When comparing Hardened Gentoo vs Artix Linux, the Slant community recommends Artix Linux for most people. In the question“What are the best Linux distributions for misanthropes?” Artix Linux is ranked 8th while Hardened Gentoo is ranked 36th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Supports custom hardened kernels
Your only real options for a widely supported hardened distro are the Red Had distros (Red Hat, CentOS, Fedora) of which Fedora is your best bet for a desktop , or Gentoo. You can make a hardened kernel in Gentoo while stripping unnecessary features, creating a much smaller attack surface, and using in-kernel mitigations others don’t.
Pro Comprehensive hardened guide in wiki
From SELinux to PaX to AppArmor to.... The wiki has got you covered.
Pro Fully customized kernel that prevents server-side malwares with SSO mechanisms
Out of CentOS /RedHat/Fedora a hardened kernel is very easy to make.
Pro Best defense against NOP-sled malwares, even with ROP/COP mechanisms
Out of CentOS/RedHat/Fedora/OpenSUSE/Slackware/FreeBSD/Mandriva and Arch, only Gentoo can best protect you against NOP-sled malwares, even with ROP/COP mechanisms.
Pro No systemd
Pro Runit
Artix actively supports the runit init system known from Void Linux. (Equally besides the OpenRC init system known from Gentoo).
Pro Close to bare Arch Linux
No learning curve if you're coming from Arch or any of its derivatives.
Pro Lightweight
Only the software you would need like Terminal emulator, file manager, media player and a browser.
Pro Compatible with Arch Repositories
It is fully compatible with almost all packages from community, extra, multilib and AUR.
Pro Rolling distro
Pro Flexibility
You can have a functional system in less than 10 mins using GUI installer OR you can do it "the Arch way".
Cons
Con No systemd
Some packages flat out won't work because systemd is non existent, sadly pipewire needs systemd to run. Hopefully Pipewire becomes usable soon. Edit: Pipewire does work but you will have to make a startup script.
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.