So I saw political compass memes a while ago and started making one, but then I started taking it too seriously and eventually turned it into a tier list. Idk if it makes sense to share it here, but idk where else to share such a thing. I also made a browser tier list, but idk where to share that either.
This whole thing is a png export of a pure svg image. For some of the logos, I had to make them either from scratch or by using gimp and inkscape to convert a png into an svg (imperfect but good enough).
Hopefully this is all formatted properly.
OS Tier List
S-Tier (reasonably secure operating system):
- Qubes OS
Advanced (complicated setup and configuration):
- Gentoo Linux
- Guix System
- Slackware Linux
- Linux From Scratch (LFS)
- Mobile NixOS
- NixOS
- Whonix
- Predator-OS
- Linux Kodachi
- Gentoo FreeBSD
Enhanced (optimized security and minimalism):
- Alpine Linux
- Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre
- Chimera Linux
- EasyOS
- postmarketOS
- Tails
- Kicksecure
- NetHydra
- ParrotOS
- OpenBSD
- GrapheneOS
- Secureblue
Minimal (maximally mini resource use):
- Tiny Core Linux
- LibreCMC
- Void Linux
- Puppy Linux
- AsteroidOS
- Slitaz
- 4MLinux
- OpenWrt
- DragonFly BSD
- FreeBSD
- NetBSD
Indie & BSD (independent distros and BSD systems):
- PCLinuxOS
- Dynebolic
- KaOS
- Mageia
- LuneOS
- Solus
- AerynOS
- GNOME OS
- KDE Linux
- GhostBSD
Arch (reasonably fresh and arch-based):
- SystemRescue
- Parabola GNU/Linux-libre
- pearOS
- EndeavourOS
- Nemo Mobile
- Arch Linux Arm
- BlackArch Linux
- Archhurd
- Archcraft
- Nyarch
- Ageless Arch
- Arch Linux
- CachyOS
- Garuda Linux
Debian (reasonably stable and debian-based):
- Flora Linux-libre
- Genuen
- Devuan GNU+Linux
- Loc-OS
- antiX
- MX Linux
- Maemo Leste
- Mobian
- Emmabuntüs
- Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE)
- Ageless Linux
- Debian
- KNOPPIX
- PikaOS Linux
- RetroPie
- LibreElec
- Vanilla OS
Corpo-ish (corporation-created and/or dependent):
- Replicant
- Uruk GNU/Linux-libre
- Trisquel GNU/Linux
- AnduinOS
- Linux Lite
- UBports
- Xubuntu
- Lubuntu
- Kubuntu
- Linux Mint
- KDE neon
- Fedora
- Asahi Linux
- Bazzite
- Nobara Linux
- Rocky Linux
- AlmaLinux
- openSUSE
Corporate (corporation-owned and/or controlled):
- /e/OS
- Sailfish OS
- PureOS
- Manjaro Linux
- Raspberry Pi OS
- OSMC
- Kali Linux
- Zorin OS
- Tuxedo OS
- Pop!_OS
- elementary OS
- Ubuntu
- Proxmox
- SteamOS
- CentOS Stream
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
- CloudLinux OS
- SUSE Linux Enterprise
- Unraid
Dubious (questionable and/or suspicious):
- Waydroid
- Artix Linux
- Omarchy
- OpenMandriva
Borderline (possibly dangerous and best to avoid):
- LineageOS
MALWARE (actively dangerous and harmful to use):
- android
- chromeOS
- Apple Operating Systems (macOS, iOS, etc.)
- Windows
- Red Star OS
This might be the best looking and most comprehensive tier list of anything I’ve ever seen.
Although I have some concerns, mainly with the 3 bottom tiers, it’s still more reasonable than most tier lists I’ve seen.
As for my concerns, perhaps someone will be able to answer some questions:
- Why are Artix Linux and Waydroid ‘dubious’? Especially Waydroid, as it’s not an operating system. The other two I’m unfamiliar with, or at least the logos.
- Why is LineageOS ‘borderline’? I’m not aware of anything dangerous about it. It’s not far from Graphene, just for a lot more devices.
- I’m not sure Android belongs in the bottom tier. Or at least not yet. As of right now, you can still use it as an open OS, and it’s great for devices such as handheld gaming consoles. I’ve also never seen age verification in Android yet.
Whats wrong with artix
Kodachi is listed as secure debian, advanced, next to kicksecure and whonix and these others. I’m somewhat surprised about the placement. Is Kodachi actually open source? Can I build it myself to make sure there is nothing malicious in the binaries?
Also, from what I recall Kodachi is easy to use but just it was never clear that the binaries were open, right? It also connects to a server by default (for “vpn”) the users have to trust, but I’m not sure if they changed it? I looked at their webpage and they now include RiseUp VPN and other options but my guess is they still have an initial ping to the Kodachi VPN setup by default?
Also Kali is corporate? I didn’t know that! This makes it seems like Kali is somehow more concerning than Parrot! Is it?
Lineage
Possibly dangerous, best to avoid
[citation needed]
Thanks but the vertical categories could be way clearer if the logos were not strictly left-aligned
Would you believe gentoo, slack and LFS can be more secure than qubes in many use cases if you know what you’re doing? LFS you basically need to be a wizard but in theory it’s possible.
In theory, any Linux OS can be more secure if you know what you’re doing. Just write all the software yourself and don’t write any bugs!
I can’t see the image. It asks me log in on an instance where I do not have an account. So, I appreciate the text in the expand.
Nice list. I wanna comment, that it’s questionable whether Chimera Linux, EasyOS, Kicksecure and Secureblue genuinely offer enhanced security over the major distros. I guess it depends on ones thread model…
Neurodivergent brain likes this for some reason
What makes Artix dubious? Genuinely curious because I use it and want to know if I there’s a reason I should reconsider that.
This repo, made in response to another repo, has this bit:
Artix Linux | Developers are openly transphobic
When attempting to click the link to see for myself, I still find that the artix forums are inaccessible, and so I can’t see for myself. I remember seeing something mentioned on a reddit post or forum somewhere about the same sort of thing, which makes me think it’s true. So I placed Artix in the Dubious row to represent my unwillingness to recommend it.
Gross. I’ll check out the link you shared. Might be just the push I need to finally move to Void.
Thanks!
I installed Omarchy on my laptop after seeing its helper scrips mentioned a lot in a Waybar config I was… getting inspiration from. Why does it fall under dubious on your list?
Omarchy was getting a lot of attention when first released. The two major issues are that the guy that made it is very right wing (the term fascist was thrown around, I have not read up myself so do not now the details) and although it looks good it has a lot of technical issues, this blog post goed into more details if interested: https://マリウス.com/a-word-on-omarchy/
Is that just a weird Kali logo or is it a modified kali distro lol?
If you’re talking about the distro in the third row from the top, that’s NetHydra, which is similar to Kali Linux but is not owned by a corporate entity. The full list of all distros is included in a spoilered text box thing in the main post.
This is not a tier list. This is a chart. possibly even an infographic. It resembles a teir list, but that doesn’t make it one.
From wiki/Tier_list
A tier list is a ranking system where items are subjectively arranged in tiers from the best to worst.
…
Idk if it matters, but here’s how I see the tiers:
Qubes OS: S-Tier Advanced: A+ Enhanced: A Minimal: B+ Indie & BSD: B Arch: C+ Debian: C Corpo-ish: D+ Corporate: D Dubious: F Borderline: F- Malware: -F
That doesn’t mean I exclusively use distros from the top tiers. I can’t yet run Qubes OS on a linux phone, but if and when I’m ever able I will absolutely do that. For now, distros like postmarketOS and PureOS are good enough for me, for the phones. OSMC is good for the Vero and devices like it. Generally, the trend is that the higher up in the list you go, the more there is to learn in order to make the best use of the distro selected.
I was getting ready to argue with your interpretation but then I noticed you’re the op 😂
😇 (random mini-rant: omg it’s so much more difficult to respond on fedi than platforms like matrix where i would typically emoji-react without much thought, whereas here i am contemplating the proper way to respond or whether to respond at all, since mbin doesn’t support reacts without making a whole new comment 😖)
Is that the Knoppix logo? To my knowledge it’s unmaintained (still offering kernel 2.6?) and last time I tried downloading it years ago the .iso contained a virus. That one is definitely dubious at best.
When I saw that, I was like “wait, is Knoppix still around?”. A quick search revealed it hasn’t been updated in some time.
Back in the 2000’s Knoppix was a life saver more than once, but once other distros gained the ability to run live from the install media, I didn’t really need Knoppix any longer.
Sad, knoppix was the goat for me back in 2004. Ran several scrap yard computers for months at a time from the live disk.
When I’d previously gone searching, I remember having seen some posts on reddit and forums about how Professor Klaus Knopper had paused development for a while but indicated that he’d eventually get back to it. I can’t seem to find those posts at the moment, but I’m pretty sure that still holds true.
As for the problem of iso files containing malware, that seems unrelated to the actual distro itself and more to do with re-shares of it. Though people should definitely be aware of such problems, as well as the problem of running out-of-date or end-of-life distros. It’s mainly in the list as a nod to its historical significance, with the hope that it gets a big update one day.
Finally…an os tier list we all can agree
