How to choose your first Linux distro (without regrets)
Pick your first Linux distro in five steps: check your apps, choose stable or rolling, test your hardware from a live USB, then try a shortlist.
To choose your first Linux distro, start with the applications you need, decide how much maintenance you want, and test the distro on your own computer from a live USB before you install. For most people coming from Windows, a stable, beginner-focused distribution such as Linux Mint or Ubuntu is the safest first pick. You can always switch later, because your files and skills carry over.
This guide walks through the decision in the order that saves the most time, and points to the distro.watch pages that hold the version and support data for each option.
Step 1: List the apps you cannot live without
Write down every program you use in a normal week, then sort them into three groups:
- Apps with a native Linux version, such as Firefox, Chrome, Steam, VLC, Spotify, Zoom, and LibreOffice.
- Apps you can use in a web browser, such as Microsoft 365 online or Google Docs.
- Apps with no Linux version, where you need an alternative or a workaround.
The third group decides more than any desktop screenshot. Adobe Photoshop, for example, has no Linux version; our Photoshop on Linux guide covers the realistic options. For anything else, search our Linux app checker before you commit.
For games, check each title rather than "gaming" in general. Many Windows games run through Steam's Proton, but some multiplayer games block Linux through their anti-cheat. Community sites such as ProtonDB and Are We Anti-Cheat Yet track this per game.
Step 2: Decide between a stable and a rolling release
This is the biggest technical choice, and it is mostly about how often you want things to change.
- Stable (fixed) releases keep the same major versions of apps and libraries for the life of a release and only add security and bug fixes. Ubuntu 26.04 LTS is supported until May 2031, and Linux Mint 22.3 until April 2029, according to the Ubuntu 26.04 support dates and Linux Mint 22.3 support dates we track.
- Short-cycle releases such as Fedora Workstation ship newer software and are each supported for about 13 months, so you upgrade roughly once a year.
- Rolling releases such as Arch Linux update continuously. You always have the newest software, but you are also the one who deals with changes as they arrive. See our rolling-release distros for the full list.
Stable does not mean bug-free, and rolling does not mean unreliable. For a first distro, though, fewer surprises usually wins: start stable and move to something faster once you know what you want.
Step 3: Match the distro to how you use your PC
Most beginners fit one of a few profiles. These are starting points, not rules:
- Coming from Windows and want something familiar: Linux Mint, whose Cinnamon desktop has a taskbar and start menu in the usual places. Our Linux distros that look like Windows list has more options.
- Want the most widely documented option: Ubuntu. When you search an error message, the answer is most often written for Ubuntu or a distro based on it.
- Gaming first: a gaming-focused distro such as Bazzite or Pop!_OS. Compare them in our best Linux distros for gaming.
- Older or low-memory laptop: a lighter desktop such as Xfce or MATE. See the best lightweight Linux distros for old laptops.
- Programming: most distros work well; Fedora and Ubuntu are common choices. See Linux distros for development.
Also consider an atomic distro such as Fedora Silverblue if you want a system that is hard to break and easy to roll back. Our guide to atomic vs traditional Linux explains the tradeoffs.
Step 4: Test it on your own computer from a live USB
Most beginner distros, including Linux Mint and Ubuntu, let you boot a full desktop from a USB stick without installing anything. Nothing on your disk changes during this test, so it is the cheapest way to catch problems.
In the live session, check Wi-Fi, sound, the webcam, the touchpad, brightness keys, an external monitor, and whether the laptop wakes from sleep. A live USB runs slower than an installed system, so judge what works rather than how fast it feels. Our checklist on whether Linux will work on your laptop covers each test in detail.
If something fails, try another distro with a newer kernel before giving up: hardware support often comes down to the kernel and drivers rather than the distro itself.
Step 5: Shortlist two or three, then just start
Use the distro finder to narrow the field, then read the side-by-side comparisons for your finalists, for example Linux Mint vs Ubuntu or Fedora vs Ubuntu. The rankings show which distributions people are looking up right now, which is a rough guide to how much help you will find online.
Before you install, back up your files to an external drive or cloud storage. Installing alongside Windows (dual boot) is possible, but resizing partitions always carries some risk.
Do not wait for the perfect choice. The commands, apps, and habits you learn on one distro transfer almost entirely to the next. If you are still deciding whether to switch at all, read our things to know before switching to Linux.