Gentoo Linux vs Linux Mint

You build the package from a source you can see and read. You decide which features you want to build in and which aren't needed. You can choose build options, optimisation and whatever else fancy stuff you want modified. With a binary distribution this simply isn't possible.

Portage is a package management system with a huge amount of options and features.

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

You are free to do whatever you want with it. As a result, its configuration reflects your unique taste and personality.

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.

Since everything is being built on your PC you can fine-tune the code to make use of your CPU. And all it requires is two lines of string variables in a global config.

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.

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.

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

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

You get superiority and get called smart daily for going through the processes of punishing yourself to a compile install you also get a cool neofetch logo.

Installation via a Live USB allows you to go back and fix mistakes from it without having to restart the whole installation process.

Mint is highly recommended for both users coming from Windows, as well as users coming from Ubuntu, but unhappy with Ubuntu's recent, rather dramatic interface changes. Mint provides an updated interface with a look and feel similar to Gnome 2, with an application menu reminiscent of the Windows 7 Start Menu, with categorization and search.

Mint comes bundled with software for browsing the web, editing pictures, browsing files, watching videos and even a full office suite (LibreOffice). An average user can use Mint right away after a fresh install, using all the software that comes with the distribution to complete most of their daily tasks.

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

It's based upon Ubuntu LTS or Debian.
It depends on which one you select - Linux Mint or Linux Mint Debian Edition.
The Debian Edition is even more stable.

Linux Mint uses the same installer as Ubuntu. It is very easy to use for beginners, and also allows more advanced users to choose their own partitions. Linux Mint's Cinnamon desktop is highly customizable and can be made to look however preferred.

Long Term Support versions are versions of software that are continuously updated for an extended period of time, even after newer versions are launched. LTS versions will typically get feature additions and enhancements for an extended period of time, then security updates up until its End of Life. An LTS release should typically be considered good for at least 5 years.

There are several different ways to get support for this distribution, including the forums, their IRC channel, or their github repositories if you think their software isn't behaving as it should.

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

The OS has different update settings for different users and has easy manual within the OS.

Linux Mint does maintain a free software environment, however, it does offer full support to proprietary software (Chrome, Skype, Teamviewer).

Linux Mint is not Canonical, while based upon Ubuntu.

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

The distro is the easiest operating system to run ever.

This tool backs up the core OS files to an external drive with an option for full encryption.

You can choose between Cinnamon, MATE and XFCE.

Linux Mint has a quite pretty default desktop. Cinnamon is adopted by other distros also.

Mint is extremely easy to install, and with community support, easy to move onto adjusting the OS to meet your specific needs. The vast majority of instructions for undertaking configuration work and are easy to understand.

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.