When comparing Solus vs Antergos, the Slant community recommends Solus for most people. In the question“What are the best Linux distributions for misanthropes?” Solus is ranked 40th while Antergos is ranked 65th. The most important reason people chose Solus is:
Which means you don't have to suffer from version to version updates that can break it.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Rolling release
Which means you don't have to suffer from version to version updates that can break it.
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.
Pro Modern desktop environment
The default desktop environment used by Solus is called Budgie and is quite nice and minimalistic.
Pro Stable
The system itself is very stable. All packages in the repository seem to be carefully picked, well prepared and run stable.
Pro Responsive
System boots quickly and stays responsive. Does what operating system should do, and does it really well.
Pro Most stable Rolling Release Distro
Pro Exclusively for desktop systems
Pro Great package management
The software center makes it really easy to install the latest software through Snappy and Flatpak. Including third party software.
Pro Rock-solid Distro
Very stable and well curated.
Pro Lightning fast boot time
Pro Seamless packages
It may not have the most obscure packages, but the packages it does have is a good number of everything a Linux user needs. Gamers, developers, desktop users, etc. all have the necessary packages and then some. The packages themselves are integrated perfectly and are very well updated.
Pro Default experience is clean and easy
The default desktop experience on the Budgie version is very clean and streamlined. Although the Budgie DE isn't the most customisable, but it's customisable enough for me to recreate the desktop style of ElementaryOS with the dock and bar at the top.
Pro Friendly towards proprietary codecs, firmware and drivers
So you won't have to enable PPAs or extra repos for that.
Pro Well curated software
The software is well curated in the repos, you have access to flatpaks and snaps, so virtually, all the software you'll ever need is there for you.
Pro Friendly community
The only community who values the newcomers. Very helpful community.
Pro Built from scratch
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.
Pro Rolling release model make it 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.
Pro Offers choice of desktop environment on installation
Ability to choose your preferred desktop environment on installation.
Pro It comes with every essential utility pre-installed
Pro Arch User Repository access
It can visit AUR to build packages.
Pro Offers minimal ISO download
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.
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.
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).
Pro Extremely fast
Everything runs at the speed of light. Antergos is super responsive and programs/apps runs effortlessly.
Cons
Con Not much software
There is not much software available.
Con Lack of software in repositories
There is a lack of software in the repositories. This is the only OS where I have had to build some applications from source or install from the app's site within the first month os usage. Though this is most likely because the distro is still relatively new.
Con There is often a black screen after update
Con An upgrade breaks the system quite often
Con Forums are not very friendly
Con Systemd
Con No USB Image writer
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.
Con Slow development
Con Software a bit slower to launch than for other distributions
Con Antergos project has been discontinued (May 2019)
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.
Con The installer breaks often
The installer, cnchi breaks all the time. It's very buggy.
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.