When comparing Puppy Linux vs Void Linux, the Slant community recommends Void Linux for most people. In the question“What are the best Linux distributions for desktops?” Void Linux is ranked 9th while Puppy Linux is ranked 10th. The most important reason people chose Void Linux is:
A single instance of Void will be supported forever without needing to reinstall (you can update the system every day instead of having to install one major update every 6 months or so).
Specs
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Pros
Pro Extremely low minimum system requirements
Puppy Linux requires 128MB of RAM and 333Mhz of CPU, although 256MB of RAM is recommended.
Pro The whole OS runs off of RAM
Since Puppy Linux is completely loaded and run off of RAM instead of HDD, it's read/write speed is not a factor.
Pro Designed to run as a live USB/CD
A portable version, that can be carried on a thumb drive without requiring installation, weighs less than 100MB; a Live CD - less than 150MB. You can even save your settings and files for Puppy on the external device/media.
Running off a live CD also has security benefits, as your system will reset to the known config after each boot.
Pro Different distro based versions available
Puppy Linux offers a few different releases.
The first is an Ubuntu based release called Tahrpup, by using this version the user is able to take advantage of all software and support from Ubuntu.
The second version is called Slacko, which is built upon the Slackware binaries.
The third is called Wary and it is built to support older hardware than the rest.
And the fourth is called Quirky, which is used as a base to explore new ideas.
Pro Linux distro designed for this exact purpose
Pro Offers a long term support release
Puppy Linux offers an LTS release called Precise.
Pro It can be the only distro that works
Sometimes, Puppy Linux is the only distro that works on an old machine: all other distros are more demanding.
Pro JWM used as window manager
JWM is a low resource window manager that is used in most Puppy Linux installs.
Pro Rolling release
A single instance of Void will be supported forever without needing to reinstall (you can update the system every day instead of having to install one major update every 6 months or so).
Pro Very minimal
More minimalistic than Arch since it doesn't use systemd.
Pro Runit init system
An init system with the "do one thing and do it right" mentality. Void Linux does not support systemd.
Pro Easy to use installer
Unlike it's closest competitor, Arch, Void includes a very user-friendly and simple installer in the ISO.
Pro Runit is fast and easy to configure
Runit init system is incredibly fast to boot and very simple to use.
Pro Different DE's live ISO's are available
Arch Linux doesn't make ISO's with different DE's. One need to manually install it through CLI version. But Void which is competitor of Arch, provides a wide range of DE's ISOs.
Pro Very lightweight
Base installation can idle at less than 250 megabytes of RAM.
Pro XBPS (X Binary Package System)
A brand new package manager that is fast, full-featured, and tailored specifically for Void Linux.
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.
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.
Pro Friendly forum
Unlike the Arch Forum, it is a friendly forum (although small).
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.
Pro Many packages
There are some packages in official repos, than may be found only in AUR.
Pro Cool Neofetch logo
Neofetch looks good.
Pro No systemd
Uses runit instead of systemd.
Cons
Con A bit ugly
Using puppy makes you feel like you just jumped 20 years into the past. Being that the purpose of Puppy Linux is to run or really low resource machines the software used is often on the older side, which is precisely why it has a 20 year old look.
Con Not as light as it used to be
It's light, but not as light as it was 1-2 years ago.
Con Smallest software library ever
You can barely find any precompiled packages for Puppy.
Con No built in compositing
Being a low resource distro there is zero built in compositing for the JWM window manager. Though one can be added through a bit of work.
Con Not suitable for those new to Linux
Documentation is scarce, NTFS partitions aren't automatically mounted, etc.
Con Not popular
Void Linux is not a popular Linux distro. So, if you run into a problem then it's likely you won't find any fix except from the maintainers.
Con Manual unclear about base configuration
Manual does not explain how to fix GRUB and gives no partition hints to the available options.
Con Niche distro
Fewer developers, smaller community, fewer packages than other distros.
Con Nvidia CUDA cumbersome to setup
If your using a Nvidia card with programs that require CUDA for fast rendering (Blender), you can expect some trouble getting it to work as it's not included with the Nvidiadriver of the nonfree repo.
Con No packages
Void developers refuse to package brave.