Overview

Debian

Stacks16.3K

Followers11.2K

Votes164

Ubuntu

Stacks80.2K

Followers59.1K

Votes468

openSUSE

Stacks111

Followers160

Votes13

Debian vs Ubuntu vs openSUSE: What are the differences?

Key Differences between Debian and Ubuntu and openSUSE

Introduction

Debian, Ubuntu, and openSUSE are popular Linux distributions that offer different features and characteristics. Understanding the key differences between these distributions can help users choose the one that best suits their needs.

Package Management: Debian and Ubuntu use the Advanced Packaging Tool (APT) for package management, while openSUSE uses Zypper. APT is known for its vast package repository and smooth upgrades, while Zypper offers a robust dependency resolver and rolling release updates.
Release Model: Debian follows a stable release model, where new versions are infrequent but highly stable and reliable. Ubuntu, derived from Debian, offers a more frequent release cycle with long-term support (LTS) releases providing stability. openSUSE, on the other hand, follows a rolling release model, providing the latest software updates continuously.
Default Desktop Environment: Ubuntu uses the GNOME desktop environment as the default, while Debian offers different options such as GNOME, Xfce, KDE, and others. openSUSE provides the KDE Plasma desktop as the default but also supports other desktop environments like GNOME and Xfce.
Community and Support: Debian has a strong community-driven development model with a focus on stability and security. Ubuntu benefits from the support of its parent company, Canonical, providing commercial support and regular updates. openSUSE combines both community contributions and corporate backing from SUSE, offering extensive documentation and support.
Installation Process and Configuration Tools: Debian and Ubuntu use the Debian Installer, known for its flexibility and customization options. Ubuntu adds a user-friendly graphical installer alongside the text-based installer. openSUSE uses the YaST tool, which provides a comprehensive set of configuration features during the installation process.
System Administration: Debian and Ubuntu primarily use the sudo command for administrative tasks, while openSUSE uses the su command. This difference influences the default behavior for command execution and privilege escalation. Additionally, Ubuntu employs the Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW) by default, simplifying firewall management for users.

In summary, Debian and Ubuntu offer a stable and widely supported Linux experience, while openSUSE provides a rolling release model with extensive configuration capabilities. The choice between these distributions ultimately depends on the user's needs and preferences.

Advice on Debian, Ubuntu, openSUSE

Michaël

Fullstack Dev at Synovo Group

Nov 18, 2020

Decided

Ubuntu always let people do what they want to do, it pushes its users to know what they are doing, what they want and helps them learn what they ignore.

Ubuntu is simple, works out-of-the-box after installation and has a incredibly huge community behind.

Ubuntu is lightweight and open, in the way, that the user has access to free AND efficient applications (most of the time, without ads) and, even if learning its folder structure is challenging, once done, you are really able to call yourself "someone who knows what is in your computer".

Windows, in comparison, is heavy, tends to make decision for you and always enable tracking application by default. grr

It has a simple user interface, of course, but on the stability point of view, it is hard to compete with something simpler (even with less features).

Personal preference : I prefer something simple that works 99% of the time, than a full-featured auto-magical system that works 50% of the time (and ask if the good version of the driver is really installed...)

46.7k views46.7k

Comments

Jerome/Zen

Software Engineer

Aug 2, 2020

Decided

Global familiarity, free, widely used, and as a debian distro feels more comfortable when rapidly switching between local macOS and remote command lines.

CentOS does boast quite a few security/stability improvements, however as a RHEL-based distro, differs quite significantly in the command line and suffers from slightly less frequent package updates. (Could be a good or bad thing depending on your use-case and if it is public facing)

271k views271k

Comments

Simon

Developer Advocate at k6 / Load Impact

Mar 7, 2020

Decided

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.

299k views299k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Debian	Ubuntu	openSUSE
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.	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.	The openSUSE project is a worldwide effort that promotes the use of Linux everywhere. openSUSE creates one of the world's best Linux distributions, working together in an open, transparent and friendly manner as part of the worldwide Free and Open Source Software community.
Statistics
Stacks 16.3K	Stacks 80.2K	Stacks 111
Followers 11.2K	Followers 59.1K	Followers 160
Votes 164	Votes 468	Votes 13
Pros & Cons
Pros 54 Massively supported 50 Stable 21 Reliable 9 Aptitude 8 Customizable Cons 10 Old versions of software 2 Can be difficult to set up on vanilla Debian	Pros 230 Free to use 96 Easy setup for testing discord bot 57 Gateway Linux Distro 54 Simple interface 9 Don't need driver installation in most cases Cons 5 Demanding system requirements 4 Adds overhead and unnecessary complexity over Debian 2 Snapd installed by default 1 Systemd	Pros 4 Stable 3 Lightweight for server 2 Snapshot 2 Rolling release 2 Reliable

What are some alternatives to Debian, Ubuntu, openSUSE?

Arch Linux

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

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.

Linux Mint

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

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

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

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

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

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.

FreeBSD

An operating system for a variety of platforms which focuses on features, speed, and stability. It is derived from BSD, the version of UNIX® developed at the University of California, Berkeley. It is developed and maintained by a large community.