When comparing VectorLinux Light vs Devuan GNU+Linux, the Slant community recommends Devuan GNU+Linux for most people. In the question“What are the best Linux distributions for an old machine?” Devuan GNU+Linux is ranked 38th while VectorLinux Light is ranked 52nd. The most important reason people chose Devuan GNU+Linux is:
It is stable like Debian.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Very low minimum requirements
Can run on 128MB RAM, although 256MB is recommended.
Pro Stability
It is stable like Debian.
Pro It's Debian
Devuan is Debian just without systemd, it just mirrors the the Debian archive and repacks packages that have hard dependencies on systemd.
Pro Excellent for normal people
It is easy to use and is a good choice for beginners.
Pro No Systemd
Pro Most decent look amongst other XFCE distros
Default XFCE theme is unique of all the XFCE distos including MXLinux, Xubuntu etc.
Cons
Con Limited amount of software in repositories
While Vector Linux is good for common tasks, it contains a much smaller amount of software in its repositories compared to the mainstream distributions.
Con Difficult to install on non-free hardware
Unlike Debian, Devuan offers no unfree netinstall media, so if your system needs unfree drivers (e.g a laptop or a tablet), you'll have to download the Debian firmware on a separate USB.
Con No systemd
Con Fragmentation
Forked distributions like Devuan and Artix fragment the Linux community and hurt the original project. Debian users who do not want systemd should use Slackware or BSD instead.