Linux Mint
Windows-shaped, deliberately boring, and the place most people stop looking. That is the compliment.
Facts
- Family
- ubuntu
- Based on
- Ubuntu 24.04 (LMDE 7 on Debian)
- Release model
- Follows Ubuntu LTS, supported to 2029
- Current
- 22.3 Zena; LMDE 7
- Init system
- systemd
- Default desktop
- Cinnamon
- NVIDIA
- Driver Manager, a couple of clicks.
- Systemd-free
- No
- 32-bit support
- No
- As of
- 2026-10-09
On the DistroWatch top 10
The distro your relatives can't break. They will try.
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.
How the chooser scores it
Scores run from 1 to 5, and 5 is best for the user. They are opinion with a spreadsheet.
- StabilityStability: 5 out of 5
- Easy installEasy install: 5 out of 5
- Daily comfortDaily comfort: 5 out of 5
- Docs and helpDocs and help: 5 out of 5
- Fresh softwareFresh software: 2 out of 5
- GamingGaming: 4 out of 5
- DevelopmentDevelopment: 4 out of 5
- Old hardwareOld hardware: 3 out of 5
- ControlControl: 3 out of 5
- LightnessLightness: 4 out of 5
- NVIDIA, recent cardsNVIDIA, recent cards: 5 out of 5
- NVIDIA, older cardsNVIDIA, older cards: 5 out of 5
Caveats
- The base is Ubuntu 24.04, so brand-new hardware support and app versions arrive late.
- Updates are cautious by design; you will not get the newest of everything.
Community
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