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Arch Linux vs Gentoo Linux: What are the differences?
What is Arch Linux? A lightweight and flexible Linux distribution that tries to Keep It Simple. A lightweight and flexible Linux distribution that tries to Keep It Simple.
What is Gentoo Linux? Gentoo 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. Gentoo 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 Extreme configurability, performance and a top-notch user and developer community are all hallmarks of the Gentoo experience.
Thanks to a technology called Portage, Gentoo can become an ideal secure server, development workstation, professional desktop, gaming system, embedded solution or something else—whatever you need it to be. Because of its near-unlimited adaptability, we call Gentoo a metadistribution..
Arch Linux and Gentoo Linux can be primarily classified as "Operating Systems" tools.
At the moment of the decision, my desktop was the primary place I did work. Due to this, I can't have it blow up on me while I work. While Arch is interesting and powerful, Ubuntu offers (at least for me) a lot more stability and lets me focus on other things than maintaining my own OS installation.
Pros of Arch Linux
- Large Community15
- Package Manager13
- Customizable11
- Arch User Repository10
- Rolling Release10
- Bleeding Edge9
- Extensive Documentation8
- Arch Build System7
- X86_64 architecture supported6
- Can fix bugs yourself if you know how to3
Pros of Gentoo Linux
- OpenRC or systemd init3
- Portage package manager3
- Control3
- Cross compiling2
- Flexibility2
- X86_64 architecture supported2
- Compile time optimizations2
- Per package dependency control2
- Customizable2
- Overlays2
- Extensive documentation2
- Source based distribution2
- Supports distributing compiling tasks2
- SPARC architecture supported1
- Generalized reduction is system vulnerabilities1
- Stable rolling release1
- Package slots1
- X86 architecture supported1
- Alpha architecture supported1
- ARM64 architecture supported1
- ARM architecture supported1
- HPPA architecture supported1
- MIPS architecture supported1
- PCC architecture supported1
- PCC64 architecture supported1
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Cons of Arch Linux
- Systemd only3
- Only X86_64 architecture is offically supported2
- No Guided Installation1
- System maintenance1
- Unstable1
- Comparatively fewer offically supported packages1
Cons of Gentoo Linux
- Dated documentation2
- Circular dependancy conflicts2
- No guided installation2
- Vulnerabilities related to its specific toolchains1
- System maintenance1
- Complexity1
- Compilation time1
