The best Linux dis­tri­bu­tions (operating systems)

There are many different Linux dis­tri­bu­tions for a wide range of purposes. While security and support are important criteria for companies, private users tend to focus more on systems being up-to-date and including graphical features. Linux is an equi­val­ent and (largely) free al­tern­at­ive to Windows and Mac.

PC or Mac? It’s a somewhat outdated or in­com­plete question. Even if Linux is still somewhat unknown among many users, its different dis­tri­bu­tions are in­creas­ingly im­press­ing users. Linux dis­tri­bu­tions now exist for a wide range of ap­plic­a­tions. Newcomers switching to Linux for the first time may find it difficult to keep track and find the best system for their needs. This guide high­lights the top Linux dis­tri­bu­tions to help you find the one that’s right for you.

Switching from Mac or PC to Linux should be as smooth as possible. Graphical aids such as in­stall­a­tion wizards or package managers are just as important as the desktop en­vir­on­ment, some pre-installed software, and a helpful community. The best Linux dis­tri­bu­tions for beginners include:

Around since 2004, Ubuntu is a classic Linux dis­tri­bu­tion. The operating system is aimed at different user groups and sim­pli­fies the first steps for beginners. On the one hand, Ubuntu is cus­tom­is­able, but also offers numerous technical tools to simplify in­stall­a­tion and con­fig­ur­a­tion. Many programs are pre-installed, and ad­di­tion­al packages can be con­veni­ently added. Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux dis­tri­bu­tions and the basis for numerous other operating systems.

Find out more about Ubuntu in our dedicated article.

Debian is what Ubuntu is based on, making it one of the oldest Linux dis­tri­bu­tions. It was released and developed in 1993. For a long time, the abundance of software packages for Debian was un­sur­passed and it is still notable. Com­mer­cial programs are easy to install. In­stall­a­tion, main­ten­ance and usage are intuitive and not par­tic­u­larly difficult for both Windows and Mac users. The package is managed via dpkg. For any errors, a huge community provides support and advice for users.

Read more about Debian in our article.

Linux Mint is also based on Ubuntu and is now an es­tab­lished al­tern­at­ive. The operating system is based on specially designed desktop en­vir­on­ments and comes with important software pre-installed. The system is con­sidered stable and user-friendly. Hardware support, useful security tools, and a practical file manager are available. For (former) Windows users, Linux Mint is worth con­sid­er­ing.

Check out our guide on Linux Mint for an in-depth in­tro­duc­tion.

Manjaro Linux is based on the soph­ist­ic­ated Arch Linux, combining a free and in­di­vidu­al approach with numerous graphical tools. The result is an operating system that is re­l­at­ively slim (depending on the version) and makes it easier for newcomers to get started. Manjaro Linux offers several desktop in­ter­faces, the Calamares in­stall­a­tion tool and a package man­age­ment with its own frontend. Since Manjaro Linux uses the rolling release principle, the operating system is always up to date.

Want to learn more about Manjaro Linux? Read our dedicated guide on the Linux dis­tri­bu­tion.

Ele­ment­ary OS is the ideal operating system for former Mac users. Usage and in­ter­faces are re­min­is­cent of the well-known Apple products. Ele­ment­ary OS also prides itself on simple operation. It comes with pre-installed programs and an app store to add software to. Besides the desktop en­vir­on­ment Pantheon, the team behind Ele­ment­ary OS provides numerous other programs and projects that have been optimized for use with the operating system.

Find out more about Ele­ment­ary OS 6.

Linux is not only aimed at beginners. For more advanced users wishing to set up and optimise their operating system there are plenty of Linux dis­tri­bu­tions available offering little more than a terminal. Other options are aimed at users familiar with computer or network ar­chi­tec­ture.

Fans of Linux consider Arch Linux the `pure´ dis­tri­bu­tion. The min­im­al­ist­ic operating system forgoes any graphical tools. As such Arch Linux is slim and cus­tom­is­able, but this could scare away newcomers. Sim­pli­city is part of the basic idea of Arch Linux, but here it refers to the dis­tri­bu­tion’s features. Arch Linux is managed with Pacman and is a suitable base for most purposes if the user sets up the system ac­cord­ingly.

Read on to find out more about Arch Linux.

Kali Linux is often referred to as Hacker Linux. In fact, the main task of the operating system is security. Kali Linux provides numerous features for testing and main­tain­ing computers, networks, and systems. Vul­ner­ab­il­it­ies are iden­ti­fied and lost data can be quickly recovered. However, users must have prior knowledge for the best possible results. Ac­cord­ingly, more suitable Linux dis­tri­bu­tions are available for office or leisure use.

Check out what Kali Linux is all about.

En­deav­our­OS is based on Arch Linux, but adds several desktop en­vir­on­ments to the min­im­al­ist­ic system. En­deav­our­OS is not as soph­ist­ic­ated as the original dis­tri­bu­tion, but the de­riv­at­ive follows a more re­strained approach, offering only the es­sen­tials. Pro­fes­sion­als can develop a system according to their needs. En­deav­our­OS is not suitable for Linux novices.

Read more about En­deav­our­OS in our dedicated guide.

Slackware is the oldest Linux variant still used and main­tained today. In­stall­a­tion and con­fig­ur­a­tion is performed via scripts. For users in search of the original Linux ex­per­i­ence, Slackware is perhaps the best choice.

MX Linux is based on Debian and is suitable for use on older and less powerful computers because of its slim Xfce desktop. Compared to other pro­fes­sion­al Linux dis­tri­bu­tions, MX Linux is much more user-friendly. However, because of its many options it is also an in­ter­est­ing dis­tri­bu­tion for ex­per­i­enced users.

Explore MX Linux in our dedicated guide.

Busi­nesses usually require reliable and user-friendly operating systems. Cloud support, simple main­ten­ance and, above all, high security are also important and tend to justify higher costs when making an in­vest­ment. The following Linux dis­tri­bu­tions are worth con­sid­er­ing for busi­nesses.

Red Hat En­ter­prise Linux (RHEL) is the market leader among the en­ter­prise Linux dis­tri­bu­tions. The operating system is suitable for desktop, server, cloud, and virtual machines and offers extensive and paid support. RHEL is stable and relies on long li­fe­cycles. Usage is com­par­at­ively simple.

openSUSE operating systems are well-optimised for busi­nesses and char­ac­ter­ized by user-friend­li­ness and stability. While openSUSE Tumble­weed and its spinoff openSUSE Leap are used for work­sta­tions, openSUSE MicroOS is primarily used for edge computing and openSUSE Kubic for container solutions.

Find out more about openSUSE in our dedicated article.

Fedora is a free al­tern­at­ive to RHEL but does not provide long-term support. The focus of the operating system is primarily on up-to-dateness, which may come at the expense of stability. Fedora is equally suitable for servers and desktops and uses RPM (known from Red Hat) for package man­age­ment.

Read up on Fedora CoreOS in our guide on the topic.

IServ is generally not suitable for companies, but was developed for use in schools. The paid school server was ori­gin­ally based on Red Hat Linux and provides a web server, a mail server, a forum, a domain con­trol­ler, and an HTTP proxy.

Zorin OS is an Ubuntu de­riv­at­ive that is primarily aimed at Windows users, making it easy for them to switch to Linux. For companies relying on Microsoft’s office programs, Zorin OS is worth taking into con­sid­er­a­tion.

Find out more about Zorin OS in our guide.

Those who tend to use their computer mainly for gaming can choose from numerous Linux dis­tri­bu­tions (besides Ubuntu).

Pop!_OS has been developed by System76 and is based on Ubuntu. The operating system offers GPU support for AMD and Nvidia as well as their pro­gram­ming interface CUDA. Pop!_OS has a high-quality desktop en­vir­on­ment and offers a tiling function that benefits gamers.

You can find more in­form­a­tion in our detailed article on Pop!_OS.

Garuda Linux provides many different desktop en­vir­on­ments and is updated regularly as a rolling release. In addition to graphical wizards for sim­pli­fied setup, Garuda Linux provides a tool for con­fig­ur­a­tion and livestreams with Garuda Gamer.

Find out more about Garuda Linux in our dedicated guide.

Kubuntu is another Ubuntu de­riv­at­ive, based on KDE Plasma as a desktop en­vir­on­ment. The light­weight solution runs games smoothly. It is also cus­tom­iz­able and thus optimized for gaming. Numerous programs are available for Kubuntu.

Drauger OS has been ex­pli­citly designed for gaming, but it does not just support games, but also platforms like Steam. At the same time, the operating system boasts good security features. However, it does not include some of the basic packages included in alternate Linux dis­tri­bu­tions.

Lakka OS is a light­weight dis­tri­bu­tion that lets users convert old computers into retro game consoles. The operating system is based on LibreELEC and uses the RetroArch front-end. Once set up, Lakka OS works cross-platform and numerous old console games can be installed.

For a long time CentOS was the most popular of all Linux server dis­tri­bu­tions. However, with support ending soon, al­tern­at­ives are needed. Here are five re­com­men­ded Linux dis­tri­bu­tions:

Gentoo Linux is aimed at more ex­per­i­enced users and is regularly updated as part of a rolling release. The operating system is based on source code and con­sidered a secure option for servers. Gentoo Linux can be cus­tom­ised and optimised to suit one’s own needs.

Flatcar is a cloud-native operating system primarily designed for working with con­tain­ers. The solution is aimed at experts with ex­per­i­ence of setting up and con­fig­ur­ing servers. A paid Pro version for companies is available.

AlmaLinux is a user-friendly successor to CentOS and was developed as a fork of RHEL. The re­l­at­ively new system is con­sidered stable. It is aimed at those who enjoyed working with its well-known pre­de­cessor. Plenty of CentOS packages can still be used within AlmaLinux.

Find out more about AlmaLinux in our article.

The same applies to Rocky Linux, which is binary-com­pat­ible with RHEL. Rocky Linux is suitable for cloud and HPC and has only been available since 2021. Secure Boot provides the necessary security and stability.

Explore what makes Rocky Linux stand out.

The min­im­al­ist­ic Photon OS is designed for working with con­tain­ers. The operating system forgoes su­per­flu­ous packages and focuses on the es­sen­tials. It is the perfect solution for a reliable server en­vir­on­ment without un­ne­ces­sary features.

Find out more about Photon OS in our in-depth article.