Distros
A family tree of operating systems that agree on very little.
Thirty-five years of lineage, the DistroWatch top 10 with its disclaimer intact, and a profile for every distro the chooser knows. Dead branches stay on the tree.
The family tree
Every distribution below descends from the same kernel, and most of them will tell you the others did it wrong. Time runs left to right: each line starts the year a distro was born and branches off the one it came from. Open a family to see its children, or pick a distro and follow its path back to the trunk. Dead branches stay on the tree, in grey, because they earned it.
21 of 84 distributions shown as of 2026.
- Descends from
- Second heritage or base change
- Shared people, not code
- Discontinued
- Selected path
Keyboard: Up and Down move between rows, Right opens a branch, Left folds it or goes to the parent, Home and End jump, typing a name jumps to it. The selected row's path is described below the tree.
Dashed lines mark a second heritage or a base change (SteamOS, Slax, deepin, Kali, SUSE, LMDE, MX Linux). The dotted line links Void and Chimera by people, not by code.
DistroWatch top 10
The six-month page-hit ranking from DistroWatch. It measures curiosity, not usage and not quality, and the disclaimer below says so in the site's own words. Treat it as a weather report.
CachyOS
Arch Linux, after someone tuned the carburetor.
2,682 page hits per day
- Base
- Arch Linux
- Origin
- Germany, July 2021 (Peter Jung, Vladislav Nepogodin)
- Latest ISO
- 260809 (2026-08-09)
- Speed tricks
- x86-64-v3, v4 and Zen 4 rebuilds, BORE scheduler kernel
- Desktop
- Plasma by default, about 18 to choose from
- Minimum
- 3 GB RAM, 30 GB disk
CachyOS is Arch Linux with the tuning already done, which is a polite way of saying someone else touched the carburetor so you do not have to. It began in Germany in July 2021 under Peter Jung and Vladislav Nepogodin. The name comes from the CacULE scheduler. Packages are rebuilt for x86-64-v3, v4 and Zen 4 processors, and the kernel uses the BORE scheduler. Plasma is the default, with about 18 desktops on offer. The latest ISO is 260809, from 2026-08-09. The graphical package manager, Shelly, was rewritten from C# to Zig. The wiki advises against installing it in a virtual machine, which is the most honest sentence in distro marketing. It needs 3 GB of RAM and 30 GB of disk.
Linux Mint
The distro your relatives can't break. They will try.
1,689 page hits per day
- Base
- Ubuntu LTS (the LMDE edition uses Debian)
- Origin
- Ireland, 2006-08-27, Clement Lefebvre
- Latest
- 22.3 Zena, 2026-01-13, supported to 2029
- Desktops
- Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce
- Minimum
- 2 GB RAM, 20 GB disk
Linux Mint is built on Ubuntu LTS, with an alternative edition, LMDE, built on Debian. Clement Lefebvre started it in Ireland on 2006-08-27. The current release is 22.3 Zena, out since 2026-01-13 and supported to 2029. It ships Cinnamon, MATE and Xfce, and asks for 2 GB of RAM and 20 GB of disk. The codenames are female names ending in a, run alphabetically, and have now reached Z. Version 23 is provisionally called Alfa, which will be a first. The appeal is that nothing surprising happens, and the people who recommend it to their relatives are counting on that. The relatives will find a way anyway. That is not Mint's fault.
MX Linux
Debian with a Swiss Army knife taped to the side.
1,522 page hits per day
- Base
- Debian 13 plus antiX
- Origin
- Greece and the USA, first release MX-14 on 2014-03-24
- Latest
- MX-25.3 Infinity, 2026-09-20
- Init
- systemd by default, sysVinit on the same ISO
- Desktops
- Xfce, KDE, Fluxbox
- Minimum
- 1 GB RAM, 15 GB disk
MX Linux is built from Debian 13 and the antiX project, by a joint effort from Greece and the USA. The name is an M from MEPIS and an X from antiX, the two communities behind it. MX-14 appeared on 2014-03-24, and the current release is MX-25.3 Infinity from 2026-09-20. It runs systemd by default but ships sysVinit on the same ISO, a choice few distros offer. Desktops are Xfce, KDE and Fluxbox, and the minimum is a polite 1 GB of RAM and 15 GB of disk. On DistroWatch it was the top distro of the year six years running, from 2019 to 2024, until CachyOS took 2025.
Debian
The universal operating system. Released when it's ready, thank you very much.
1,115 page hits per day
- Base
- Independent
- Origin
- 1993-08-16, Ian Murdock
- Latest
- 13.7 (trixie), 2026-09-12
- Notable
- i386 dropped as a regular architecture
Debian is independent, which in this field means that other people's distros descend from it and not the reverse. Ian Murdock started it on 1993-08-16. The current release is 13.7, codenamed trixie, dated 2026-09-12. Releases are named after Toy Story characters, and the unstable branch is always called Sid, after the neighbour kid who breaks toys. The name itself joins Debra and Ian. The i386 architecture is no longer a regular one. Debian ships when it is ready, not before, and a large share of the rest of this page stands on it. It sits fourth on the chart, which is where a calm reputation lands you.
Fedora
Tomorrow's Linux, today, whether or not you're ready.
1,077 page hits per day
- Sponsor
- Red Hat, USA
- Origin
- Fedora Core 1, 2003-11-04
- Latest
- Fedora 44, 2026-04-28; Fedora 45 targeted for 2026-10-20
- Support
- About 13 months per release
- Desktop
- GNOME 50; a KDE edition since Fedora 42
- Minimum
- 4 GB RAM, 40 GB disk
Fedora is the Red Hat-sponsored distribution, started as Fedora Core 1 on 2003-11-04. Releases get about 13 months of support, so staying current is the intended lifestyle. Fedora 44 landed on 2026-04-28 with GNOME 50, and Fedora 45 is targeted for 2026-10-20, which is why this entry carries an expiry date. A KDE edition has existed since Fedora 42. The system wants 4 GB of RAM and 40 GB of disk. Adding RPM Fusion for codecs and proprietary drivers is a traditional rite of passage, performed shortly after install by nearly everyone. Fedora ships new software early so that other distros can find the bugs later, and it does so cheerfully.
Pop!_OS
Built by a hardware company, rewritten in Rust, delivered fashionably late.
1,074 page hits per day
- Maker
- System76, built on Ubuntu LTS
- First release
- 17.10, 2017-10-27
- Latest
- 24.04 LTS with COSMIC, 2025-12-11
- Desktop
- COSMIC (Rust, Wayland)
- Extras
- Separate NVIDIA ISO; Secure Boot must be off
- Minimum
- 4 GB RAM, 16 GB disk
Pop!_OS comes from System76, a hardware company, and sits on Ubuntu LTS. The first release was 17.10 on 2017-10-27. The current one, 24.04 LTS, arrived on 2025-12-11 with COSMIC, a desktop written in Rust that runs on Wayland. That is roughly 20 months after Ubuntu 24.04 itself, so the version number is accurate and the calendar is optimistic. A separate NVIDIA ISO exists, and Secure Boot has to be off. The minimum is 4 GB of RAM and 16 GB of disk. The delay bought a new desktop environment built from scratch, which is a respectable use of 20 months, even if the release notes could have mentioned the wait.
Zorin OS
Leave Windows without your muscle memory noticing.
998 page hits per day
- Base
- Ubuntu 24.04
- Origin
- Dublin, the Zorin brothers, 2009-07-01
- Latest
- Zorin OS 18.1, 2026-04-15
- Editions
- Free, Pro (paid), Lite (Xfce, back again)
Zorin OS is built on Ubuntu 24.04 and made in Dublin by the Zorin brothers, first released on 2009-07-01. The pitch is a layout that feels like Windows, so a switch does not require retraining. Zorin OS 18 appeared on the same day Windows 10 support ended, which is the kind of timing people write marketing plans around, and it reached one million downloads in five weeks. The current release is 18.1, from 2026-04-15. There is a free edition, a paid Pro edition, and the Xfce-based Lite edition is back. For people tired of the layout moving every time Windows updates, familiar is a feature, and Zorin sells it plainly.
Ubuntu
The default answer, with strong opinions included.
900 page hits per day
- Maker
- Canonical
- First release
- 4.10 Warty Warthog, 2004-10-20
- Latest LTS
- 26.04.1 Resolute Raccoon (August 2026)
- Next
- 26.10 Stonking Stingray, beta 2026-10-01
- Minimum
- 6 GB RAM, 25 GB disk
Ubuntu is Canonical's distribution, first released as 4.10 Warty Warthog on 2004-10-20. The current long-term release is 26.04.1, Resolute Raccoon, from August 2026, and the next, 26.10 Stonking Stingray, reached beta on 2026-10-01, which is why the entry expires when the final lands. The recommended hardware is 6 GB of RAM and 25 GB of disk. In July 2026 a Rust replacement for cp broke Ubuntu's own ISO builds, and GNU cp was restored. Nobody was harmed: a rewrite met a build pipeline and the pipeline won. Ubuntu is the answer most guides give, for reasons that include documentation, hardware support, and being the answer most guides give.
Bazzite
SteamOS's cousin that moved out and got a desktop.
821 page hits per day
- Base
- Universal Blue, built on Fedora Atomic
- Origin
- 2023
- Latest
- 44.20261006.1
- Updates
- Image-based; roll back up to 90 days
- Handhelds
- Gaming Mode for handheld PCs
Bazzite is a gaming-focused image from the Universal Blue project, built on Fedora Atomic, and it has been around since 2023. The current image is 44.20261006.1. Updates arrive as whole images, and you can roll back up to 90 days, so a bad update becomes an inconvenience and not a lost weekend. On handheld PCs it offers a Gaming Mode in the style of SteamOS, and on a regular PC it gives you a normal desktop. It is named after a mineral, which is a better origin story than most. Games that depend on kernel-level anti-cheat still do not run, and no amount of image engineering changes that. It reaches rank nine, ahead of distros with far longer histories.
EndeavourOS
Arch for people who'd like to keep their weekend.
782 page hits per day
- Base
- Arch Linux
- Origin
- Netherlands, 2019-07-15, after Antergos ended
- Latest
- Titan Nova, 2026-08-28
- Tooling
- yay and the AUR
- Desktop
- Plasma
EndeavourOS appeared in the Netherlands on 2019-07-15, after Antergos ended and its community needed somewhere to go. It is Arch with a graphical installer and little else changed, plus yay for the AUR. The current release is Titan Nova, from 2026-08-28, and the default desktop is Plasma. Releases are named after space missions. The forum has a reputation for being friendly, to the point that people say it is where Arch users go to apologise. That is a rare quality in the Arch world and worth noting. If the idea of Arch appeals but the idea of a full manual install on a free Saturday does not, this is the intended route.
The DistroWatch Page Hit Ranking statistics are a light-hearted way of measuring interest in 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 was accessed each day, nothing more.
Only one hit per IP address per day is counted.
Community leaderboard
Star ratings from signed-in visitors, ranked with a Bayesian average so one enthusiastic vote does not top the chart.
Fetching opinions from the void...
The full deck
Every distro in the chooser catalog, with a profile page each. Pick a card, read the verdict, ignore the rest.
- DebianThe distro half the others are built on, and it behaves like it: slow, steady, quietly unkillable.
- UbuntuThe default answer to 'which Linux' for two decades: polite, documented, slightly pushy about snaps.
- Linux MintWindows-shaped, deliberately boring, and the place most people stop looking. That is the compliment.
- Fedora WorkstationFresh packages, sane defaults and a large sponsor. The developer's polite favourite.
- Pop!_OSSystem76's Ubuntu spin with its own COSMIC desktop and tiling built in. The NVIDIA ISO is a quiet selling point.
- Zorin OSDresses up as Windows or macOS and walks newcomers through the door. Gentle to a fault.
- elementary OSA tidy, opinionated, macOS-flavoured desktop. Lovely until you want to change something.
- openSUSE LeapSUSE's enterprise sibling for people who want a fixed release and serious tooling. Quietly competent.
- openSUSE TumbleweedA rolling release that tests itself before it reaches you. Fresh without most of the roulette.
- Arch LinuxYou build it, you read the wiki, you get exactly what you asked for. The wiki is the real product.
- EndeavourOSArch with a friendly installer and a community that actually answers. Still Arch underneath.
- CachyOSArch tuned for speed with a kernel to match. Gamers and benchmark screenshots love it.
- ManjaroArch with a delay and a governance rough patch. Perfectly usable, just not our headline.
- NixOSYour whole system is one config file. Reproducible and reversible, once you learn a new language.
- Void Linuxrunit, XBPS, no systemd and no version numbers. Small, quick, independent, and not a handholder.
- Alpine LinuxTiny, musl-based and security-minded. Lives happily in containers and routers; as a desktop it is a hobby.
- MX LinuxDebian stable with Xfce and a toolbox of friendly utilities. Quietly excellent on older machines.
- BazziteFedora Atomic built for games: console-like out of the box, and it rolls back when an update misbehaves.
- Fedora Silverblue / KinoiteFedora as an immutable image: update, reboot, or roll back. Apps live in Flatpaks and containers.
- GentooCompile your system and learn why it takes so long. A degree you earn at a keyboard.
- Kali LinuxA penetration-testing toolbox, not a daily driver. Install it only if you can say what for.
- Linux LiteXfce on an Ubuntu LTS base, made for people leaving ageing Windows PCs. Light, plain, pleasant.
- antiXRuns on whatever is left in the cupboard: 32-bit, no systemd, around 200 MB of RAM at idle.
Lineage informed by the Linux Distribution Timeline (GLDT) data, licensed GFDL-1.3 or later, then curated by hand. github.com/FabioLolix/LinuxTimeline