All the Linux distributions are either derivatives of GNU/Linux ( OS made up of Linux Kernel developed by Linus Torvalds and GNU software repository) or derived from other Linux derivatives.
This post will review the top 12 most popular Linux distributions based on the usage statistics and market share.
DistroWatch has been the most reliable source of information about open-source operating systems, focusing on Linux distributions and flavors of BSD. It consistently collects and presents a wealth of information about Linux distributions to make them easier to access.
Although it is not a good indicator of a distribution’s popularity or usage, DistroWatch remains the most accepted measure of popularity within the Linux community. It uses Page Hit Ranking (PHR) statistics to measure the popularity of Linux distributions among website visitors.
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To find out the most widely used distros of this year, let’s head to Distrowatch and check the Page Hit Ranking (PHR for short) table. There, you can choose a wide variety of periods that will allow you to check the ranking of Linux and BSD distributions.
Desktop distributions come with a Graphical user interface enabled by default & aimed at individual users, and most of the administration work can be done using GUI. Good for new users and running Linux-based graphical applications.
Server Distributions are for more advanced users familiar with the Linux command line as Graphical Interface is not enabled by default in most server distributions. Server distributions come with web servers like apache and networking packages like DNS and are useful for running backend services, work as a web server or DNS Server.
Here is the list of top 10 Linux distributions to free download the latest version of the Linux operating system with links to Linux documentation and home pages.
1. Mint
Linux Mint’s well-known motto (“From freedom came elegance“), is not just a saying. Based on Ubuntu, it is a stable, powerful, complete, and easy-to-use Linux distribution – and we could go on and on with a list of positive adjectives to describe Mint.
Among Mint’s most distinguishing features we can mention that during installation, you are allowed to choose from a list of desktop environments, and you can rest assured that once it’s installed, you will be able to play your music and video files without any extra configuration steps since the standard installation provides multimedia codecs out of the box.
- Download http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php
- Home Page http://linuxmint.com/
- Documentation:http://community.linuxmint.com/
2. Debian
As a rock-solid Linux distribution, Debian Linux is committed to free software (so it will always remain 100% free). Still, it also allows users to install and use non-free software on their machines for productivity. It is used both on desktop and server computers and runs the infrastructure that runs the clouds.
Being one of the two oldest and most famous Linux distributions (the other being RedHat Enterprise Linux), it is the basis of numerous popular Linux distributions, notably Ubuntu and Kali Linux.
At the time of this writing, the Debian repositories for the current stable version (codename Buster) contain 59,000 packages in total, making it a very comprehensive Linux distribution.
Although its strength is mainly visible in servers, the desktop edition has seen remarkable improvements in features and appearance.
- Download : http://www.debian.org/distrib/ftplist
- Home Page : http://www.debian.org/
- Documentation : http://www.debian.org/doc/
3. Ubuntu
Perhaps this distribution does not need any introduction. Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, has devoted great efforts to making it a popular and widespread distro to the point that you can now find it in smartphones, tablets, PCs, servers, and cloud VPS.
Also, Ubuntu has the plus of being based on Debian and is a very popular distribution among new users – which is maybe the reason for its sustained growth over time. Although not taken into consideration in this ranking, Ubuntu is the base for other distributions of the Canonical family, such as Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and Lubuntu.
On top of all that, the installation image includes the “Try Ubuntu” feature, which lets you try Ubuntu before actually installing it on your hard drive. Not many major distributions provide such features nowadays.
- Download Mirrors : http://www.ubuntu.com/download/
- Home Page : http://www.ubuntu.com/
- Documentation : https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UserDocumentation
4. openSUSE
S.u.S.E. is a German acronym for “Software und System-Entwicklung” (software and systems development)
OpenSUSE is based on Linux, and it is a community project sponsored by SUSE and others companies.
- Download Mirrors – http://software.opensuse.org/
, http://mirrors.opensuse.org/list/all.html - Home Page – http://www.opensuse.org/
- Documentation – http://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Documentation
- Download Mirrors – http://software.opensuse.org/
5. Manjaro
Manjaro comes with preinstalled desktop environments, graphical applications (including a software center), and multimedia codecs to play audio and videos.
Based on Arch Linux, Manjaro aims to take advantage of the power and features that make Arch a great distribution while providing a more pleasant installation and operation experience for new and experienced Linux users.
- Download Mirrors – http://manjaro.org/get-manjaro/
- Home Page – http://manjaro.org/
- Documentation – http://wiki.manjaro.org/
6. Fedora
Built and maintained by the Fedora Project (and sponsored by Red Hat), a worldwide community of volunteers and developers, Fedora continues to be one of the top used distributions for years now due to its three main available versions (Workstation (for desktops), Server edition, and Cloud image), along with the ARM version for ARM-based (typically headless) servers.
However, perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of Fedora is that it’s always in the lead of integrating new package versions and technologies into the distribution. In addition, new releases of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS are based on Fedora.
- Download – https://getfedora.org/ , https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mirrormanager/mirrors
- Home Page https://getfedora.org/
- Documentation http://docs.fedoraproject.org/
7. elementary
Advertised by its developers as “a fast and open replacement for Windows and OS X”, this nice-looking Ubuntu LTS-based desktop Linux distribution was first made available in 2011 and is currently on its fifth stable release (codename “Hera“).
Since the elementary OS is based on Ubuntu, it is totally compatible with its repositories and packages. On a personal note, this is one of the best-looking desktop distributions I’ve ever seen.
- Download – http://elementary.io/
- Home Page – http://elementary.io/
- Documentation – https://elementary.io/docs/learning-the-basics
8. Zorin
Zorin OS is one of the best and easy-to-use Linux desktop distributions currently available. It is an alternative to Windows and macOS, thus a gateway into Linux. What makes it popular is its powerful, clean, and polished desktop which offers the Zorin Appearance app that lets users tweak the desktop to resemble the environment they are familiar with.
- Download – http://zorin-os.com/free.html
- Home Page – http://www.zorin-os.com/
- Documentation – https://zorinos.com/help/
9. CentOS
Centos is named after Community ENTerprise Operating System. CentOS is an open-source enterprise-class operating system built by Red Hat Enterprise Linux by Red Hat. This was a solid Linux distro in its time, but beware, this used to be a popular offshoot of RedHat, but they are no longer supporting future releases, so keep that in mind.
- Download – http://www.centos.org/download/ , http://www.centos.org/download/mirrors/
- Home Page – http://www.centos.org/
- Documentation – http://wiki.centos.org/
10. Arch
Arch Linux is based on GNU/Linux available in i686- and x86_64-optimised Linux distribution and provides the ability to build custom installation and new packages and share them by Arch Linux Repository.
- Download – http://www.archlinux.org/download/
- Home Page – http://www.archlinux.org/
- Documentation – http://wiki.archlinux.org/
11. Solus
Designed specifically for home and office computing, Solus is a Linux distribution built from scratch. It comes with a variety of software out of the box, so you can get going without the hassle of setting up your device.
Some of its more interesting features include a custom desktop environment called Budgie, which is tightly integrated with the GNOME stack (and can be configured to emulate the look and feel of the GNOME 2 desktop).
It is also usable by developers as it offers a wide variety of development tools such as editors, programming languages, compilers, version control systems, and containerization/ virtualization technology.
- Download – https://getsol.us/download/
- Home Page – https://getsol.us/home/
- Documentation – https://getsol.us/help-center/home/
12. MX Linux
Thanks to its high stability, elegant and efficient desktop, MX Linux tops the list and an easy learning curve. It is a midweight desktop-oriented Linux operating system based on Debian. It comes with a simple configuration, solid performance, and a medium-sized footprint. It is built for all types of users and applications.
Additionally, it is essentially user-oriented; it comes with a certain amount of non-free software to ensure that the system works out of the box. One unique thing about MX Linux is that it ships with systemd (system and service manager) included by default but disabled because of its controversies. Instead, it uses systemd-shim, which emulates most if not all systemd functions that are required to run the helpers without employing the init service.
Download – https://getsol.us/download/
Home Page – https://getsol.us/home/
Documentation – https://getsol.us/help-center/home/
Summary
In this article, we have briefly described the top 10 Linux distributions for last year, 2021. If you are a new user trying to decide which distro to adopt to start your journey or an experienced user wanting to explore new options, we hope this guide will allow you to make an informed decision.
Don’t hesitate to let us know what you think about these top 10 distros? And which Linux distro would you recommend for newbies and why?