🐧Best Linux Distros Ranked

Ubuntu▲ Rising

Ubuntu rose to prominence as the go-to beginner distro with its Canonical backing and regular releases. Its 2004 debut and focus on user-friendly defaults made it the standard for desktops worldwide.

Popularity: 9/10Ease of Use: 9/10Stability: 8/10Customization: 7/10Hardware Support: 9/10

added by IJRUbuntu

Linux Mint▲ Rising

Linux Mint built its reputation on delivering a polished Cinnamon desktop that feels familiar to Windows users. It forked Ubuntu to remove controversial elements and emphasize out-of-the-box multimedia support.

Popularity: 8/10Ease of Use: 9/10Stability: 9/10Customization: 7/10Hardware Support: 8/10

added by IJRLinux Mint

Elementary OS▲ Rising

Elementary OS stands out with its macOS-inspired Pantheon desktop that prioritizes simplicity and visual polish. It targets users who want a beautiful, distraction-free daily driver.

Popularity: 6/10Ease of Use: 9/10Stability: 7/10Customization: 5/10Hardware Support: 7/10

added by IJRelementary OS

Zorin OS▲ Rising

Zorin OS targets Windows switchers with layouts that mimic Windows 10 or 11 and extensive theming options. Its paid Pro version funds continued development of the free edition.

Popularity: 5/10Ease of Use: 9/10Stability: 8/10Customization: 8/10Hardware Support: 7/10

added by IJRZorin OS

Debian▲ Rising

Debian's unmatched stability and free software ethos have made it the foundation for countless other distros since 1993. Its rigorous testing process ensures rock-solid releases that power servers worldwide.

Popularity: 7/10Ease of Use: 6/10Stability: 10/10Customization: 8/10Hardware Support: 7/10

added by IJRDebian

Arch Linux▲ Rising

Arch Linux carved its niche with a rolling-release model and the powerful pacman system that lets users build exactly the system they want. Its wiki-first philosophy rewards those who read documentation.

Popularity: 7/10Ease of Use: 4/10Stability: 6/10Customization: 10/10Hardware Support: 8/10

added by IJRArch Linux

Fedora▲ Rising

Fedora earns its high rank by serving as Red Hat's upstream proving ground for cutting-edge packages and technologies like Wayland. It delivers a clean, modern experience with strong security defaults.

Popularity: 8/10Ease of Use: 8/10Stability: 7/10Customization: 8/10Hardware Support: 8/10

added by IJRFedora

MX Linux▲ Rising

MX Linux rose through antiX and MEPIS roots to win DistroWatch polls repeatedly with its practical tools and rock-solid Debian base. It emphasizes user-requested features over hype.

Popularity: 6/10Ease of Use: 8/10Stability: 9/10Customization: 7/10Hardware Support: 8/10

added by IJRMX Linux

EndeavourOS▲ Rising

EndeavourOS fills the gap left by Antergos with an easy Arch installer while keeping the rolling-release spirit intact. It appeals to users wanting Arch without the full manual setup.

Popularity: 5/10Ease of Use: 7/10Stability: 6/10Customization: 9/10Hardware Support: 8/10

added by IJREndeavourOS

Manjaro

Manjaro made Arch accessible by adding a user-friendly installer and delayed rolling releases that catch major breakages early. It quickly became the most popular Arch-based desktop distro.

Popularity: 7/10Ease of Use: 8/10Stability: 7/10Customization: 9/10Hardware Support: 8/10

added by IJRManjaro

openSUSE Leap▲ Rising

openSUSE Leap combines enterprise-grade stability from SUSE with a predictable release cycle that appeals to both desktops and servers. Its YaST tool remains one of the best configuration utilities.

Popularity: 6/10Ease of Use: 7/10Stability: 9/10Customization: 8/10Hardware Support: 8/10

added by IJR

Pop!_OS▲ Rising

Pop!_OS gained traction through System76's focus on NVIDIA support and productivity features like tiling workspaces. It offers a refined Ubuntu experience aimed at creators and developers.

Popularity: 7/10Ease of Use: 9/10Stability: 8/10Customization: 7/10Hardware Support: 9/10

added by IJR

Slackware

Slackware holds the title of oldest active Linux distro with its simple, no-frills tarball-based approach that has barely changed since 1993. It prioritizes stability and Unix philosophy above all.

Popularity: 2/10Ease of Use: 3/10Stability: 9/10Customization: 8/10Hardware Support: 6/10

added by IJRSlackware

Lubuntu

Lubuntu focuses on lightweight performance using LXQt to run well on older hardware while still providing a full Ubuntu experience. It fills the low-resource niche within the Ubuntu family.

Popularity: 4/10Ease of Use: 8/10Stability: 8/10Customization: 6/10Hardware Support: 7/10

added by IJRLubuntu

Garuda Linux▲ Rising

Garuda Linux brings eye-catching Btrfs snapshots and gaming-focused tweaks to the Arch ecosystem. Its Dragonized editions deliver performance tweaks out of the box.

Popularity: 4/10Ease of Use: 7/10Stability: 5/10Customization: 9/10Hardware Support: 7/10

added by IJR

Gentoo

Gentoo empowers users with complete compile-time control through its Portage system, delivering optimized performance for specific hardware. It remains the choice for enthusiasts who enjoy building everything.

Popularity: 3/10Ease of Use: 3/10Stability: 6/10Customization: 10/10Hardware Support: 7/10

added by IJRgentoo

Kali Linux▼ Falling

Kali Linux dominates penetration testing with its curated toolkit and frequent updates tailored for security professionals. It evolved from BackTrack into the de facto standard for ethical hacking.

Popularity: 6/10Ease of Use: 5/10Stability: 7/10Customization: 9/10Hardware Support: 8/10

added by IJRKali Linux

Kubuntu

Kubuntu delivers the full power of Ubuntu with the highly customizable KDE Plasma desktop. It offers users who want modern features without leaving the Ubuntu ecosystem.

Popularity: 5/10Ease of Use: 7/10Stability: 8/10Customization: 9/10Hardware Support: 8/10

added by IJRKubuntu

Rocky Linux

Rocky Linux emerged as the community successor to CentOS after Red Hat's shift, delivering a free RHEL rebuild with long-term support. It quickly became the go-to for enterprise servers.

Popularity: 5/10Ease of Use: 7/10Stability: 9/10Customization: 6/10Hardware Support: 8/10

added by IJRRocky Linux

Void Linux▼ Falling

Void Linux distinguishes itself with the runit init system and musl libc option for a lightweight, BSD-inspired approach. It appeals to minimalists who want rolling releases without systemd.

Popularity: 3/10Ease of Use: 4/10Stability: 7/10Customization: 9/10Hardware Support: 6/10

added by IJRVoid Linux

AlmaLinux

AlmaLinux provides another free RHEL clone backed by CloudLinux, ensuring continuity for users needing binary compatibility. It gained rapid adoption among sysadmins seeking stability.

Popularity: 5/10Ease of Use: 7/10Stability: 9/10Customization: 6/10Hardware Support: 8/10

added by IJRAlmaLinux

CentOS Stream

CentOS Stream acts as the rolling development branch for RHEL, giving users early access to upcoming enterprise features. It replaced the traditional CentOS for many server deployments.

Popularity: 4/10Ease of Use: 6/10Stability: 8/10Customization: 6/10Hardware Support: 8/10

added by IJRCentOS Stream

Nobara▼ Falling

Nobara extends Fedora with gaming and content-creation tweaks including better NVIDIA and Steam support. It serves as the personal project of Fedora contributor GloriousEggroll.

Popularity: 4/10Ease of Use: 8/10Stability: 7/10Customization: 8/10Hardware Support: 9/10

added by IJR

Xubuntu▼ Falling

Xubuntu uses the lightweight Xfce desktop to bring Ubuntu to users who want stability without heavy resource use. It balances usability and performance effectively.

Popularity: 4/10Ease of Use: 8/10Stability: 8/10Customization: 7/10Hardware Support: 7/10

added by IJRXubuntu

Solus▼ Falling

Solus carved an independent path with its Budgie desktop and from-scratch package manager that focuses on desktop simplicity. It aims for a curated, fast experience without Debian or Arch baggage.

Popularity: 4/10Ease of Use: 8/10Stability: 7/10Customization: 7/10Hardware Support: 6/10

added by IJRSolus