I'd go with Ubuntu LTS - it receives updates for 5 years and security updates only for another 5 years.
this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2026
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Fedora. It's so easy to use and so stable. Unfortunately my bleeding-edge NVIDIA graphics card does not play nice with it, so I have been stuck with arch.
Mint. It just works.
Want to live on the wild side? Use the Debian based version.
Debian is kind of too big to fail. Maybe NixOS if you want something that will almost certainly gain popularity in the future.
Don't think though that distros are the layer which you want to look at. Lots of stuff happens at the level of DEs, drivers and individual apps, which sure is preconditioned by the distro you choose but at the same time not that strict of a thing. You can get anything working provided you have the time.
x11 is still in its last round before retirement it seems, using Wayland is going to future proof what you've got majorly.
My 2c. Feel free to critique.
No Tumbleweed fans? :/
They (openSUSE) make a lot of default decisions for you, but it's really close to 0 maintenance if you lack the time (or just cannot even for months at a time) & still a rolling release, zypper, etc.
Arch and I love socks
Also Arch, but barefoot
Reproducibility. If I'm spending months configuring my setup then I want it to stay exactly the same and easily rebuildable even if I switch/upgrade my computer. NixOS is the only answer.
I would 'free but folks need to learn some Nix basics before the jump in headlong into bad community recommendations like starting with flakes. It’s hard to just drop into Nix without some commitment.
This! I've got 7 machines running NixOS already and using Linux on so many machines is only manageable with the reproducibility NixOS provides. Whenever I lay my hands on a new server, PC, laptop, tablet or phone, I just add a few lines for it in my config, run a single nixos-anywhere command and it's good to go. Syncing changes is also just two commands: git pull && nh os switch. Been using NixOS for a year and a half and it still can'st stop to amaze me
Spending time thinking about which distro to use is time that could have been spent learning how Linux works as a whole.
After 20 years of Gentoo, I don't see myself switching in the next five. Comfortable, capable, flexible.
18 years here (started 2008, god, has it really been that long?). And I only had to reinstall once in that time (my own fault). Even new systems are just installed from snapshots of my existing systems.
It's really low maintenance once it's set up. It almost never breaks, and for breaking changes you get news through the package manager months in advance, and if you actually need to fix something it's always possible (easy downgrades, deploying of patches, etc.). I'm also using some Arch and Ubuntu on the side and stability doesn't even compare.
idk bro I've been running the same arch install for the last 6 years and I will run it for the next 5 as well.
I’m a newbie, just put Mint on an old laptop and I’m blown away; it really does just work!
I have been thinking about trying Arch next because it’s so well documented. I don’t know maybe put together a little home server or something.
Do you think it’s appropriate for a relative newcomer? I’m excited by the documentation but also a little intimidated by it! I suspect I’ll need to ask for help but would worry about not having read everything there is to read first.
Try it on something that you're not relying on for your daily activities. It takes some time to learn and you'll make mistakes. But it's a great exercise for learning and as a hobby.
Lovely! The hobby aspect definitely appeals, though so does the idea of getting everything running well! Have you heard anything about Manjaro as a user-friendly version of arch? I guess it may cut against the arch ethos of "precisely what you choose to install and nothing more," but I feel like if it's any good I could get the sort of ease-of-use that I have with mint while having the option to dabble and experiment more with the guidance of the arch wiki available?
Arch was definitely tricky to get right for me at yhe beginning.
You often have a choise between multiple similar tools for each job and you only know the pros and cons or what works and what doesn't after trying.
I did 3-4 fresh installs before getting it right for my needs and hardware. (for example, btrfs with buttermanager requires a completely different fs layout than btrfs with snapper, I picked buttermanager first, didn't like it after 2 weeks and had to do a fresh install)
For that it's handy to have a good backup of your important data, ideally outside of your pc, just so there is no risk of fucking it up somehow.
I definitely recommend using btrfs and using it's snapsotting feature through snapper or timeshift or something else, again, multiple tools for the same job, different pros and cons.
That way you can roll back after fucking something up. But make sure to try it out a couple of times before the case comes where you have to rely on it, so you're sure that it does work and you know how to properly do it.
I prefer arch cause I was able to customize it more and I love the up to date packages and the AUR. But there is some additional maintenance you have to do like once or twice a year and you have to pay attention to news for manual interventions when there is a breaking update. So it is way more involved than other distros. Yet it has been rock solid for me and should be very reliable once you know your way around.
But tbh. as long as you are completely happy with mint, there is no reason to change anything.
I am very happy with mint. I can imagine making arch more of a project and having a lot of fun with it, and as I said, the wiki really seems like a big draw! I probably wouldn't swap my daily driver from mint for a while, but I'm gonna put together a desktop to maybe run 24/7 and run a little plex server or whatever. I am interested in the possibility of even running it headless...maybe even streaming games from it to a laptop (I don't have a very good space for a desktop set up in my home right now...too snug!).
Anyway thanks for your thoughts. Arch does seem really cool but maybe I should stick with something a bit more beginner friendly for a little longer, and come to arch when I'm more "ready," or when my new little obsession with linux has solidified into a habit or whatever!
e: anyone have experience with manjaro as a user-friendly version of arch?
Been using Debian stable since Hans reiser got locked up.
It’s fine and it will continue to be fine.
Void. Second choice, debian.
Best of both worlds -- Debian + Nix home-manager. Debian gives you incredible stability and plenty of usage resources. Nix gives you anything too new for Debian and functionally confines the more experimental end of your config to user space.
NixOS. I came a long way and it combines the best of modular, customizable and immutable.
Gentoo <3
Depends on what I'm doing.
Workstation or server will be Debian. Personal devices are either Debian or Arch.
I'd prioritize Debian if I could only pick one for all options.
Don't forget debian on phones (mobian), debian on embedded devices (armbian or even pure debian), debian on gaming machines and debian on vms running on debian hosts
I asked myself this exact question back in 2020 and chose Arch. At the time I had been using Fedora since 2017. What I ultimately wanted was a system I could install once and continually evolve rather than replace. Several years on, I’m still running that same installation and it has never given me a reason to reconsider....
If l have a nice pc definitly qubes os
If I had to pick one, Arch. I already use it a lot, so it's familiar. I know my way around the package manager and how to create packages, so even when things aren't available for Arch out of the box, I can make it work.
It'd be kind of a hassle trying to keep anywhere close to 100% server uptime, but for my own personal stuff that shouldn't be that big of an issue, as I can fix it when I have the time.
For desktop, I basically can't do stable release. I frequently mess with new projects requiring the latest versions of everything, which is a near impossible task on stable-release distros.
Familiar
So, mint with cinnamon
I've been daily driving Debian Stable for the past 5 years and I am more than happy to continue for the next five. It's also on nearly all of my machines and the majority of my VMs.
I'm honestly not very keen on the latest features or hardware, but I am very keen on my software being predictable and consistent, so the Debian release cycle is perfect for me.
If I had to limit myself to one distro for all tasks, can't go wrong with Debian.
I once waited a whole year for debian to ship the next version to get an update for an app that had a bug, that was already fixed upstream.
Every day I would open the app and experience the bug.
Anger, frustration, shaking the mouse.
Every.
Fucking.
Day.
I’ve been on Linux for 14 years now and all the projects I’ve used as my daily driver are still kicking and doing great. Arch, Fedora, Debian, and NixOS. I’m on nix and I’d happily stay here ten more years if the governance stuff settles down, that concerns me. But from a technical and package availability perspective it’s amazing
Debian testing, then upgrade it as they make major releases. I have yet to have a single Debian upgrade go wrong on Desktop or Server. It is basically magic.
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System 76 cosmic, I have been testing it for a couple months and its pretty solid imo
This is a DE not a distro, System76's distro is named Pop_OS!
Well, I've been using Ubuntu for the last 20 years (god, it hurts to say that) and only started playing with NixOS, 3 years ago.
Between the two I like NixOS better, but if I had to choose only one it would probably be Ubuntu. When things break, I know how to fix it. Usually without having to spend 2 hours of reading and trying to understand the documentation.
For a headless server: Ubuntu. Solid, reliable and stable for many years.
For gaming: Pop OS looks promising now that cosmic has been released, however I’d probably stick with Fedora as it’s leading edge and has served me well so far.
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The one I've been using for the last 17 years, Gentoo
Last year I would have said Arch. I have been running it for over 15 years with some small breaks to try stuff, or with some machines that have company issued OS. But I have been toying with NixOS, and honestly I'm loving it. If I had to choose only one and couldn't change it it would have to be Arch, I know I can get 5 years with it easily, but if I was setting a new system today it would almost assuredly be NixOS, I might regret that 3 years down the line when there's something I can't get to work, but the more I play around, the less likely I think that would be, and the more comfortable I feel that I will eventually migrate to NixOS fulltime
For my desktop: openSUSE Tumbleweed/Slowroll. I like to keep my desktop as up-to-date as possible, and openSUSE is pretty good. Sure, there's the occasional udev update that breaks inputs in the desktop environment, but that's the other side of the coin.
For my laptop and other uses: Debian. The old reliable doesn't mind if I don't update as often, and unlike rolling releases, updates aren't wont to break anything. In a pinch I could use it on the desktop too.
MX Linux
Debian or ubuntu on my server/docker image. Maybe alpine for docker.
EndeavourOS on my desktop/laptop.
I would go with (semi)rolling, either openSUSE Tumbleweed/Slowroll or Fedora. I prioritize fast updating distros because they are better for security (many vulnerabilities go unnoticed because the full scope isnt understood and they are deemed normal bugs), and (unlike Windows) updates on Linux are a good thing, bring new features, crash/bug fixes, and optimizations.
Fedora is very popular, has wide software support, and is very stable. openSUSE is also still pretty popular, (even its rolling edition) is quite stable as well, has good software support, and YaST allows you to do graphical administration on your system. Both take security seriously and use SELinux for security policies.
If you care about security, use Brace for automatic system hardening. It has been developed for years by the former DivestOS dev Tavi, supporting many distros.
I am using Fedora Server edition on my home server and EndeavourOS on my main. I see no reason to change that.
If I had to choose only one I would go with stable first.
I used Manjaro for the last 5 years, and it still works as it did on the first day, so I'd chose it for the 5 coming years. I know the cool kids hate it, but in my case it's the right spot.
I run multiple servers all Debian desktop is Cachy becasue Endeavour broke.
Looking forward to cachy server.
But i think for servers a little more reservation is required.
Omnissiah willing, Bazzite.
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