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In this article let us have a look at 2 very popular distros Debian and Elementary OS and see where each distro shines so that you can pick one that best suit your needs!

For those of you in a hurry, here is the short version of the answer.

The Short Version Of The Answer

What are the differences between Debian and Elementary OS? The main difference between Debian and Elementary OS is Debian is meant for users who are looking for a stable distro that has the best software and hardware support while Elementary OS is meant for users who need an aesthetically pleasing distro

The table below highlights the important differences between the 2 distros

	Debian	Elementary OS
Organization Name	Debian is one of the oldest and grandest distros available with one of the largest online communities and this is the most-forked distro in the world! Organization Type: Community	Founded by a small group of UX specialists with a strong focus on User experience. Organization Type: Company
Expertise Level Needed	Intermediate	Beginner
Based On	This is an original distro!	Ubuntu
Target Use-cases	General-purpose Distro Best Use-case: For use in workstations, ARM-based systems, older hardware Other use cases: Debian has flavors/versions available for almost any kind of use case!	General-purpose Distro. Best Use-case: Media Consumption Beginner Linux Distro Other Use-cases: Since this distro is based on Ubuntu, this distro can be used as a workstation too.
Software Support	10/10 Out of the box software: 5/5 Software Repository: 5/5 Has the biggest collection of software in their official repos with over 59000 packages!	6/10 Out of the box software: 3/5 Software Repository: 3/5
Hardware Support	9.5/10 Official driver support: 4.5/5 Support for older hardware: 5/5 Supports multiple processor architectures Has proprietary drivers and open-source drivers available. Can support very old hardware.	7/10 Official driver support: 4/5 Support for older hardware: 3/5
Hardware Resource Needs	Middleweight to heavyweight based on the version you choose.	middleweight
Support	9.5/10 Paid support: Consultants can be hired Community: 5/5 email lists and online chatting support platforms Documentation: 4.5/5 Very comprehensive online documentation	5/10 Paid support: Not available Community 3/5: Since this is based on Ubuntu’s LTS release, most problems can be solved through Ubuntu’s forums. Documentation 2/5: Very basic documentation available
Ease of use	6/10 Medium Best suited for intermediate users.	8/10: Easy But need to do a lot of post-install activities to get the best apps
Stability	10/10 Very stable The main focus of Debian is stability and this distro is known for its rock-hard stability!	8/10: Stable The Elementary apps are still in their early days and hence are not performing at their best all the time. But since this OS is based on Ubuntu LTS the distro is stable in the other aspects
Release Cycles	Fixed Release: Once 2 years	Releases are based on Ubuntu’s LTS release Release schedule: Not fixed, based on when the features are ready

The graph below summarizes the table and compares the 2 distros and shows us how they compare with each other on various factors (Higher the points the better that particular feature is in a given distro)

That is just the short version of the answer, let’s go ahead and look at the longer and more informative version and learn more about the similarities and differences between 2 distros.

The Linux Distributions World

The word Distro is short for “Distribution”. Since the Linux source code is open for everyone to see, large communities started evolving to bring together Operating Systems suited towards specific needs/goals.

These “specific needs/goals” include, but not limited to the following.

* producing documents

* writing programs and creating software

* editing pictures, videos, audio, and multimedia-production related works

* store sensitive information by securing the operating system so that no one can hack into it or just browse the internet and consume media.

Say a community of people just wanted to browse the internet with their computers, then there is no point giving them the software to write programs in. Thus since every community’s needs and goals were different these communities started distributing built images of this operating system with all the essential tools installed. These prebuilt images are called distros!

If you wish to know more about the reason behind the presence of so many choices in the Linux World, I suggest reading the article given below.

Reasons Behind The Existence of SO MANY Linux Distros: An Analysis!

The Main Factors of Comparison

The factors mentioned above are just a small list of 100s of factors that differentiate distros. If you are either switching from some other OS to Linux or you are in the process of choosing your next Linux distro and you are confused which one to choose, you need to have a look at these top 5 decision-making factors

* Factor#1: Good Match with your Particular use-case

* Factor#2: Support for your favorite software

* Factor#3: Hardware Support and Proprietary Driver Support

* Factor#4: Your level of expertise in Linux

* Factor#5: Hardware Resource Needs

I have written a separate article explaining these factors which you can find in the link below

Top 5 Factors To Choose Between Linux Distros!

Let’s have a look at each of these important factors and see how Debian and Elementary OS compare against each other.

Factor#1: Good Match with your Particular use-case

By use-case, I mean the type of work you are going to be doing on your computer. Linux distro world originated because of the difference in use cases.

Debian’s goal is wildly different from that of Elementary OS’s.

Let’s have a brief comparison between Debian and Elementary OS in terms of goals, target users, and best use cases to employ these distros.

	Debian	Elementary OS
Goal	To create a free operating system that can be installed in almost any hardware with a strong focus on stability	To make an aesthetically good looking and stable distro
Target users	Intermediate users who need an original Linux distro with the most supported software packages and processor architectures.	Users of Mac OS that are trying to move to Linux
Best Use-Cases to Employ the Distro	General-purpose Distro Best Use-case: For use in workstations, ARM-based systems, older hardware Other use cases: Debian has flavors/versions available for almost any kind of use case!	Best Use-case: Media Consumption Beginner Linux Distro Other Use-cases: Since this distro is based on Ubuntu, this distro can be used as a workstation too.

Factor#2: Support for your favorite software

If your main work involves some specific software or latest versions of a given software then that becomes a decision-making factor for choosing a Linux Distribution. So before fixing on a given distro, be sure to google if that distro has official support for your main software needs.

The factors you need to be considering include the following

* Out of the Box support: The software that the distro ships with.

* Repository Support: The curated software that is available on the official repos

* Type of release cycle: This decides the trade-off between up-to-date software and stable tested software.

* Availability of Graphical Software managers

* Package manager used: This can decide the ease of which you can install and uninstall software

Let’s see how Debian and Elementary OS fair up against each other in the category of Software support

	Debian	Elementary OS
Out of the Box Software	5/5: You can download a complete image with the most software packages!	3/5: The elementary OS comes with very basic apps, and even those apps are not perfect which means if you don’t like the apps, you need to search for replacements
Repository Support	5/5: Has the biggest collection of software in their official repos with over 59000 packages!	3/5: The official repo is still in the early days but you can install all the Debian packages through the command line.
Type of release cycle	Fixed Release: Once 2 years	Releases are based on Ubuntu’s LTS release Release schedule: Not fixed, Based on when the features are ready
GUI Software Management Tools	Available: We can use the Synaptic Package Manager or GNOME Software Centre.	Available App center
Package manager used	Apt package manager	APT and Snap

The bar chart below summarizes the table above. As you can see, Debian is better than Elementary OS in terms of Out of the box software support. Debian is better than Elementary OS in terms of Repository support.

Hence, Debian wins the round of Software support!

Refer to the article below if you wish to learn more about package managers.

A Beginners Introduction To Linux Package managers: apt, yum, dpkg & rpm

Factor#3: Hardware Support and Proprietary Driver Support

Not all Linux distros support proprietary drivers officially. Depending on your computer’s hardware, you may or may not have open-source driver support from the manufacturers. This is especially true for hardware such as graphics cards and network cards. Hence it is a good idea to take “driver support” into consideration while choosing your next distro.

The factors you need to be considering include the following

* Distro’s Policy of use of opensource vs proprietary 3rd party software

* Official driver support by Major Companies

* 3rd party driver support from official repos

* Support for older hardware

	Debian	Elementary OS
Distro’s Policy	User-focused distro: Proprietary drivers officially supported	Open-source drivers are chosen by default, but you can choose to use Proprietary during the installation process as they are officially supported
Official driver support by Major Companies	4.5/5: Being one of the oldest and most forked distros, most companies provide .deb packages	4/5: Being Ubuntu’s derivative Elementary OS enjoys the drivers released for Ubuntu
3^rd party driver support	3^rd party repos available	3^rd party repos available
Support for older hardware	5/5 Supports multiple processor architectures Has proprietary drivers and open-source drivers available. Can support very old hardware	3/5: Has good driver availability from Debian and Ubuntu, but there is no 32-bit processor support

The bar chart below summarizes the table above. As you can see, Debian is better than Elementary OS when it comes to official driver support. Debian is better than Elementary OS in terms of support for Older Hardware.

Hence, Debian wins the round of Hardware support!

Refer to the article below if you wish to have a look at some of the top distros in terms of hardware support.

Best Distro For Software And Hardware Support: A Comparison!!

Factor#4: Your level of expertise in Linux

Depending on your level of expertise in Linux, the choice of the distro you need will vary. This is because of the following factors

* Ease of use: beginner, intermediate, expert

* Paid customer support: available, not available

* Online community support: great, good, okay, not good, no support

* Available Documentation: Great documentation, Good documentation, Okay documentation, no documentation

Let’s see the level of support available for Debian and Elementary OS and see how they compare against each other

	Debian	Elementary OS
Ease of Use	Intermediate level of expertise needed.	beginner
Paid Customer Support	Consultants can be hired if needed	Not available, hence might not be the best choice for organizations
Online Community Support	3/5: email lists and online chatting support platforms	3/5: Since this is based on Ubuntu’s LTS release, most problems can be solved through Ubuntu’s forums.
Documentation	4/5: Very comprehensive online documentation	2/5: Very basic documentation available

The bar chart below summarizes the table above. As you can see, Debian is better than Elementary OS in terms of online community support. Debian is better than Elementary OS in terms of Documentation.

Hence, Debian wins the round of User support!

Factor#5: Hardware Resource Needs

This is an important factor if you are planning to employ Linux on a computer with limited hardware resources. This may be an old machine or a new one with less than stellar specs.

The factors you need to be considering include the following

* Category: Lightweight or Middleweight or Heavyweight

* RAM Requirements to have a snappy system &

* Minimum processor requirements

Let’s see how Debian and Elementary OS fair up against each other in terms of Hardware resource needs

	Debian	Elementary OS
Category	Middleweight to heavyweight based on the version you choose.	Middleweight
Minimum RAM requirements	1GB (2GB recommended)	4GB recommended (no minimum requirements given out officially)
Minimum Processor Requirements	1GHz Dual-core processor	dual-core 64bit recommended (no minimum requirements given out officially)

Refer to the article below if you wish to have a look at a step by step guide for choosing a Linux distro for your computer’s specifications.

A Complete Guide For Choosing A Distro For Your Computer’s Specs..!!

The Results!

Let us know go ahead and see the results of our comparison! Have a look at the Bar chart below.

As you can see Debian wins in Software support, Hardware support, Hardware Resource needs, User support, and Stability.

Elementary OS wins in Ease of use.

I suggest you pick the distro that best suits you based on this graph. For example, if hardware support is more important to you, then pick the distro that has better support for your hardware!

Summary

To summarise the article here is the comparison table from the beginning of the blog again.

	Debian	Elementary OS
Organization Name	Debian is one of the oldest and grandest distros available with one of the largest online communities and this is the most-forked distro in the world! Organization Type: Community	Founded by a small group of UX specialists with a strong focus on User experience. Organization Type: Company
Expertise Level Needed	Intermediate	Beginner
Based On	This is an original distro!	Ubuntu
Target Use-cases	General-purpose Distro Best Use-case: For use in workstations, ARM-based systems, older hardware Other use cases: Debian has flavors/versions available for almost any kind of use case!	General-purpose Distro. Best Use-case: Media Consumption Beginner Linux Distro Other Use-cases: Since this distro is based on Ubuntu, this distro can be used as a workstation too.
Software Support	10/10 Out of the box software: 5/5 Software Repository: 5/5 Has the biggest collection of software in their official repos with over 59000 packages!	6/10 Out of the box software: 3/5 Software Repository: 3/5
Hardware Support	9.5/10 Official driver support: 4.5/5 Support for older hardware: 5/5 Supports multiple processor architectures Has proprietary drivers and open-source drivers available. Can support very old hardware.	7/10 Official driver support: 4/5 Support for older hardware: 3/5
Hardware Resource Needs	Middleweight to heavyweight based on the version you choose.	middleweight
Support	9.5/10 Paid support: Consultants can be hired Community: 5/5 email lists and online chatting support platforms Documentation: 4.5/5 Very comprehensive online documentation	5/10 Paid support: Not available Community 3/5: Since this is based on Ubuntu’s LTS release, most problems can be solved through Ubuntu’s forums. Documentation 2/5: Very basic documentation available
Ease of use	6/10 Medium Best suited for intermediate users.	8/10: Easy But need to do a lot of post-install activities to get the best apps
Stability	10/10 Very stable The main focus of Debian is stability and this distro is known for its rock-hard stability!	8/10: Stable The Elementary apps are still in their early days and hence are not performing ar their best all the time. But since this OS is based on Ubuntu LTS the distro is stable in the other aspects
Release Cycles	Fixed Release: Once 2 years	Releases are based on Ubuntu’s LTS release Release schedule: Not fixed, Based on when the features are ready