
Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 XFCE development is slow

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

Con
 The Snap package manager is broken

Comment

Con
 Some trouble with dual screen icons management on a laptop

Comment

Con
 Bloated

Uses many third party apps to provide a full XFCE desktop.
Comment

Con
 Redundant

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

Pro
 Conservative, yet modern

It comes with all Ubuntu goodness but without bloat, a perfect mix between new ideas and usability.
Comment

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

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

Pro
 Fully customizable

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

Pro
 Can be officially systemd-free

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

Pro
 Full control of the software

Comment

Pro
 Documentation and community are second to none

Provides a whole handbook to refer to during setup and usage.
Comment

Pro
 Gentoo does not impose a standard look-and-feel

Comment

Pro
 Portage's emerge is powerful

Comment

Pro
 A very large collection of software is available

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

Pro
 Portability

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

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

Since everything is being built on your PC you can tune the code to make use of your CPU.
Comment

Pro
 Live USB

Comment

Pro
 Windows desktop style

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

Pro
 Stable

Comment

Pro
 Low resources consumption

Comment

Pro
 Multiple beautiful interface themes

With multiple styles, there is something for everyone.
Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 Laptop lid problems

Many users report problems with closing and re-opening the laptop lid, this seems to be a known XFCE bug.
Comment

Pro
 Installer can set up dual boot

Comment

Pro
 Ubuntu-based

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

Pro
 Partial Windows compatibility

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

Pro
 Archman Xfce

Archman Xfce easy, fast and visual
Comment

Pro
 Handy, easy to install, effective, has a variety of Sessions.

Comment

Pro
 Tumbleweed + OpenSUSE Build Service

Comment

Pro
 Good selection of preinstalled applications

Comment

Con
 Complex multimedia codecs and plugins installation

Comment

Con
 Little / no third-party support

Like it or not, most third parties don't want to deal with less-popular distros. So most of them only support Ubuntu LTS and those versions of RHEL/CentOS that are still supported.
Comment

Pro
 Stable

Tumbleweed is stable enough to use every day. Updates are OpenQA tested to ensure stability before being released for Tumbleweed. Bleeding edge untested software can be tried using OpenSUSE factory.
Comment

Pro
 Fully compatible with Debian without requiring any technical knowledge

Comment

Pro
 Stable system with option for latest software via backports

Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 dnfdragora needs work

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

Con
 Controlled by big corporations

Comment

Con
 Uses Systemd

Comment

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

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

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.
Comment

Pro
 Spins and Labs

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

Con
 Slow

It is quite slow on some computers.
Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 Focused on binary release Debian and worse at source build infrastructure

Arch provides simple and effective buildpkg script and it just works.
Comment

Con
 Windows-like system updates

You have to reboot when updating and the loading screen is just like Windows.
Comment

Con
 Optimus support is straight terrible

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

Con
 Not for beginners

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

Con
 Unstable

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

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.
Comment

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.
Comment

Pro
 Nice gnome theme dy default

Has nice gnome theme looks really good.
Comment

Pro
 User-friendly installer

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

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.
Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 Inhouse version of US manufacturer

Comment

Pro
 It's Debian

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

Pro
 Stability

It is stable like Debian.
Comment

Pro
 Excellent for normal people

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

Pro
 Excellent support forum

Anticapitalists and the team are friendly, welcoming, knowledgeable and helpful.
Comment

Pro
 No systemd

One massive point of failure by design. The antithesis of KISS.
Comment

Pro
 Extremely lightweight

Has a 70-90MB memory footprint.
Comment

Con
 It's not Ubuntu...

...if you need spoon-feeding.
Comment

Pro
 Easy to install desktop environments

Thanks to the manuals provided by the developers it is really easy to install more than 10 different desktop environments that'll work at the same time!
Comment

Pro
 Easy to install, handles system memory well, and a great way to learn Arch Linux

Incredibly fast, easy to install, tons of software pre-installed and easily installs more.
Comment

Pro
 Easy to install NVIDIA Drivers

Has option to install NVIDIA proprietary drivers. Runs great.
Comment

Pro
 Helps you to become a Arch Linux user

Comment

Pro
 Community support is great

Need to install Discord on cell phone and computer. Fastest way to receive help. Community is mostly European on Discord so getting help at midnight may be a challenge.
Comment

Pro
 Easy to install

Unbelievably fast for ArcoLinux with XFCE, Openbox, I3.
Comment

Pro
 Customized and great performance

Its really good customized, and the performance was the best of my laptop 2 gb ram 50 Gb ROM.
Comment

Pro
 Fast, Nvidia versions

No need to install Nvidia, detected out of the box, blazingly fast.
Comment

Pro
 Repair Tools and Persistent Installation

Comment

Pro
 It just works in every aspect; better than ALL others linux distros

Comment

Pro
 Configurability

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

Pro
 Works well on low-end computers

Comment

Pro
 The best looking Linux OS

It really is a great and stunning looking OS.
Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 UEFI required

Tried to install on an HP Elitebook 8460p. Installed properly, but would not boot due to requiring a UEFI BIOS.
Comment

Pro
 Rolling release model make is easy to keep apps on updated versions

Antergos is a rolling release distribution (as it's based on Arch Linux). Your entire system, from the base OS components to the applications that you install, will receive updates as they are released upstream—with only a minimal delay to ensure stability.
Comment

Pro
 Offers choice of desktop environment on installation

Ability to choose your preferred desktop environment on installation.
Comment

Pro
 Easy to install

ArchLinux is rather hard to install using command line. Antergos's advantage is the easy installation using a GUI. So instead of manual installation of software you can just download Antergos which does things for you automatically.
Comment

Pro
 Offers minimal ISO download

Comment

Pro
 Arch User Repository access

It can visit AUR to build packages.
Comment

Pro
 Surprisingly stable Linux desktop

From popular distros of rolling and standard releases, compared to Debian (stable) and Arch, Antergos stability rocks. Debian is stable, however, it's with old packages and Arch. The only thing that broke it, so far, was compiz-manjaro (C++ 0.9 branch) from AUR, but compiz in Antergos repositories is 0.8 and it is working flawlessly.
Comment

Pro
 Extremely fast

Everything runs at the speed of light. Antergos is super responsive and programs/apps runs effortlessly.
Comment

Con
 The installer breaks often

The installer, cnchi breaks all the time. It's very buggy.
Comment

Con
 Package popularity is not visible in Antergos repositories

Small issue, but would be nice to see package popularity in Antergos repos, just like it is visible for AUR. packages. Antergos with AUR gives access practically to all possible packages, so popularity could help in this sea of packages.
Comment

Pro
 First Linux desktop that makes Windows look bad

Antergos has very nice default themes (KDE/Plasma and Gnome/GTK), which combined with Compiz 0.8, makes Windows looks sad. Antergos can even compete with Windows in regards to stability.
Comment

Con
 Rolling release problems

Rolling release is quite pain sometimes. You might face some problem with a bugged application since you always get the latest version. This problem is a little bit solved by Manjaro distro where applications are tested but updates are slower than usual.
Comment

Pro
 UI design consistency

Excellent uniformity between all the stock application and an overall extremely clean design with simple animations.
Comment

Pro
 If you like MacOSX the UI/UX is similar

Comment

Pro
 Lightweight & fast

Runs well on limited-resources hardware, including netbooks or chromebooks.
Comment

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.
Comment

Con
 Not preloaded with Xfce

Seriously, just remove this. Sure, you can install Xfce on it as it's basically Ubuntu, but it's not the best experience, since you'll end up with duplicate apps.
Comment

Con
 Most software is closed source, including the operating system itself

Comment

Con
 Uses more resources than most alternatives

Comment

Con
 There are some privacy issues

By definition, it's spyware. Pre-compromised OS.
Comment

Con
 Embarrassing to give talks

On conferences or in user groups the audience laugh at speakers presenting their talk on a Windows machine.
Comment

Con
 Lacks package management

It is not easy to install/keep current development packages that developers need and use.
Comment

Pro
 Stable

Comment

Pro
 Widely used

Windows is the most-used desktop OS in the world.
Comment

Con
 Obviously missing common software, tiny 'oops' bugs everywhere

No printing, as example.
Comment

Pro
 Beautiful Xfce desk-top for the ARCH OS.

Comment

Con
 Redundant

Comment
undefinedurl nextprice drop