When comparing Complete Linux Installer vs GNURoot, the Slant community recommends Complete Linux Installer for most people. In the question“What are the best ways to run Linux applications on Android?” Complete Linux Installer is ranked 3rd while GNURoot is ranked 11th. The most important reason people chose Complete Linux Installer is:
Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, ArchLinux, Kali Linux, openSUSE. You can even install more than one at a time.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Multiple distributions available for download
Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, ArchLinux, Kali Linux, openSUSE. You can even install more than one at a time.
Pro Access to the Android filesystem
You can read and write files outside of the app's sandbox via a mount point in the chroot environment.
Pro Easy configuration
The images are preconfigured for Android, so everything mostly just works.
Pro Does not require a rooted phone
GNURoot is a completely self-contained app that cleanly uninstalls and doesn't need root permissions.
Pro Includes a VNC client for GUI apps
Setting it up takes some effort. And 3rd-party VNC client (or X server) apps might have a better user interface than GNURoot's default. These also work, but also take some effort to set up.
Cons
Con Drains battery
These are full desktop distributions. Running them takes a lot of power.
Con Requires root permissions
You can only install this on a rooted device.
Con Website is down
The project may have been abandoned.
Con Wakelocks on by default
It drains the battery pretty quickly when running.
Con Requires a lot of manual configuration
GNURoot doesn't hold your hand and isn't even documented very well. Getting anything graphical to run takes some doing.