Which is your favorite Linux distribution?

No readers like this yet.
No readers like this yet.
Penguins gathered together in the Artic

Opensource.com

It's an age old question, but it's always fun to hear how distributions change from year to year. What is your favorite Linux distribution?

With all of the choices out there, we can't list them all. Instead, we used DistroWatch.com's page hit rankings to generate for us the top 10 Linux distributions over the last 30 days.

The DistroWatch Page Hit Ranking statistics are a light-hearted way of measuring the popularity of Linux distributions and other free operating systems among the visitors of this website. They correlate neither to usage nor to quality and should not be used to measure the market share of distributions. They simply show the number of times a distribution page on DistroWatch.com was accessed each day, nothing more.

When we asked this question last year, over five thousand readers responded. Can we top that this year?

If your current distribution of choice didn't make the cut, pick your favorite from this list and let us know in the comments. Be sure to let us know why you picked your distro of choice!

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
4406 votes tallied
Mint
13% (552 votes)
Ubuntu
19% (854 votes)
Debian
8% (336 votes)
Fedora
9% (404 votes)
openSUSE
3% (127 votes)
PCLinuxOS
40% (1770 votes)
elementary
2% (86 votes)
Android-x86
0% (15 votes)
Deepin
1% (30 votes)
CentOS
5% (232 votes)

Results

Tags

Comments

68 Comments

AntergOS, the easy-to-install Arch linux derivative.

I'm a bit disappointed that my SolydXK is not in the list ;)

Manjaro, user friendly arch linux distro

Mageia

How can the last year's second place not be on the list?

And Linux is not an operating system,but just a kernel. So as there are just GNU/Linux distributions in the poll, Android-x86 is completely irrelevant

What you're saying is nonsense. Being Android in the list makes "Linux" the correct choice over "GNU/Linux".

I like the simplicity of Gnome so presently I like Debian and Raspbian for their simplicity. I've been a user of Ubuntu for almost ten years. For enterprise applications I like the rock solid performance of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. I've also found CentOS to be very solid when I was supporting a Linux Terminal Server in a school district.

I picked Debian because it's the foundation for the distribution I use.

I started using Ubuntu with Ubuntu 9.04 and I like the how Ubuntu has progressed except for Unity. The OS is a great Linux distro. I use both the server and desktop versions at home.

It's nowhere near the top 10, but I run NixOS on all my computers.

I have runing Ubuntu Studio for many years

Slackware. For over twenty years almost the only distro worth running.

Praise Bob !

Arch Linux. Cutting edge and excellent (read excellent) documentation.

Can only pick one?!

I generally go between the "big 3" as I call them; Ubuntu, Fedora and openSUSE. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages plus I use them on desktops, laptops and servers.

That doesn't include the ones I am considering (CentOS for a server, IPCop for a firewall, etc.).

I guess a distro-hopper like me just can't pick one.... ;)

Quick note on the link to last year's poll: for some reason the poll is showing each distributions twice (Mint, Mint, Fedora, Fedora, Debian, Debian, Ubuntu, Ubuntu, etc., etc., ..).

Arch linux ftw.

Mine is CrunchBang so I voted Debian

Voted Debian and it is my favorite for server. Manjaro is my fav for desktop although I've only been using it for less than a month.

I like Ubuntu!

I use Linux Mint but recently resuscitated some Pentium M laptops with Xubuntu 12.04 and work with a project distributing live USB sticks with Puppy Linux.

I'm not getting it

Android-x86
Deepin

But not Arch or Manjaro or Antegros or Mageia ?

Poll has me confused
.

Anything not using systemd!

PCLinuxOS DOES NOT use systemd!

I am glad it will not use it and I hope we make it to number one on the list.

Nope and it never will I hope :D PClinuxOS is one of the most easiest to use OS of any kind (I mean across all OS's regardless of platform.)

You almost need two polls, one server one workstation. I use RHEL for servers and I love Xubuntu for a desktop.

I selected Ubuntu which I run (32/64 desktop/server, LVM or not) on almost every box/VM in my "domain" thus I know it better... but that don't stop me from using Debian/CentOs or other distribution depending on the scope of the installation.
I've been a little disappointed by OpenSUSE when recently had problems with older HW and new releases... whereas Ubuntu seemed happy to chug along!
Anyway I'm deeply enjoying Linux!!!

Ubuntu...what a farce.

Slackware should have been on the list just because it's been around the longest and still does everything any other distro can do and with less trouble.

I also agree with another commenter that *anything* that runs 'systemd'-free should get a vote.

Running Slackware on servers and desktops. Ever heard of that?

Gentoo is the best distro for servers and developers. Why? a very strong dependency tree, development tools already incorporated and it could be optimized for your platform.

Get Slack !

If the community would focus on just one version - and make it work - the world would be a better place with some real competition to Apple/MS. The reason you have this poll is the reason Linux is hardly ever used on the desktop - there are just too many versions and NONE of them JUST WORK out of the box! My 2 cents from a long term user.

And just what "ONE" distro would you suggest everyone focus on? What you suggest just isn't going to happen, and just is plain silly if you really think it will.

I wanted to pick two as well. I like LinuxMint. Sleek and simple with all the behind the scenes bells and whistles, but without all the flash. Ubuntu is polished, flashy, and easy to use.

I use Slackware. No other distro can compare to Slackware in my opinion.

Slackware!

Slackware: the least annoying distro out there

Next time, the list should somehow be grouped:
debian and similar like raspbian
ubuntu and similar like kubuntu. Might include spin-offs here, however it is a family on its own.
redhat family including fedora and centos. Oracle Linux might be included here.
suse family, including opensuse
mint (or other ubuntu spin-offs)

so far for the gnu-linux distributions.

Next, the list of systems using the linux kernel in an other enviromnemt
android-linux
...

On top of that, I donnot have a single favorite, I have more. Hence, allow users to check up to 3 or put them in orders or such. THat will give a much better overview.

In the end: my answers include:
- ubuntu, the default
- raspbian, for the hardware
- android-linux for the phone
- centos where rpm is a need
- gentoo for the netbook without uae capabilities.

Overall Favorite: Scientific Linux, Second Favorite: RHEL
Voted For: Fedora
Why?
If it's not S.L., then the one I feel most comfortable with is Fedora.
If you don't feel comfortable with your distribution, then you should find a different one.

I choose a different for servers vs. desktop and I also choose distro based on hardware speed, RAM, etc.

Sabayon should be on that list, it installs as easy as mint and is a rolling distro

Slackware!

Where's Slackware? It's a pretty major distribution, and the oldest active Linux distribution in existence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slackware

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/another-%27poll%27-4175531619/

None of them. Linux is being destroyed from the inside out by Lennart Poettering, Kay Sievers and systemd. And Micro$oft is sitting back laughing.

PcLinuxOS has chosen not to us systemd .

Yep, Texstar has already said that there will be no systemd unless there was a gun pointed to his head :D

Puppy Linux

Slackware!!!!