A Linux distribution (Sometimes abbreviated as a 'distro') comprises of some form of the Linux Kernel, an init system (Such as systemd), GNU tools and libraries, documentation, a Package Manager and several other types of software. Often to provide a desktop experience a display server (Such as Xorg or a Wayland Compositor like Kwin), a Desktop Environments or Window Managers (Such as GNOME) and other programs may be included with the distribution or are installable from Repositories.
List of Linux Distributions
This is in no way an all inclusive list of Linux distributions and mostly covers the more notable ones, for a more comprehensive list of distributions see Distrowatch or the Wikipedia Article. Distributions are grouped by which distribution they are based on. Distributions in italics are abanonded.
Arch Based
Arch Linux is an independent distribution focused on the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle that focuses on being lightweight and flexible.
| Distribution | Description | Beginner Friendly % |
|---|---|---|
| EndeavourOS[1] | Arch but simplified for new users providing an easy way to install and setup with a lot of friendly GUI tools to update/rank mirrors and easily update system without requiring any Arch Linux experience. | 80% |
| ArcoLinux[2] | Basically simplified Arch Linux but with a lot of themes, customization and plenty of Desktop Environments, Window Managers and configurations. A good distribution for tinkerers. | 55% |
| Manjaro[3] | A once loved community project that had the best graphical AUR package management system that still is decent but causes a lot of package breakages[4] and somehow cyber attacks at the AUR repository (via pamac).[5] | 25% |
| Artix Linux[6] | This is what people like to call a, "protest distro". It is basically Arch Linux but without systemd. Yeah, not much else. It's installer is quite confusing and causes a lot of new users to have issues.
|
30% |
| Garuda Linux[7] | One of the more fancy Arch Linux based distributions where you get a lot of cool themes with their desktop environments and certain window managers. You can however get all the themes that Garuda provides literally anywhere else on the internet but hey if you want to save time customizing, Garuda gives you a good out-of-the-box impression of Arch Linux with a very nice and simple installation process. It is Arch Linux but more easy to setup. | 60% |
| SteamOS[8] | Not much important here but a notable distribution for those who use Steam handhelds, it is based on Arch Linux. | N/A (it is not a desktop OS) |
Debian Based
Debian is an independent distribution developed by the community-supported Debian Project which is developed openly and distributed freely.
| Distribution | Description | Beginner Friendly % |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu[9] | A very popular distribution that once was the best of them all but nowadays has been subtly ignored from the community due to the lack of Canonical's (parent company) decisions. You can still use it but it has a lot of things you would want to get rid of (snaps, telemetry, etc) | 85% |
| LMDE (Linux Mint)[10] | LMDE is Linux Mint Debian Edition, it is essentially Linux Mint but directly based on Debian rather than Ubuntu. A very nice pick for beginners. | 90% |
| Linux Mint[11] | The regular Linux Mint that features Ubuntu at it's core but stripped of all bad decisions of Canonical, it provides a lot of convenient features (printer support, etc) and is a quite stable distribution. | 95% |
| Pop!_OS[12] | One of the most ease to use distribution for any MacOS user who switches to Linux. It is made by System76 and assures a cozy, nice-looking distribution. It has not been updated in a while but their COSMIC Desktop Environment is almost finished, as soon as it does it will take become the best again. It also has amazing NVIDIA support and has a very nice application installing software. | N/A (it is 2 years old right now and an update is yet to be pushed) |
| Rhino Linux[13] | One of the more recent ones, Rhino Linux (made by AJ) is a rolling release distribution that focuses on the ease of users, it has its own package manager (started as a wrapper) that installs and updates both from apt (which in this case is nala, a better frontend) and pacstall (their own in-house replacement to AUR). Overall, an awesome distribution for anyone looking for an arch-like alternative. It also features its own Unicorn Desktop Environment that is based of XFCE and looks quite nice. It's package manager is named rpk which is Rhino Packager. It will update your whole system with ease. It is very easy to install and a drop-in replacement to people coming from MacOS
|
80% |
| Devuan[14] | It is yet another "protest distribution". Similar to Artix except it is Debian or in other words it is Debian without systemd. Yeah, that's it!
|
30% |
| PeppermintOS[15] | A very easy to use Debian-based stable distribution allowing a very minimal setup, it also has ISOs with Devuan base. | 60% |
Fedora Based
Fedora is a community supported distribution sponsored by RHEL. It aims to provide the latest software while maintaining a completely Free Software system.
| Distribution | Description | Beginner Friendly % |
|---|---|---|
| Nobara Project[16] | "The Nobara Project, to put it simply, is a modified version of Fedora Linux with user-friendly fixes added to it." - Nobara Team | 90% |
| QubesOS[17] | A very sophisticated distribution that ensures each app being in it's own whole virtual system which gives you the most privacy out of any distribution. It is very resource-taking for that reason too but you do get the most security (or as it says on the website, "Reasonable security"). | 15% |
| VanillaOS[18] | An immutable distribution that prevents any user to cause package breakages, what it means is that the whole system after being setup in the regular form is locked permanently only allowing new virtual machines to take up disk space, it's primary source of applications is from the Fedora's immutable package manager or a better Distrobox GUI to allow you to use software from any distribution. | 45% |
Gentoo Based
Gentoo is a highly flexible source-based distribution designed to have highly optimized and frequently updated software.
| Distribution | Description | Beginner Friendly % |
|---|---|---|
| ChromiumOS[19] | Yeah, all of you saw that coming, ChromiumOS despite using a heavily modified Gentoo base, it is still... a Gentoo base. | 85% |
| ChromeOS Flex[20] | Same here, it is a very heavily modified Gentoo kernel for laptops or PCs that are not ChromeOS compatible hardware. | 85% |
| Funtoo[21] | Funtoo is a community-developed Linux meta-distribution evolved from Gentoo, best optimized for performance on latest Intel or AMD hardware. | 20% |
| Xenia Linux[22] | An immutable modern distribution to get an up-to-date and stable desktop with pre-built ISOs including DEs. Really easy to install if you know some extent of Gentoo. | 25% |
Red Hat Enterprise Based
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a commercial distribution developed by Red Hat for the enterprise market.
| Distribution | Description |
|---|---|
Slackware Based
Slackware is a highly customizable distribution that stresses ease of maintenance and reliability over cutting-edge software and automated tools.
| Distribution | Description |
|---|---|
openSUSE Based
openSUSE is a community-developed distribution sponsored by SUSE. It maintains a strict policy of ensuring all code in the installs will be from FOSS solutions.
| Distribution | Description |
|---|---|
Ubuntu Based
Ubuntu is a distribution based on Debian developed by Canonical who provides commercial support for releases on desktops, servers and IOT devices.
| Distribution | Description |
|---|---|
Other Independent Distributions
| Distribution | Description |
|---|---|
| NixOS | A distribution built around the Nix package manager, which provides atomic upgrades, rollbacks, and a declarative configuration model. |
- ↑ https://endeavouros.com/
- ↑ https://arcolinux.com/
- ↑ https://manjaro.org/
- ↑ https://forum.manjaro.org/t/something-is-just-breaking-my-installation/92088https://forum.manjaro.org/t/update-breaks-the-manjaro-os/56107https://www.reddit.com/r/ManjaroLinux/comments/gt89rj/manjaro_breaking_and_stability_issues/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/archlinux/comments/mz3biz/is_the_aur_down_for_everyone/https://www.linux.org/threads/manjaro-accidently-ddosed-the-aur.34248/
- ↑ https://sourceforge.net/projects/artix-linux/
- ↑ https://sourceforge.net/projects/garuda-linux/
- ↑ https://store.steampowered.com/steamos
- ↑ https://ubuntu.com/
- ↑ https://www.linuxmint.com/download_lmde.php
- ↑ https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php
- ↑ https://pop.system76.com/
- ↑ https://rhinolinux.org/
- ↑ https://www.devuan.org/
- ↑ https://peppermintos.com/
- ↑ https://nobaraproject.org/
- ↑ https://www.qubes-os.org/
- ↑ https://vanillaos.org/
- ↑ https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/
- ↑ https://chromeos.google/products/chromeos-flex/
- ↑ http://www.funtoo.org/Welcome
- ↑ https://xenialinux.com/