5 Best Linux Distributions for Raspberry Pi Compared (2024)

FAQs

Which is the recommended Linux for Raspberry Pi? ›

Raspberry Pi OS (formerly known as Raspbian) remains a top choice as a Linux distribution (distro) for the Pi, and one of the most popular Raspberry Pi Linux distros.

There are commercially backed distributions, such as Fedora Linux (Red Hat), openSUSE (SUSE) and Ubuntu (Canonical Ltd.); and entirely community-driven distributions, such as Debian, Slackware, Gentoo and Arch Linux.

1. Ubuntu - Best overall Linux distro for laptops. Ubuntu is one of the most versatile Linux distributions with an active community and long-term supports. It is a favorite among newbies and intermediate users, especially due to the large number of software utilities available.

Summary. As a whole, Raspberry Pi OS is faster than Ubuntu in terms of performance. So, if speed is important to you, it might be a better choice. I still find these results a bit slow, a Raspberry Pi 4/400 should probably do better.

The Foundation recently celebrated the tenth anniversary since the first Raspberry Pi was launched. Since then, speculations about the release of the fifth generation of Pi boards have increased. There is no official statement yet, but enthusiasts expect the Raspberry Pi 5 to be launched in late 2022 or early 2023.

The Raspberry Pi 4 has a 64-bit processor and can run 64-bit images. Because it can run 64-bit images, you can choose either Kali Linux RaspberryPi 2, 3, 4 and 400 (img.

There are three main “families” of Linux distributions: Debian, Red Hat, and SUSE. Most other Linux distributions use one of these three distributions as their foundation.

Well Puppy Linux is by far the fastest out of all Linux distros out there.

What is the fastest Linux distro 2022? ›

Gentoo. Gentoo is known for being extremely difficult to install. When the topic of installing Gentoo comes up, the average time seems to be around three full days to just get the system installed.

Ubuntu – a complete desktop Linux operating system, freely available with the largest community support of any Distro.

The Mint Software Manager is faster than Ubuntu's. Mint is also straightforward and provides more usability options, which allows a user to find things quickly. For example, a common mistake for beginners is to mess with the PPA repository while installing third-party software.

Debian is a lightweight system, which makes it super fast. As Debian comes bare minimum and is not bundled or prepacked with additional software and features, it makes it super fast and lightweight than Ubuntu.

Raspberry Pi OS (formerly Raspbian) is a Debian-based operating system for Raspberry Pi. Since 2013, it has been officially provided by the Raspberry Pi Foundation as the primary operating system for the Raspberry Pi family of compact single-board computers.

Ubuntu is derived from Debian. It means that Ubuntu uses the same APT packaging system as Debian and shares a huge number of packages and libraries from Debian repositories. It utilizes the Debian infrastructure as base. That's what most 'derived' distributions do.

Raspberry Pi 400 Personal Computer Kit

Featuring a quad-core 64-bit processor, 4GB of RAM, wireless networking, dual-display output, and 4K video playback, as well as a 40-pin GPIO header, it's the most powerful and easy-to-use Raspberry Pi computer yet.

You can also enjoy Netflix on Raspberry Pi. The combination of Raspberry Pi & Netflix is a perfect one. Raspberry Pi can be a perfect replacement for your desktop while Netflix allows you to enjoy unlimited content via connecting to the best VPNs for Netflix.

Is there a Raspberry Pi shortage? ›

With the current shortage, tracking down a Raspberry Pi can be tricky. But we can help you find them in stock. Raspberry Pis are difficult to get hold of in 2022, leaving makers, tinkerers, and home-server enthusiasts searching for reasonably priced hardware.

The Pi-Tail is running Kali Linux and your smartphone acts as the power supply, screen, keyboard and mouse. Awesome team work. The network configuration can be prepared offline making it the perfect field companion. Just write the image to a micro-sd card, adjust /boot/interfaces and /boot/wpa_supplicant.

The Raspberry Pi 3 has a quad core 1.2GHz processor, with 1GB of RAM. Kali Linux fits on an external microSD card. By default, the Kali Linux Raspberry Pi 3 image contains the kali-linux-default metapackage similar to most other platforms. If you wish to install extra tools please refer to our metapackages page.

Any default operating system credentials used during Live Boot, or pre-created image (like Virtual Machines & ARM) will be: User: kali. Password: kali.

There are over 600 Linux distros and about 500 in active development.

Which Linux is best for networking? ›

What is the Best Linux Distribution for Servers? Ubuntu is one of the most popular desktop Linux distros out there. Ubuntu also happens to be one of the best Linux distros for servers too.

Arch Linux is a rolling release distribution. That means new kernel and application versions are rolled out to you as soon as they are released. While most other Linux distributions serve you old Linux kernel versions, Arch is quick to provide you the latest kernel. The same goes for software.

Linux Mint

The community-driven Linux distro provides about 30,000 packages and requires minimum maintenance. Its latest version — Linux Mint 20.2, was released in July this year and will be supported until 2025.

CentOS. This is one of the most famous alternatives present for Ubuntu today. It is a stable operating system which is based on Red Hat Linux with a modern desktop environment and comparatively easy installation.

Arch Linux is one of the most loved Linux distros for advanced users who want to setup their own customized installation. In fact, Judd Vinet, the creator of Arch Linux, famously said that Arch Linux is what you make of it.

Advanced Linux The Linux Shell and Toolkit

Based on the manual Introduction to Linux or comparable knowledge, it contains an introduction to the advanced use of the Bourne-Again Shell and shell programming which is enhanced through numerous practical examples.

1] Zorin OS

This is perhaps one of the most Windows-like distribution of Linux. It is somewhat a replica of Windows 7, with the Start menu, Taskbar, etc. The speed of the OS distribution is appreciable. Zorin OS comes with a few pre-loaded utility apps that would make your job easier.

Which Linux is best for 2GB RAM? ›

Expect to spend a few weeks learning basic commands. Then, there is a whole world of more complex commands to master. Expect to spend around six months learning about more advanced commands and the system architecture.

MX Linux

Thanks to its easy installation process and familiar looks, the new users find themselves at home while using MX Linux. With a pretty good hardware recognition and automatic configuration for an out-of-the-box experience, this Debian GNU/Linux-based is also stable for dependable performance.

There are commercially backed distributions, such as Fedora Linux (Red Hat), openSUSE (SUSE) and Ubuntu (Canonical Ltd.); and entirely community-driven distributions, such as Debian, Slackware, Gentoo and Arch Linux.

With Xfce as its default desktop (you can also download spins with either the KDE Plasma or Fluxbox desktops), it's a user-friendly, fast operating system that is a great option for those new to Linux and even those with years of skill under their belt.

Year after year, Linux Mint remains the best Linux desktop for both beginners and experienced users.

Ubuntu has fallen from 5.4% to 3.82%. Debian's popularity has shrunk a bit from 3.42% to 2.95%. Fedora has gained from 3.97% to 4.88%. openSUSE has also gained some, moving from 3.35% to 4.83%.

As you can see, Debian is better than Linux Mint in terms of Out of the box software support. Debian is better than Linux Mint in terms of Repository support. Hence, Debian wins the round of Software support!

Why is Debian so popular? ›

Debian Is Stable and Dependable

Debian is well-known for its stability. The stable version tends to provide older versions of software, so you may find yourself running code that came out several years ago. But that means you're using software that has had more time for testing and with fewer bugs.

It endures a freeze cycle of couple of months before getting released. So software in it gets pretty old by the time it is released. Debian Stable version is damn stable as software and libraries in it go through rigorous testing. This stability makes Debian Stable a perfect server OS.

Key differences between CentOS and Debian

One should pick Debian as it generally has more up to date packages and because it is easier to upgrade to a newer version. A lot of people have started their GNU/Linux journey with Red Hat Linux, and they have always used CentOS and Fedora on their Desktop.

Summary. As a whole, Raspberry Pi OS is faster than Ubuntu in terms of performance. So, if speed is important to you, it might be a better choice.

The Foundation recently celebrated the tenth anniversary since the first Raspberry Pi was launched. Since then, speculations about the release of the fifth generation of Pi boards have increased. There is no official statement yet, but enthusiasts expect the Raspberry Pi 5 to be launched in late 2022 or early 2023.

The Raspberry Pi 4 has a 64-bit processor and can run 64-bit images. Because it can run 64-bit images, you can choose either Kali Linux RaspberryPi 2, 3, 4 and 400 (img.

Compared to the software center on Ubuntu, Manjaro Linux offers a better experience for quickly installing/updating the software. And, it also supports Flatpak/Snap out-of-the-box if you want to enable them with a single click.

Kali Linux is a Debian-derived Linux distribution designed for digital forensics and penetration testing.

Ubuntu Final Words. More experienced users who like having complete control over their OS setup prefer using the Debian distro. Alternatively, beginners and users who favor out-of-the-box distributions with the latest software find Ubuntu suits their needs better.

Raspberry Pi OS (formerly Raspbian) is a Debian-based operating system for Raspberry Pi. Since 2013, it has been officially provided by the Raspberry Pi Foundation as the primary operating system for the Raspberry Pi family of compact single-board computers. English, and other languages.

Is Debian good for Raspberry Pi? ›

On the upside, there are several good reasons to select Debian (Raspberry Pi OS or Raspbian) for your Raspberry Pi project: It is free to download and use, and highly stable and reliable. It is has extensive hardware support from the Linux kernel. It is known for frictionless and easy upgrades.

If you are looking for a simple yet reliable solution for your next DIY project, a Raspberry Pi can be an excellent base for that. Moreover, you can now easily run Ubuntu desktop on your Raspberry Pi 4, even with 2GB of RAM.

Your Raspberry Pi needs an operating system to work. This is it. Raspberry Pi OS (previously called Raspbian) is our official supported operating system.

Chrome, one of the most popular web browsers in the world, is sadly not supported on the Raspberry Pi's hardware. There are no builds of the Chrome web browser for any ARM-based desktop except for the Chromebooks, which unfortunately won't support the Pi's hardware.

Can you run Windows on the Raspberry Pi? In short, yes. It's possible to both install a native Windows image for the Pi and emulate older editions of Windows.

You can install Debian with Raspberry Pi Desktop as your computer's main operating system, run it in a virtual machine, or create a USB stick or other medium from which you can run it when required.

You can install Ubuntu Server 20.04. 1 (LTS), Ubuntu Server 20.10 (non-LTS), as well as Ubuntu Desktop 20.10 (non-LTS) on your Raspberry Pi single-board computers.

The main difference to the Raspberry Pi OS is that the images for those Raspberry Pi systems, capable of running a 64-bit OS (Raspberry Pi 3 and 4), also contain a 64-bit OS ('arm64' in Debian); while the other images run the 32-bit 'armhf' (Raspberry Pi 2) or 'armel' (Raspberry Pi 1 and Zero) architectures.

To run Android on Raspberry Pi, you would need a robust Android version that is regularly updated and actively developed. There are versions in the wild out there, but the best way for running Android on Raspberry Pi is to go with a tested system.

Ubuntu Desktop 22.04.

The latest version of Ubuntu with five years of long term support, until April 2027. Certified for: Raspberry Pi 4 - At least 2 GB RAM required. Raspberry Pi 400.

Is Raspberry Pi 4 ARM or x86? ›

The Raspberry Pi 4 uses a Broadcom BCM2711 SoC with a 1.5 GHz (later models: 1.8 GHz) 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A72 processor, with 1 MB shared L2 cache.

All three versions of Ubuntu can be installed on the Raspberry Pi in the same way. They're also available from the same page. You simply choose the version you want, download the ISO image file, and write to a suitable microSD card. Follow our full guide to installing an operating system on the Raspberry Pi.

"Demand for Raspberry Pi products increased sharply from the start of 2021 onwards, and supply constraints have prevented us from flexing up to meet this demand, with the result that we now have significant order backlogs for almost all products.

The Raspberry Pi imager which can be downloaded from its official website contains the option of the PINN by which we can run multiple operating systems on the same storage device.

Linux Mint on Raspberry Pi: The alternative. A tablet that gives you access to all the Raspberry Pi ports you need, with a simple interface to start programming easily. The goal of this article is not (only) to tell you that installing Linux Mint on Raspberry Pi is impossible, but also to provide an alternative.