Best Operating Systems for Linux - Page 2
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Compare the Top Operating Systems for Linux as of May 2026 - Page 2
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1
NethServer
NethServer
Analyzes all web traffic and blocks selected websites via HTTP and even HTTPS using Squid proxy. Integrated with ClamAV antivirus and site blacklists. Multi-domain web server with ready LAMP stack. Virtual hosting allows to host multiple domain names on a single server. Based on NextCloud provides universal access to your files via the web, your computer or your mobile devices, wherever you are. Provide a private Slack-alternative with Mattermost. Open source messaging platform that enables secure team collaboration. Modern and powerful web interface based on Cockpit that simplifies common administration tasks, very easy and fast installation. Based on CentOS/RHEL, a widespread and popular server distribution, trusted by routine security updates, and rock solid stability.Starting Price: €48 per year -
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Unraid
Unraid
Unraid OS allows you to have ultimate control over your data, media, applications, and desktops, using just about any combination of hardware. Video producers, streamers with extensive video libraries, media editors, photographers, musicians, and music collectors use Unraid to reduce their initial costs. Start with as few as two drives and scale using one or more drives at a time. Gamers who also have media servers and like to build their own custom systems use Unraid to do everything without losing their edge. Designers, 3D animators, developers, photographers, and other users who require significant storage use Unraid to locally store assets for fast access. Use Apple Time Machine and Windows Backup services to archive large quantities of infrequently accessed data off of your local devices. Software engineers, game development studios, AR/VR designers, and university labs use Unraid to test software on multiple platforms and across operating systems and devices.Starting Price: $59 one-time payment -
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Guix
Guix
Guix is an advanced distribution of the GNU operating system developed by the GNU Project—which respects the freedom of computer users. Guix supports transactional upgrades and roll-backs, unprivileged package management, and more. When used as a standalone distribution, Guix supports declarative system configuration for transparent and reproducible operating systems. It provides Guile Scheme APIs, including high-level embedded domain-specific languages (EDSLs) to define packages and whole-system configurations. Guix comes with thousands of packages which include applications, system tools, documentation, fonts, and other digital goods readily available for installing with the GNU Guix package manager.Starting Price: Free -
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PLD Linux
PLD Linux
PLD is a free, RPM-based Linux distribution, created in 1998, aimed at the more advanced users and administrators, who accept the tradeoffs of using a system, that might require manual tweaking in exchange for much flexibility. Simultaneous availability for a wide variety of architectures and a non-conservative approach to RPM usage provides our users with a consistent environment on almost all available architectures.Starting Price: Free -
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Salix
Salix
Salix is a GNU/Linux distribution based on Slackware that is simple, fast and easy to use, with stability being a primary goal. Salix is also fully backwards compatible with Slackware, so Slackware users can benefit from Salix repositories, which they can use as an "extra" quality source of software for their favorite distribution. Like a bonsai, Salix is small, light & the product of infinite care. Everything that is included in the iso is installed. That includes a complete desktop environment and a complete selection of applications that matches the respective environment, always following the "one application per task" rationale. Only the minimum essentials for a console system to start are included. A graphical environment is not provided. This is ideal if you are an experienced user and want to customize your installation for any specific purpose, such as a web server, file server etc.Starting Price: Free -
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Slint
Slint
Slint is a stable distribution. However, accessibility software is regularly updated, others may be updated on a case-by-case basis. Slint can be used in console and graphical modes and can be switched between these modes without restarting. It is even possible to launch several graphical environments and switch between them. The Slint dashboard gives direct access to the main tools and useful information and links. The installation program, in text mode, is fully accessible for blind people using a screen reader or Braille display and proceeds by questions and answers with online help and integrated documentation. The btrfs file system is configured with subvolumes instead of separate partitions. It allows dividing by 2 the space occupied on the media, to take snapshots and is well adapted to SSD, NVMe and USB sticks.Starting Price: Free -
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Trisquel
Trisquel
Trisquel comes ready for home and office use, and new programs are easy to find and install. Our Documentation will help you explore your options. Accessibility features are an important part of Trisquel's standard edition. Our manuals are screen-reader friendly; we also offer a series of helpful audio guides. The Trisquel operating system is available ''gratis'' (free of charge). To support our work financially you can make a donation or become a member and also buy hardware from ThinkPenguin or Technoetical.Starting Price: Free -
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Ubuntu MATE
Ubuntu MATE
It is ideal for those who want the most out of their computers and prefer a traditional desktop metaphor. With modest hardware requirements, it is suitable for modern workstations, single-board computers and older hardware alike. Ubuntu MATE makes modern computers fast and old computers usable. We are delighted to provide ready-to-run images for the Raspberry Model B 2, 3, 3+ and 4 as well as a range of UMPCs such as the GPD Pocket, GPD Pocket 2, GPD MicroPC and Topjoy Falcon.Starting Price: Free -
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OmniOS
OmniOS
The open-source enterprise server OS with just the features you need. ZFS, OmniOS' native file system, combines a volume manager and file system with strong data-integrity protection. Easily share volumes via iSCSI, CIFS, and NFS. Run lightweight OmniOS or Linux virtual machines in containers without the overhead of a traditional hypervisor and with full resource control. OmniOS also provides full hardware virtualization via bhyve and KVM for running guests such as Microsoft Windows, FreeBSD, and many others. Virtualize your network infrastructure through Crossbow virtual interfaces and switches and even allocate dedicated resources for specific services. DTrace provides a comprehensive dynamic tracing framework to aid troubleshooting across the whole software stack. Always available, instrument anything on demand. OmniOS is open-source, self-hosting, and maintained on GitHub. All development is done out in the open with pull requests and anyone can grab the source and build OmniOS.Starting Price: Free -
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DragonFly BSD
DragonFly BSD
DragonFly version 6.2.2 is released. The 6.2 series has hardware support for type-2 hypervisors with NVMM, an amdgpu driver, the experimental ability to remote-mount HAMMER2 volumes, and many other changes. DragonFly belongs to the same class of operating systems as other BSD-derived systems and Linux. It is based on the same UNIX ideals and APIs and shares ancestor code with other BSD operating systems. DragonFly provides an opportunity for the BSD base to grow in an entirely different direction from the one taken in the FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD series. DragonFly includes many useful features that differentiate it from other operating systems in the same class. The most prominent one is HAMMER, our modern high-performance filesystem with built-in mirroring and historic access functionality. Virtual kernels provide the ability to run a full-blown kernel as a user process for the purpose of managing resources or for accelerated kernel development and debugging.Starting Price: Free -
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openSUSE MicroOS
openSUSE
Microservice OS providing transactional (Atomic) updates upon a read-only btrfs root filesystem. Designed to host container workloads with automated administration & patching. Installing openSUSE MicroOS you get a quick, small environment for deploying containers, or any other workload that benefits from transactional updates. As rolling release distribution, the software is always up-to-date. MicroOS offers an offline image. The main difference between the offline and self-install/raw images is that the offline image has an installer. Raw and self-install allows for customization via combustion or manually in the image after it is written to the disk. There is an option for a real-time kernel. Try MicroOS in VMs running on either Xen or KVM. Using a Raspberry Pi or other system-on-chip hardware may use the preconfigured image together with the combustion functionality for the boot process.Starting Price: Free -
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eLxr
eLxr
Enterprise-Grade Linux for Edge-to-Cloud Deployments. Open-Source Collaborative Project, Debian-based Linux distribution tailored for edge to cloud use cases. Ensure consistent performance and stability, whether on device, on-prem, or in the cloud. eLxr provides a secure and stable distribution, with its foundation in opensource community innovation with predictable release and update cadence, fit for long lifecycles and long-term deployments. Cater to applications with stringent timing requirements, using preempt-rt kernel configurations to prioritize low-latency responses, ensuring that tasks are executed within precise time boundaries. Achieve better determinism and predictability compared to a standard Linux kernel. eLxr relies on a smaller footprint for better performance, optimized workloads, and smaller attack surface for resource usage efficiency. It provides all required features and attributes, considering best usage of system resources.Starting Price: Free -
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Security Onion
Security Onion
Security Onion is a comprehensive open source platform for intrusion detection, network security monitoring, and log management. It provides a set of powerful tools to help security professionals detect and respond to potential threats across an organization's network. Security Onion integrates various technologies, including Suricata, Zeek, and Elastic Stack, to collect, analyze, and visualize security data in real-time. Security Onion’s intuitive user interface allows for easy management and analysis of network traffic, security alerts, and system logs. It also includes built-in tools for threat hunting, alert triage, and forensic analysis, helping users identify potential security incidents quickly. Security Onion is designed for scalability, making it suitable for environments of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises.Starting Price: Free -
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OpenFang
OpenFang
OpenFang is an open source Agent Operating System built in Rust that provides a unified runtime for building, deploying, and managing autonomous AI agents at production scale. It packages a batteries-included architecture into a single binary, enabling developers to run agents that operate continuously, build knowledge graphs, and report results to a centralized dashboard without constant user prompts. At the core of OpenFang are “Hands,” pre-built autonomous capability packages that execute on schedules and perform tasks such as lead generation, research, browser automation, and social management. It includes dozens of pre-built agents, native tools, and channel adapters that allow agents to function across platforms like Slack, WhatsApp, Discord, and Teams from a single environment. Security is built into the foundation through multiple defense layers such as WASM sandboxing, cryptographic signing, taint tracking, and tamper-evident audit trails.Starting Price: Free -
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Winux
Winux
Winux is a Linux-based operating system designed to replicate the look and feel of Microsoft Windows while maintaining the flexibility and performance of a Linux distribution. Built on Ubuntu, it uses a customized desktop environment that closely mimics Windows 10 and Windows 11, including a familiar Start menu, taskbar, icons, and overall interface, making it easier for users transitioning from Windows to adapt quickly. It does not require strict hardware features such as TPM or Secure Boot, allowing it to run on older or less powerful machines while still delivering fast boot times and responsive performance. Winux includes compatibility layers like Wine, enabling users to run Windows applications such as .exe and .msi files directly within the system, alongside native Linux software and package support through Snap and Flatpak.Starting Price: Free -
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AnduinOS
AnduinOS
AnduinOS is a custom Ubuntu-based Linux distribution designed to provide a familiar, easy-to-use experience for users transitioning from other operating systems, particularly those accustomed to Windows. It offers a lightweight and efficient system with a relatively small installation image, allowing for quick setup and immediate usability without complex configuration. It features a GNOME-based desktop environment with a clean and intuitive interface that aligns with common user habits, reducing the learning curve and enabling fast adoption. Built on the Ubuntu ecosystem, AnduinOS is compatible with most Ubuntu packages, giving users access to a wide range of applications and tools while maintaining stability and flexibility. It emphasizes privacy and security by avoiding tracking, profiling, or data collection, ensuring that users remain anonymous within the system.Starting Price: Free -
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CachyOS
CachyOS
CachyOS is a performance-focused Linux distribution based on Arch Linux that aims to deliver a faster and more responsive computing experience through deep system-level optimizations. It rebuilds core components, including the kernel and software packages, using modern CPU instruction sets such as x86-64-v3, x86-64-v4, and Zen4, along with advanced techniques like link-time optimization and profile-guided optimization to maximize efficiency without requiring manual tuning. It includes a custom kernel with multiple scheduler options designed to improve responsiveness and interactivity, as well as enhanced throughput across different workloads. CachyOS maintains the rolling-release model of Arch Linux, providing continuous updates and access to the latest software while preserving flexibility and control. It offers both graphical and command-line installers, making it accessible to beginners while still allowing advanced users full customization over their setup.Starting Price: Free -
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Bazzite
Bazzite
Bazzite is a Linux-based operating system built on Fedora Atomic Desktop technology and designed specifically to deliver a streamlined, high-performance gaming experience across desktops, laptops, handheld PCs, and home theater systems. It comes with Steam pre-installed and includes built-in support for tools like Lutris and Heroic Games Launcher, allowing users to access games from multiple platforms such as Steam, Epic Games, and GOG out of the box. It is optimized for gaming with features like improved CPU schedulers, up-to-date GPU drivers, HDR and VRR support, and controller-friendly interfaces, enabling smooth and responsive gameplay without requiring manual configuration. Bazzite follows an “immutable” system design, meaning core system files are read-only and updated atomically, improving stability and allowing users to roll back updates if needed.Starting Price: Free -
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Garuda Linux
Garuda Linux
Garuda Linux is an Arch Linux–based operating system designed to deliver a balance of performance, usability, and visual appeal while making the traditionally complex Arch ecosystem more accessible. It follows a rolling release model, meaning the system is continuously updated with the latest software instead of requiring major version upgrades. It emphasizes ease of use by providing a graphical installer and GUI tools for system management, allowing users to perform most tasks without relying heavily on the command line. Garuda uses the Btrfs file system by default, enabling automatic snapshots before system updates, which allows users to restore their system easily in case of issues. It includes performance-focused components such as the Linux-zen kernel and various scheduler options to improve responsiveness and system speed. It supports multiple desktop environments, with a heavily customized KDE Plasma interface as the default.Starting Price: Free -
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Mbed OS
Arm
Arm Mbed OS is a free, open-source IoT operating system that includes all the necessary features to develop IoT products. The OS includes everything you need to develop smart, connected products on Arm Cortex-M based hardware, including machine learning capabilities, security, connectivity stacks, an RTOS kernel and drivers for sensors and I/O devices. Arm Mbed OS is designed for the Internet of Things. It is integrated with connectivity, machine learning, networking, and security stacks and is supported with software libraries, development hardware, tutorials and examples. From hardware to the cloud, Mbed OS supports more than 70 silicon, module, cloud, and OEM partners, optimizing your developer choice. By using the Mbed OS API, your application code can remain clean, portable, and simple, while taking advantage of security, communications and machine learning. The integrated solution reduces development cost, time, and risk. -
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Whether it’s an IoT sensor monitoring industrial devices or an edge system that must act instantly on external inputs, SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time is a real time operating system designed to reduce latency and increase the predictability and reliability of time-sensitive, business-critical applications. Banks, manufacturers, government agencies and others rely on time-dependent applications which must execute accurately and predictably all the time, every time. To act as a single unit, distributed systems need time accuracy not only within a server but across all servers. The Precision Time Protocol (PTP) synchronizes servers via the high-speed network, up to sub-microsecond accuracy. Includes support for device interrupt threads, enabling tuning at the device level, and hardware latency detectors to ensure predictability of application behavior. SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time gives you the time advantage you need to beat the competition.Starting Price: $2,199 per year
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CloudLinux
CloudLinux
Stable servers reduce churn and allow you to increase density, and therefore magnify your profit. The CloudLinux OS stability features prevent resource spikes and make your servers rock-solid stable, even in the most stressful situations. CloudLinux OS protects your servers from attacks by virtualizing users’ file systems and prevent sensitive information disclosure. Our kernel-level technology prevents all known symbolic link attacks, which further enhances the security level of the servers. Secure the unsupported versions of PHP where, vulnerabilities, even if discovered, are not patched by the PHP.net community. Multiply the number of users on a more stable server with Cloudlinux OS and manage any resources limits for each customer. Troubleshooting performance problems with Detailed information on system bottlenecks, slow database queries, functions, or external calls.Starting Price: $7 per server per month -
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AlmaLinux
AlmaLinux
An open source, community-owned and governed, forever-free enterprise Linux distribution, focused on long-term stability, providing a robust production-grade platform. AlmaLinux OS is 1:1 binary compatible with RHEL® and pre-Stream CentOS. Our GitHub organization contains source code and tools used to build AlmaLinux OS and related infrastructure. Join our vibrant Reddit community, interact with other AlmaLinux OS users, receive updates, find and provide help. Join a real time discussion with other AlmaLinux OS community members, governance team and AlmaLinux OS developers. Ask questions, get answers and contribute community support to others in AlmaLinux OS community and developers alike. As a standalone, completely free OS, AlmaLinux OS enjoys $1M in annual sponsorship from CloudLinux Inc and support from other sponsors. Ongoing development efforts are governed by the members of the community. -
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EuroLinux Desktop
EuroLinux
EuroLinux Desktop is a breakthrough in the operating system market. It combines the aesthetic and functionality of Windows® and macOS® with the reliability and security of the Enterprise Linux distribution. EuroLinux Desktop introduces several changes to the Linux user interface, making it easy to use for those accustomed to Microsoft® or Apple® software. At the same time, it provides the highest security and stability, because it is built on the source code of Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® 9, commonly used in the most demanding environments such as banks, telecommunications or public sectors. EuroLinux Desktop is designed for individuals and organizations that use Windows® or macOS® daily and are looking for a stable operating system that maintains the aesthetic of the Microsoft® and Apple® solutions and is covered by long-term technical support. EuroLinux Desktop is the answer to the needs of public administration, the financial sector, educational institutions, and normal users.Starting Price: Free -
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SONiC
NVIDIA Networking
NVIDIA offers pure SONiC, a community-developed, open-source, Linux-based network operating system that has been hardened in the data centers of some of the largest cloud service providers. Pure SONiC through NVIDIA removes distribution limitations and lets enterprises take full advantage of the benefits of open networking—as well as the NVIDIA expertise, experience, training, documentation, professional services, and support that best guarantee success. NVIDIA provides support for Free Range Routing (FRR), SONiC, Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI), systems, and application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC)—all in one place. Unlike a distribution, SONiC doesn’t require reliance upon a single vendor for roadmap additions, bug fixes, or security patches. With SONiC, you can achieve unified management with existing management tools across the data center. -
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Linspire
PC/OpenSystems LLC
Linspire is a 64 bit Linux based OS, that is geared towards the business, education and government worker. It has all the applications business users will need for work, research and deployment among very high end desktop systems. With Linspire you can host the entire line of legacy applications that may still be in use in your environment as well as facilities for deploying web apps. Linspire is certified in many states to run government intranet and web based applications. Linspire is the ONLY Debian and Ubuntu based system that is certified by Oracle and IBM to host and deploy their respective cloud technologies. Linspire is deployed by 4 out of 5 US military branches and is in use by the NOAA and the National Weather Service.Starting Price: $39.99 -
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Freespire
PC/OpenSystems LLC
The Freespire Operating System is the open source and free release of the commercial Linspire operating system. It contains many of the same software packages as Linspire with the exception of the software that requires us to purchase a license to redistribute. You are free to redistribute Freespire as you wish. Freespire requires an x86_64 bit processor, 4 gb of RAM and at least a 20 gb hard drive to run a basic productivity environment. For optimal performance we recommend at least 6 - 8 gb of RAM for users who want to run emulation software such as VMWare or VirtualBox. For users who need to run software like CAD programs, Video or Audio production we recommend at least 8 gb or more. You can also install Freespire as standalone or dual boot on Intel based Apple Macintoshes.Starting Price: Free -
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Stratodesk NoTouch
Stratodesk
Stratodesk NoTouch is the #1 Thin Client endpoint OS and management solution in the world. Comprised of both NoTouch OS and NoTouch Center, Stratodesk NoTouch lets you transform any PC, Thin Client, Laptop or Raspberry Pi device into a secure and centrally managed Thin Endpoint. You can also instantly deploy NoTouch OS onto thousands of devices and manage them from oStratodesk NoTouch is the #1 Thin Client endpoint OS and management solution in the world. Comprised of both NoTouch OS and NoTouch Center, Stratodesk NoTouch lets you transform any PC, Thin Client, Laptop or Raspberry Pi device into a secure and centrally managed Thin Endpoint. You can also instantly deploy NoTouch OS onto thousands of devices and manage them from one browser. NoTouch OS is the minimal footprint OS that installs from your server onto your PC, Laptop, Thin Client, or Raspberry Pi Device. NoTouch Center is the #1 endpoint management software for your VDI endpoints. -
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openSUSE Leap
openSUSE
A brand new way of building openSUSE and a new type of a hybrid Linux distribution. Leap uses source from SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE), which gives Leap a level of stability unmatched by other Linux distributions, and combines that with community developments to give users, developers and sysadmins the best stable Linux experience available. If you’re already running openSUSE you can upgrade by booting from the DVD/USB and choosing upgrade, or carry out an ‘Online Upgrade’ in a few commands. Leap is a classic stable distribution approach, one release each year and in between security and bugfixes. This makes Leap very attractive as server operating system, but as well for Desktops since it requires little maintenance effort. openSUSE Leap is compatible with SUSE Linux Enterprise; this gives Leap a level of stability unmatched by other Linux distributions and provides users the ability to migrate to an enterprise offering. -
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Xfce
Xfce
Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment for UNIX-like operating systems. It aims to be fast and low on system resources, while still being visually appealing and user friendly. In order to make Xfce shine a little more out of the box and to strengthen its visual identity we created new icons for all of our core applications and based them on a shared palette to ensure consistency. We also set some further (implicit) design constraints, loosely following Adwaita's principles. The Settings Manager itself received a visual refresh of its filter box, which can now be hidden permanently. At the same time the search capabilities of the filter box were improved by searching the descriptive 'Comments' part of each dialog's launcher (aka .desktop) file. This new dialog represents a merger between the previously available 'Mime Settings' and the 'Preferred Applications' dialogs. Consolidating both in one place means users have an easier time setting default applications to handle files.
