Best Raspberry Pi OS alternatives
Distributions that share Raspberry Pi OS’s purpose, family, release model, or desktop, ordered by how closely they match. Each one lists what it has in common and a link to a full side-by-side comparison.
- 1Raspberry Pi OS vs Ubuntu
Ubuntu#1 in rankings
Broad support, from your laptop to your server. Ubuntu provides a widely documented desktop and server platform.
- Also suited to development and servers
- Also Debian-based
- Same stable release model
Key difference: based on Debian.
- 2Raspberry Pi OS vs Debian
Debian#3 in rankings
A dependable foundation that takes its time. Debian Stable favors well-tested packages and predictable behavior.
- Also suited to development and servers
- Independent base like Raspberry Pi OS
- Same stable release model
Key difference: based on Independent.
- 3Raspberry Pi OS vs Alpine Linux
Alpine Linux#26 in rankings
Small, simple, security-minded, and container-friendly. Alpine Linux is an independent distribution built on musl libc and BusyBox.
- Also suited to development and servers
- Same stable release model
Key difference: based on Independent.
- 4Raspberry Pi OS vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux#23 in rankings
Commercially supported enterprise Linux. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is the commercial platform many enterprise applications certify against.
- Also suited to development and servers
- Same stable release model
Key difference: based on Independent (Fedora-derived).
- 5Raspberry Pi OS vs Slackware
Slackware#24 in rankings
The oldest maintained distribution, simple by design. Slackware has been maintained since 1993 and keeps a deliberately UNIX-like approach: plain text configuration, BSD-style init scripts, and package tools that do not resolve dependencies automatically.
- Also suited to development and servers
- Same stable release model
Key difference: based on Independent.
- 6Raspberry Pi OS vs Rocky Linux
Rocky Linux#32 in rankings
An enterprise Linux built to match RHEL. Rocky Linux is a community enterprise distribution started by one of CentOS’s original founders after CentOS Linux ended.
- Also suited to development and servers
- Same stable release model
Key difference: based on RHEL-compatible.
- 7Raspberry Pi OS vs AlmaLinux
AlmaLinux#33 in rankings
A community enterprise Linux for servers. AlmaLinux is a free, community-governed enterprise Linux that remains binary-compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux application interfaces.
- Also suited to development and servers
- Same stable release model
Key difference: based on RHEL-compatible.
- 8Raspberry Pi OS vs Devuan
Devuan#37 in rankings
Debian without systemd, with a choice of init. Devuan is a fork of Debian that removes the dependency on systemd and lets you choose sysVinit, OpenRC, or runit.
- Also suited to servers
- Also Debian-based
- Same stable release model
Key difference: based on Debian.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Raspberry Pi OS?
Ubuntu is the closest match: also suited to development and servers; also debian-based. Debian and Alpine Linux are also strong options.
Why switch from Raspberry Pi OS?
Common reasons are its tradeoffs: only for raspberry pi hardware; desktop performance depends on the board. An alternative can keep what you like while avoiding these.