StackShareStackShare
Follow on
StackShare

Discover and share technology stacks from companies around the world.

Follow on

© 2025 StackShare. All rights reserved.

Product

  • Stacks
  • Tools
  • Feed

Company

  • About
  • Contact

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  1. Stackups
  2. Application & Data
  3. Infrastructure as a Service
  4. Operating Systems
  5. Linux Mint vs Raspbian

Linux Mint vs Raspbian

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Linux Mint
Linux Mint
Stacks288
Followers389
Votes77
Raspbian
Raspbian
Stacks141
Followers178
Votes10

Linux Mint vs Raspbian: What are the differences?

Introduction Linux Mint and Raspbian are two popular operating systems used by different user groups. While Linux Mint is primarily designed for desktop and laptop computers, Raspbian is specifically developed for the Raspberry Pi single-board computer. Although they are both based on Debian, they have key differences that distinguish them from each other.

  1. User Interface and Experience: Linux Mint offers a more traditional desktop environment with a focus on easy usability and a familiar interface. On the other hand, Raspbian provides a lightweight and customizable interface optimized for the Raspberry Pi, ensuring smooth performance on limited resources.

  2. Software and Package Availability: Linux Mint provides a vast software repository and is compatible with a wide range of applications and software packages. Raspbian, being the official operating system for the Raspberry Pi, has its own curated repository with a specific focus on software optimized for the Pi's ARM architecture. This means some software available for Linux Mint may not be readily compatible with Raspbian.

  3. Hardware Support: Linux Mint is designed to work on a variety of hardware configurations, supporting a wide range of desktop and laptop computers. In contrast, Raspbian is tailored specifically for the Raspberry Pi, maximizing hardware compatibility and ensuring proper functionality of all Pi-specific features.

  4. Community and Support: Linux Mint benefits from a large and active user community, offering extensive documentation and support forums. Raspbian also has an active community that is focused on supporting Raspberry Pi users, providing dedicated forums, tutorials, and troubleshooting resources tailored specifically to Pi-related issues.

  5. Target Audience: Linux Mint is aimed at general desktop and laptop users who desire an easy-to-use and familiar operating system. It is suitable for a wide range of tasks and does not require any specialized hardware. Raspbian, on the other hand, caters specifically to users of the Raspberry Pi, targeting enthusiasts, hobbyists, and developers who want to harness the full potential of this single-board computer.

  6. Updates and Releases: Linux Mint follows a more traditional release cycle, with regular stable updates and long-term support (LTS) releases. Raspbian, on the other hand, provides more frequent updates and maintenance releases to address specific Raspberry Pi-related issues and enhance compatibility with newer Pi models.

In Summary, Linux Mint and Raspbian differ in terms of user interface, software availability, hardware support, community engagement, target audience, and update strategies, catering to different user needs and device requirements.

Share your Stack

Help developers discover the tools you use. Get visibility for your team's tech choices and contribute to the community's knowledge.

View Docs
CLI (Node.js)
or
Manual

Advice on Linux Mint, Raspbian

Gopi
Gopi

Jun 21, 2020

Decided

I liked manjaro a lot, the huge support it has and the variety of tools it provides is just awesome. But due to its parent platform being Arch Linux it has bleeding-edge technology and that meaning, we get updated 'daily', and if we keep updating the system daily, due to the bugs in the recent updates the system sometimes used to crash, this made the OS really unstable. However, one can avoid such crashes using periodical and careful system/package updates. I now use LinuxMint which is based on Ubuntu, and this OS is completely stable with reliable(mostly tested) updates. And, since this OS is backed up by UBUNTU the concerns/questions one can encounter while using the OS can be easily rectified using the UBUNTU community, which is pretty good. Though this is backed up on UBUNTU it most certainly does NOT include the proprietary stuff of UBUNTU, which is on the bright side of the OS. That's it! Happy Computing.

231k views231k
Comments

Detailed Comparison

Linux Mint
Linux Mint
Raspbian
Raspbian

The purpose of Linux Mint is to produce a modern, elegant and comfortable operating system which is both powerful and easy to use.

It is optimized for the Raspberry Pi hardware. It provides more than a pure OS: it comes with over 35,000 packages, pre-compiled software bundled in a nice format for easy installation on your Raspberry Pi.

-
pre-compiled software; comes with over 35,000 packages
Statistics
Stacks
288
Stacks
141
Followers
389
Followers
178
Votes
77
Votes
10
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 16
    Simple, Fast, Comfort and Easy to Use
  • 15
    Stable
  • 13
    Elegant
  • 12
    Good for beginners
  • 11
    Free to use
Cons
  • 3
    Easy to mess up with a few settings (like the panel)
  • 2
    Security breaches
  • 1
    Idiots can break it because it is open source
Pros
  • 7
    Runs well on rpi
  • 2
    Easy to use with little experience
  • 1
    Very Lightweight
Cons
  • 4
    Desktop enviroment is unstable
  • 1
    Uses ARMHF architecture, not commonly supported
Integrations
No integrations available
Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pi
OpenCV
OpenCV

What are some alternatives to Linux Mint, Raspbian?

Ubuntu

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is an ancient African word meaning ‘humanity to others’. It also means ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’. The Ubuntu operating system brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the world of computers.

Debian

Debian

Debian systems currently use the Linux kernel or the FreeBSD kernel. Linux is a piece of software started by Linus Torvalds and supported by thousands of programmers worldwide. FreeBSD is an operating system including a kernel and other software.

Arch Linux

Arch Linux

A lightweight and flexible Linux distribution that tries to Keep It Simple.

Fedora

Fedora

Fedora is a Linux-based operating system that provides users with access to the latest free and open source software, in a stable, secure and easy to manage form. Fedora is the largest of many free software creations of the Fedora Project. Because of its predominance, the word "Fedora" is often used interchangeably to mean both the Fedora Project and the Fedora operating system.

CentOS

CentOS

The CentOS Project is a community-driven free software effort focused on delivering a robust open source ecosystem. For users, we offer a consistent manageable platform that suits a wide variety of deployments. For open source communities, we offer a solid, predictable base to build upon, along with extensive resources to build, test, release, and maintain their code.

Linux

Linux

A clone of the operating system Unix, written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX and Single UNIX Specification compliance.

CoreOS

CoreOS

It is designed for security, consistency, and reliability. Instead of installing packages via yum or apt, it uses Linux containers to manage your services at a higher level of abstraction. A single service's code and all dependencies are packaged within a container that can be run on one or many machines.

Gentoo Linux

Gentoo Linux

It is a free operating system based on either Linux or FreeBSD that can be automatically optimized and customized for just about any application or need.

Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux is a security-oriented, lightweight Linux distribution based on musl libc and busybox.

Manjaro

Manjaro

It is an accessible, friendly, open-source Linux distribution and community. Based on Arch Linux, it provides all the benefits of cutting-edge software combined with a focus on getting started quickly, automated tools to require less manual intervention, and help readily available when needed.

Related Comparisons

Bootstrap
Materialize

Bootstrap vs Materialize

Laravel
Django

Django vs Laravel vs Node.js

Bootstrap
Foundation

Bootstrap vs Foundation vs Material UI

Node.js
Spring Boot

Node.js vs Spring-Boot

Liquibase
Flyway

Flyway vs Liquibase