Best Pop!_OS Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from operating systems ranked against Pop!_OS on the same published basis.
- 1Pop!_OS vs Kali Linux
- 2Pop!_OS vs Nix
- 3Pop!_OS vs AlmaLinux OS
- 4Pop!_OS vs MX Linux
- 5Pop!_OS vs OPNsense
- 6Pop!_OS vs pfSense
- 7Pop!_OS vs Rocky Linux
- 8Pop!_OS vs Ubuntu Server
- 9Pop!_OS vs CentOS Stream
- 10Pop!_OS vs Debian
- 11Pop!_OS vs Fedora Linux
- 12Pop!_OS vs Kubuntu
- 13Pop!_OS vs Manjaro Linux
- 15Pop!_OS vs SUSE Multi-Linux Manager
- 16Pop!_OS vs Wind River Conductor
- 17Pop!_OS vs Alpine Linux
- 18Pop!_OS vs Amazon Linux
- 19Pop!_OS vs ChromeOS
- 20Pop!_OS vs elementary OS
- 21Pop!_OS vs Fedora CoreOS
Pop!_OS alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kali Linux | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 2 | Nix | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 3 | AlmaLinux OS | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted, Windows |
| 4 | MX Linux | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Linux |
| 5 | OPNsense | 6.4 | Free plan | — | API, self-hosted, Web |
| 6 | pfSense | 6.4 | Free plan | — | Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 7 | Rocky Linux | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted, Windows |
| 8 | Ubuntu Server | 6.4 | Free plan | $2.08/mo | Linux, self-hosted |
| 9 | CentOS Stream | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 10 | Debian | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 11 | Fedora Linux | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 12 | Kubuntu | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux |
| 13 | Manjaro Linux | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux |
| 15 | SUSE Multi-Linux Manager | 5.5 | No | — | API, Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 16 | Wind River Conductor | 5.3 | No | — | Windows, Linux |
| 17 | Alpine Linux | 5.2 | No | — | Linux |
| 18 | Amazon Linux | 5.2 | No | — | Linux |
| 19 | ChromeOS | 5.2 | No | — | Web |
| 20 | elementary OS | 5.2 | No | — | Linux |
| 21 | Fedora CoreOS | 5.2 | No | — | Linux |
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Questions about Pop!_OS alternatives
What is the best alternative to Pop!_OS?
Kali Linux, number 1 in operating systems with a score of 6.5 out of 10. The others here: Nix, AlmaLinux OS, MX Linux and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Pop!_OS?
Kali Linux is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 13 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.