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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>Comparison of Linux Distributions</title>
<meta name="darkreader-lock">
<meta name="description" content="Comparison of Linux Distributions">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="keywords" content="technology, operating systems, Linux distributions, Android ROMs, desktop environments, web browsers, instant messengers, cloud services, privacy, digital freedom, payments, cryptocurrencies, productivity software">
<meta name="author" content="Alphonse Eylenburg">
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<p><a href="index.html">← Sitemap</a></p>
</header>
<h1>Comparison of Linux Distributions</h1>
<p>It's a well known fact that there's hundreds of different Linux distributions, with many of them gaining sudden popularity or falling back into relative obscurity. As of 2023, I'd say the most important distributions - those that are here to stay for another decade at least and those that have a significant mindshare on the desktop - are just five: Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, and Arch. Everything else is more of a niche distribution, be it for servers (RHEL, SLE), nerds and greybeards (Gentoo, Slackware), or to make an existing general-purpose distro slightly more user-friendly for novice users (Zorin, pop_OS).<br /><br >
Distributions mostly differ in their package manager and their default choices (desktop environment and so on). Furthermore, there are clearly different tiers of difficulty from beginner-level to expert, for example like this:<br /><br />
<em><strong>Beginners - big name distros.</strong> Easy to use, most things can be done through a GUI, and everything works out of the box. Some distros require a few one-off post-install tweaks (e.g. proprietary codecs, proprietary Nvidia drivers).</em>
<ul><li>Ubuntu/Kubuntu</li><li>Ubuntu-based distros like Mint, Pop_OS, or Zorin.</li><li>Fedora</li><li>openSUSE</li></ul>
<em><strong>Beginners - other distros.</strong> Same as above, but with less mindshare and third party support. This means proprietary app developers may not build binaries for these distributions, hardware and software may not get tested on these distributions, and generally there will be less support and fewer tutorials available online. These things don't mean the distro itself is less user-friendly, but it can make the transition for absolute beginners coming from Windows or macOS a bit harder.</em>
<ul><li>OpenMandriva</li><li>Mageia</li><li>PCLinuxOS</li><li>Solus</li></ul>
<em><strong>Advanced users</strong>. Anyone can use them but to set everything up you need to be willing to read the documentation and get comfortable with the command line and editing config files.</em>
<ul><li>Arch</li><li>Debian</li><li>Red Hat Enterprise Linux and the RHELatives (like CentOS, Rocky, Alma)</li><li>SUSE Linux Enterprise</li></ul>
<em><strong>Experts</strong>. Same as above but there is additional distro-specific knowledge to learn.</em>
<ul><li>Slackware - no dependency resolution for packages</li><li>Gentoo - source-based distribution</li><li>Alpine - doesn't use GNU userland</li><li>NixOS and Guix System - declaratively configured using their own programming languages</li></ul></p>
<p>For this comparison I have focused mostly on "original" distributions rather than forks as there's often only superficial differences between closely related distros. For example, the only differences between Ubuntu and Mint would be that Mint is only available for x86_64, that fewer desktop environments are available "preinstalled" for Mint, that Mint doesn't have the longer update support that Ubuntu Pro offers, and that Mint preinstalls Flatpak instead of Snap.</p>
<h2 class="center">Comparison of Linux Distributions</h2>
<p class="center">Source: eylenburg.github.io</p>
<p class="center" style="color: red; font-size: small;">Last updated: 4 February 2026</p>
<p style="font-size: 75%; font-style: italic;"> This table is best viewed on a monitor with 1920px width (Full HD) with 100% display scaling.</p>
<div>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(1)"> Debian</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(2)"> Ubuntu</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(3)"> OpenSUSE</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(4)"> SUSE Linux Enterprise</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(5)"> Fedora</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(6)"> Red Hat Enterprise Linux</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(7)"> OpenMandriva</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(8)"> Mageia</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(9)"> PCLinuxOS</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(10)"> Arch</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(11)"> Slackware</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(12)"> Gentoo</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(13)"> Alpine</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(14)"> Void</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(15)"> NixOS</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(16)"> Guix System</label>
<label><input type="checkbox" checked onchange="toggleColumn(17)"> Solus</label>
</div>
<table class="comparison" id="distrocomp">
<colgroup>
<col style="text-align: left; white-space: nowrap; padding-right: 5px; width: var(--legendwidth);"> <!-- legend -->
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<col style="border-left: 1px solid lightgrey; width: var(--distrowidth);">
<col style="border-left: 1px solid lightgrey; width: var(--distrowidth);">
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<thead>
<tr>
<td class="legend"></td>
<td>Debian</td>
<td>Ubuntu</td>
<td>openSUSE</td>
<td>SUSE Linux Enterprise</td>
<td>Fedora</td>
<td>Red Hat Enterprise Linux</td>
<td>Open<wbr>Mandriva<br /><span style="font-size: smaller;">ROME</span></td>
<td>Mageia</td>
<td>PCLinuxOS</td>
<td>Arch</td>
<td>Slackware</td>
<td>Gentoo</td>
<td>Alpine</td>
<td>Void</td>
<td>NixOS</td>
<td>Guix System</td>
<td>Solus</td>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/debian.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/ubuntu.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/opensuse.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/sle.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/fedora.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/redhat.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/openmandriva.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/mageia.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/pclinuxos.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/arch.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/slackware.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/gentoo.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/alpine.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/void.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/nixos.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/guixsd.png" /></td>
<td><img class="logo" src="pics/logos/distros/solus.png" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend semititle">Development & Background</td>
<td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Based on...</td>
<td>Independent</td>
<td>Debian</td>
<td>Independent</td>
<td>openSUSE <br />(soft fork)</td>
<td>Independent</td>
<td>Fedora <br />(soft fork)</td>
<td>Independent</td>
<td>Independent (forked from Mandriva)</td>
<td>Independent (forked from Mandriva)</td>
<td>Independent</td>
<td>Independent</td>
<td>Independent</td>
<td>Independent</td>
<td>Independent</td>
<td>Independent</td>
<td>Independent</td>
<td>Independent</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Initial release</td>
<td>1993</td>
<td>2004</td>
<td>1994 (as <br /><em>S.u.S.E.</em>)</td>
<td>1994 (as <br /><em>S.u.S.E.</em>)</td>
<td>1995 (as <br /><em>Red Hat</em>)</td>
<td>1995 (as <br /><em>Red Hat</em>)</td>
<td>1998 (as <br /><em>Mandrake</em>)</td>
<td>2010</td>
<td>2003</td>
<td>2002</td>
<td>1993</td>
<td>2002</td>
<td>2005</td>
<td>2008</td>
<td>2003</td>
<td>2013</td>
<td>2015</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Community-driven or Corporate</td>
<td>Community</td>
<td>Corporate (Canonical)</td>
<td>Community, with corporate backing (SUSE)</td>
<td>Corporate (SUSE)</td>
<td>Community, with corporate backing (IBM)</td>
<td>Corporate (IBM)</td>
<td>Community</td>
<td>Community</td>
<td>Community</td>
<td>Community</td>
<td>Community</td>
<td>Community</td>
<td>Community</td>
<td>Community</td>
<td>Community</td>
<td>Community</td>
<td>Community</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Price</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="no">Paid <!--<span style="font-size: x-small;">(openSUSE Leap is a free "clone" of SLE with additional packages (e.g. Plasma) but w/o the extended support period)</span>--></td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="mixed">Paid, free subscription for developers<!-- (Alma and Rocky are free "clones" of RHEL)--></td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Freedom & adherence to GNU GPL</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="mixed tooltip">IBM does not allow sharing of source code<span class="tooltiptext">While IBM makes the source code availa­ble to subscribers as required by the GNU GPL, they reserve the right to cancel the subscriptions and therefore also further software updates from clients who share the source code with third parties. This clearly is a violation of the spirit and possibly even wording of the GNU GPL, as it essentially means you can only share the source code once before IBM cancels your subscription.</span></td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
<td class="yes">Free</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="10" class="legend"></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend semititle">Philosophy</td>
<td></td><td></td><td class="splitcell"><table class="split"><tr><td style="word-break: break-all; font-size: smaller; font-weight: bold;">Tumble-<br />weed</td><td style="font-size: smaller; font-weight: bold;">Micro<wbr>OS</td></tr></table></td><td></td><td class="splitcell"><table class="split"><tr><td style="font-size: smaller; font-weight: bold;">Work-<br />station</td><td style="font-size: smaller; font-weight: bold;">Ato­mic Desk­top</td></tr></table></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Primarily source-based vs binary packages</td>
<td class="grey">Binary<br /> </td>
<td class="grey">Binary</td>
<td class="grey">Binary</td>
<td class="grey">Binary</td>
<td class="grey">Binary</td>
<td class="grey">Binary</td>
<td class="grey">Binary</td>
<td class="grey">Binary</td>
<td class="grey">Binary</td>
<td class="grey">Binary</td>
<td class="grey">Binary</td>
<td class="greyblue">Hybrid</td>
<td class="grey">Binary</td>
<td class="greyblue">Hybrid</td>
<td class="greyblue">Hybrid</td>
<td class="blue2">Source-based</td>
<td class="grey">Binary</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Immutable or traditional?</td>
<td class="grey">Traditional</td>
<td class="grey">Traditional</td>
<td class="splitcell"><table class="split"><tr><td class="grey">Tradi­tional</td><td class="tooltip purple">Immu­table <span class="tooltiptext">snap­shot-based</span></td></tr></table></td>
<td class="grey">Traditional</td>
<td class="splitcell"><table class="split"><tr><td class="grey">Tradi­tional</td><td class="tooltip purple">Immu­table <span class="tooltiptext">image-based</span></td></tr></table></td>
<td class="grey">Traditional</td>
<td class="grey">Traditional</td>
<td class="grey">Traditional</td>
<td class="grey">Traditional</td>
<td class="grey">Traditional</td>
<td class="grey">Traditional</td>
<td class="grey">Traditional</td>
<td class="grey">Traditional</td>
<td class="grey">Traditional</td>
<td class="tooltip purple">Immutable <span class="tooltiptext">declarative</span></td>
<td class="tooltip purple">Immutable <span class="tooltiptext">declarative</span></td>
<td class="grey">Traditional</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Fully reproducible system?</td>
<td class="notreally">In progress<br /> </td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="notreally">In progress</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="notreally">In progress</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="notreally">In progress</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="notreally">In progress</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Only allows free software in repos?</td>
<td class="grey">No <span style="font-size: x-small;">(despite such policy there is a non-free repo)</span></td>
<td class="grey">No</td>
<td class="grey">No</td>
<td class="grey">No</td>
<td class="extracolour1">Yes, except non-free firmware</td>
<td class="extracolour1">Yes, except non-free firmware</td>
<td class="grey">No <span style="font-size: x-small;">(despite such policy there is a non-free repo)</span></td>
<td class="grey">No</td>
<td class="grey">No, installation even includes non-free apps</td>
<td class="grey">No</td>
<td class="grey">No</td>
<td class="grey">No</td>
<td class="extracolour1">Yes, except non-free firmware</td>
<td class="grey">No</td>
<td class="grey">No</td>
<td class="extracolour1">Yes, and even uses the linux-libre kernel</td>
<td class="grey">No</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="10" class="legend"></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend semititle">Release schedule & Reliability</td>
<td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td class="splitcell"><table class="split"><tr><td style="font-size: smaller; font-weight: bold;">Work-<br />station</td><td style="font-size: smaller; font-weight: bold;">Ato­mic Desk­top</td></tr></table></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Release model</td>
<td class="grey">Fixed</td>
<td class="grey">Fixed</td>
<td class="extracolour2 tooltip">Rolling (...)<span class="tooltiptext">There is also a fixed release version called Leap, but this comparison focuses on the rolling version called Tumbleweed.</span></td>
<td class="grey">Fixed</td>
<td class="grey">Fixed</td>
<td class="grey">Fixed</td>
<td class="extracolour2 tooltip">Rolling (...)<span class="tooltiptext">There is also a fixed release version called Rock, but this comparison focuses on the rolling version called Rome.</span></td>
<td class="grey">Fixed</td>
<td class="extracolour2">Rolling</td>
<td class="extracolour2">Rolling</td>
<td class="grey">Fixed</td>
<td class="extracolour2">Rolling</td>
<td class="grey">Fixed</td>
<td class="extracolour2">Rolling</td>
<td class="greyblue">Hybrid</td>
<td class="extracolour2">Rolling</td>
<td class="extracolour2">Rolling</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">LTS option (>5 yrs)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (5 years)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (15 years)</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (up to 19 years)</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (13-15 years)</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (no fixed EOL date)</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Ability to roll back updates?</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes" span style="font-size: x-small;"><code>snapper rollback</code></td>
<td class="yes" span style="font-size: x-small;"><code>snapper rollback</code></td>
<td class="splitcell"><table class="split"><tr><td class="no">No</td><td class="yes" style="font-size: x-small;"><code>rpm-ostree rollback</code></td></tr></table></td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes" style="font-size: x-small;"><code>nixos-rebuild switch</code></td>
<td class="yes" style="font-size: x-small;"><code>guix system roll-back</code></td>
<td class="yes" style="font-size: x-small;"><code>eopkg history</code></td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="10" class="legend"></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend semititle">CPU compatibility</td>
<td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">amd64 (64-bit AMD/Intel)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">aarch64 (64-bit ARM)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="almost">Server image</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="almost">Server image</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">ppc64le (IBM POWER9/10)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="almost">Server image</td>
<td class="almost">Server image</td>
<td class="almost">Server image</td>
<td class="splitcell"><table class="split"><tr><td class="yes">Yes</td><td class="no tooltip">No<span class="tooltiptext">dropped from Fedora 42 onwards</span></td></tr></table></td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">s390x (IBM Z)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="almost">Server image</td>
<td class="almost">Server image</td>
<td class="almost">Server image</td>
<td class="almost">Server image</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">riscv64 (RISC-V)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="almost">Server image</td>
<td class="mixed">Experimental</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="mixed">Experimental</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="mixed">Experimental</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">i686 (legacy 32-bit Intel/AMD)</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="splitcell"><table class="split"><tr><td class="yes tooltip">Yes<span class="tooltiptext">Tumbleweed only, Leap 16 dropped support</span></td><td class="no">No</td></tr></table></td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="almost">Minimal image</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="10" class="legend"></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend semititle">Ease of use (default setup)</td>
<td></td><td></td><td class="splitcell"><table class="split"><tr><td style="word-break: break-all; font-size: smaller; font-weight: bold;">Tumble-<br />weed</td><td style="font-size: smaller; font-weight: bold;">Micro<wbr>OS</td></tr></table></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Graphical installer?</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (Debian-Install)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (Subiquity)</td>
<td class="splitcell"><table class="split"><tr><td class="yes tooltip">Yes (Yast)<span class="tooltiptext">Leap is using Agama since Leap 16, Tumbleweed is expected to switch to Agama in the future</span></td><td class="yes tooltip">Yes<br /><span style="font-size: 90%;">(Tik/ Agama)<span class="tooltiptext">Aeon uses Tik, Kalpa uses Agama but might switch to Tik in the future</span></span></td></tr></table></td>
<td class="yes">Yes (Agama)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (Anaconda)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (Anaconda)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (Calamares)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (DrakX)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (DrakX)</td>
<td class="mixed">Text-based (archinstall)</td>
<td class="mixed">Test-based (Slackware Setup)</td>
<td class="no">No, manual install</td>
<td class="mixed">Text-based (setup-alpine)</td>
<td class="mixed">Text-based (void-installer)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (Calamares)</td>
<td class="mixed">Text-based (Guix installer)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (Calamares)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Desktop environment by default <br />(or offered during installation)?</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (archinstall)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="no">No, needs to be done post-install</td>
<td class="no">No, needs to be done post-install</td>
<td class="almost">Only if installing from Xfce live image<!-- and selecting "local source"--></td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">GUI for advanced system administration?</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="mixed">Limited (e.g. driver manager)</td>
<td class="splitcell"><table class="split"><tr><td class="yes tooltip">Yes (Yast)<span class="tooltiptext">Tumbleweed only. Both Tumbleweed and Leap also use Myrlyn for package and repo management.</span></td><td class="no">No</td></tr></table></td>
<td class="yes">Yes (<span class="tooltip">Cockpit<span class="tooltiptext">web UI</span></span>)</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (<span class="tooltip">Cockpit<span class="tooltiptext">web UI</span></span>)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (Control Center)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (Control Center)</td>
<td class="yes">Yes (Control Center)</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="mixed">Limited (e.g. driver manager)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Graphical updating of packages <br />and system upgrades?</td>
<td class="mixed">Updates only, not upgrades to next release</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="mixed">Updates only, not upgrades to next release</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="mixed">Updates only, not upgrades to next release</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Offers to install proprietary codecs?</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Yes</td>
<td class="yes">Installed by default</td> <!-- still true? all info is quite old -->
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="no">No</td>
<td class="yes">Installed by default</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="10" class="legend"></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend semititle">Defaults</td>
<td></td><td></td><td class="splitcell"><table class="split"><tr><td style="word-break: break-all; font-size: smaller; font-weight: bold;">Tumble-<br />weed</td><td style="font-size: smaller; font-weight: bold;">Micro<wbr>OS</td></tr></table></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>
</tr>
<!-- colour logic: grey = the classic, original tech. blue and purple = newer or alternative technologies; use blue for the one that came first, then purple -->
<tr>
<td class="legend">Default browser</td>
<td class="grey">Firefox</td>
<td class="grey">Firefox</td>
<td class="grey">Firefox</td>
<td class="grey">Firefox</td>
<td class="grey">Firefox</td>
<td class="grey">Firefox</td>
<td class="blue2">Chromium</td>
<td class="grey">Firefox</td>
<td class="grey">Firefox</td>
<td>-</td>
<td class="grey">Firefox</td>
<td>-</td>
<td>-</td>
<td>-</td>
<td class="grey">Firefox</td>
<td>-</td>
<td class="grey">Firefox</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Default file system</td>
<td class="grey">ext4</td>
<td class="grey">ext4</td>
<td class="purple">btrfs</td>
<td class="purple">btrfs</td>
<td class="purple">btrfs</td>
<td class="blue2">xfs</td>
<td class="grey">ext4</td>
<td class="grey">ext4</td>
<td class="grey">ext4</td>
<td><em>no default</em></td>
<td><em>no default</em></td>
<td><em>no default</em></td>
<td class="grey">ext4</td>
<td><em>no default</em></td>
<td class="grey">ext4</td>
<td class="grey">ext4</td>
<td class="grey">ext4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Default swap approach</td>
<td class="grey">Swap partition</td>
<td class="blue2">Swap file</td>
<td class="splitcell"><table class="split"><tr><td class="grey">Swap part.</td><td class="purple tooltip">ZRAM<span class="tooltiptext">Aeon only, Kalpa has no swap but this might change in the future</span></td></tr></table></td>
<td class="grey">Swap partition</td>
<td class="purple">ZRAM</td>
<td class="grey">Swap partition</td>
<td class="purple">ZRAM</td>
<td class="grey">Swap partition</td>
<td class="grey">Swap partition</td>
<td class="purple">ZRAM (archinstall)</td>
<td><em>no default</em></td>
<td><em>no default</em></td>
<td class="grey">Swap partition</td>
<td><em>no default</em></td>
<td>No swap</td>
<td>No swap</td>
<td class="purple">ZRAM</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">init system</td>
<td class="blue2">systemd</td>
<td class="blue2">systemd</td>
<td class="blue2">systemd</td>
<td class="blue2">systemd</td>
<td class="blue2">systemd</td>
<td class="blue2">systemd</td>
<td class="blue2">systemd</td>
<td class="blue2">systemd</td>
<td class="grey">SysV init</td>
<td class="blue2">systemd</td>
<td class="grey">SysV init</td>
<td class="purple">OpenRC</td>
<td class="purple">OpenRC</td>
<td class="extracolour1">runit</td>
<td class="blue2">systemd</td>
<td class="extracolour2">Shepherd</td>
<td class="blue2">systemd</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Core utilities</td>
<td class="grey">GNU</td>
<td class="purple">uutils</td>
<td class="grey">GNU</td>
<td class="grey">GNU</td>
<td class="grey">GNU</td>
<td class="grey">GNU</td>
<td class="grey">GNU</td>
<td class="grey">GNU</td>
<td class="grey">GNU</td>
<td class="grey">GNU</td>
<td class="grey">GNU</td>
<td class="grey">GNU</td>
<td class="blue2">Busybox</td>
<td class="grey">GNU</td>
<td class="grey">GNU</td>
<td class="grey">GNU</td>
<td class="grey">GNU</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Default C library</td>
<td class="grey">glibc</td>
<td class="grey">glibc</td>
<td class="grey">glibc</td>
<td class="grey">glibc</td>
<td class="grey">glibc</td>
<td class="grey">glibc</td>
<td class="grey">glibc</td>
<td class="grey">glibc</td>
<td class="grey">glibc</td>
<td class="grey">glibc</td>
<td class="grey">glibc</td>
<td class="grey">glibc</td>
<td class="blue2">musl</td>
<td class="greyblue">Choice of glibc or musl</td>
<td class="grey">glibc</td>
<td class="grey">glibc</td>
<td class="grey">glibc</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Default shell</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
<td class="blue2">ash</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
<td class="grey">bash</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Default privilege escalation tool</td>
<td class="grey tooltip">su<span class="tooltiptext">If no root password is entered during the installation, the root account is locked and <code>su</code> can't be used; Debian will set up <code>sudo</code> instead.</span></td>
<td class="purple tooltip">sudo-rs<span class="tooltiptext">By default, the root account is locked and <code>su</code> can't be used</span></td>
<td class="greyblue">sudo and su</td>
<td class="greyblue">sudo and su</td>
<td class="blue2 tooltip">sudo<span class="tooltiptext">By default, the root account is locked and <code>su</code> can't be used</span></td>
<td class="greyblue">sudo and su</td>
<td class="blue2 tooltip">sudo<span class="tooltiptext">By default, the root account is locked and <code>su</code> can't be used</span></td>
<td class="grey">su</td>
<td class="grey">su</td>
<td class="grey">su</td>
<td class="grey">su</td>
<td class="grey">su</td>
<td class="grey tooltip">su<span class="tooltiptext"><code>doas</code> is recommended by Alpine (with <code>sudo</code> being downgraded to the community repo), but it not installed by default</span></td>
<td class="greyblue">sudo and su</td>
<td class="greyblue">sudo and su</td>
<td class="greyblue">sudo and su</td>
<td class="blue2 tooltip">sudo<span class="tooltiptext">By default, the root account is locked and <code>su</code> can't be used</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Default/recommended bootloader (x86_64)</td>
<td class="blue2">grub</td>
<td class="blue2">grub</td>
<td class="blue2">grub</td>
<td class="blue2">grub</td>
<td class="blue2">grub</td>
<td class="blue2">grub</td>
<td class="blue2">grub</td>
<td class="blue2">grub</td>
<td class="blue2">grub</td>
<td class="blue2">grub</td>
<td class="grey">LILO</td>
<td class="blue2">grub</td>
<td style="padding: 0; margin: 0;"><span class="purple" style="display: block; width: 100%;">syslinux (BIOS)</span><span class="blue2" style="display: block; width: 100%;"> grub (UEFI)</span></td>
<td class="blue2">grub</td>
<td class="blue2">grub</td>
<td class="blue2">grub</td>
<td class="blue2">grub</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend">Compiler used</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
<td class="blue2">clang</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
<td class="grey">gcc</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend tooltip">Default Linux kernel used <span class="tooltiptext"><strong>"vanilla"</strong> = using the upstream kernel (from kernel.org) with no or minimal changes<br /><strong>"customized"</strong> = varying degrees of patching (security backports, hardening, hardware support, branding, enterprise features) applied to the upstream Linux kernel<br /><strong>"linux-libre"</strong> refers to a modified version of the kernel released by the Free Software Foundation that contains no binary blobs, obfuscated code, or code released under proprietary licenses.</span>
</span></td>
<td class="blue2">customized</td>
<td class="blue2">customized</td>
<td class="blue2">customized</td>
<td class="blue2">customized</td>
<td class="blue2">customized</td>
<td class="blue2">customized</td>
<td class="blue2">customized</td>
<td class="blue2">customized</td>
<td class="blue2">customized</td>
<td class="grey">vanilla</td>
<td class="grey">vanilla</td>
<td class="grey">vanilla</td>
<td class="grey">vanilla</td>
<td class="grey">vanilla</td>
<td class="grey">vanilla</td>
<td class="purple">linux-libre</td>
<td class="blue2">customized</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="10" class="legend"></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="legend semititle">Suppor­ted desktops:</td>
<td></td><td></td><td class="splitcell"><table class="split"><tr><td style="word-break: break-all; font-size: smaller; font-weight: bold;">Tumble-<br />weed</td><td style="font-size: smaller; font-weight: bold;">Micro<wbr>OS</td></tr></table></td><td></td><td class="splitcell"><table class="split"><tr><td style="font-size: smaller; font-weight: bold;">Work-<br />station</td><td style="font-size: smaller; font-weight: bold;">Ato­mic Desk­top</td></tr></table></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>
</tr>
<tr>