These 5 Distros Show How Customizable Linux Really Is

You might've heard that Linux tin look similar practically thing you want, but however customizable is it really? Can you easy tweak your Linux distro's look and consciousness arsenic you desire, oregon does it necessitate extended terminal tinkering? Well, present are the 5 Linux distros to amusement you conscionable what's possible!

Linux offers customization possibilities that mainstream OSes similar macOS and Windows conscionable can't match. However, not each distros are created equal and immoderate are much customizable than others. Some are much straightforward and let you to alteration layouts with a click of a button. Others connection you a canvas and fto you overgarment your masterpiece. Now, whether you similar much power oregon added accessibility, I'm definite 1 of these distros volition entreaty to the originative successful you.

5 Zorin OS

Zorin OS is simply a beginner-friendly, Windows-like Linux distro that lets you tweak however the desktop looks and feels utilizing a dedicated graphical app—Zorin Appearance. By default, the distro carries a Windows 7-ish layout. But, with a fewer clicks, you tin marque it look similar Windows XP oregon get a touch-focused Windows 8-ish layout with a full-screen app launcher—albeit with app icons alternatively of Live Tiles. There's besides a paid mentation of the distro called Zorin OS Pro which includes adjacent much custom-designed layouts that look similar macOS, Windows 11, and ChromeOS.

Now, nether the hood, Zorin OS is rocking a heavy customized mentation of the GNOME desktop environment. Yes, it's the aforesaid GNOME that powers Ubuntu and Fedora. But, arsenic you tin see, Zorin OS looks thing similar those different GNOME-based distros. With clever usage of GNOME extensions and customized theming, Zorin OS allows you to effortlessly power betwixt the default desktop layouts of immoderate of the astir fashionable operating systems.

Benefits of Using Zorin OS

• Zorin OS is based connected the Ubuntu LTS (Long Term Support) release, which means you tin expect rock-solid stableness and reliability successful your day-to-day usage.
• All apps that enactment connected Ubuntu volition enactment connected ZorinOS, giving you entree to a immense app library.
• It comes with Wine and Bottles retired of the box, which allows you to tally immoderate Windows apps connected this Linux system.
• You person tons of graphical tools and volition rarely request to usage the terminal, if astatine all!

Why Zorin OS Might Not Be for You

• The much modern and appealing layouts are exclusive to the paid mentation of the distro.
• New Zorin OS versions way down Ubuntu LTS releases by months, sometimes years.

4 Ubuntu

If you're caller to Linux and conscionable started retired utilizing Ubuntu, you mightiness person the content that it's much of a minimalist distro that lone lets you tweak the wallpaper and accent color. However, arsenic you conscionable saw with the Ubuntu-based and GNOME-powered Zorin OS, there's immense customization potential. In fact, I person personally tweaked Ubuntu to marque it look similar Windows 11 and macOS with uncanny accuracy. All of this is imaginable utilizing GNOME Extensions and Custom Themes.

Now, customizing Ubuntu isn't arsenic seamless arsenic clicking connected a fewer buttons similar you bash with the Zorin Appearance app. You'd request to instal a fewer apps, namely GNOME Tweaks and GNOME Extension Manager, and past commencement installing extensions which volition assistance you tweak and augment the desktop layout. After that, you'll request to install themes that volition assistance you tweak the plan and aesthetics of your desktop. It's a spot much technically demanding, but you person granular power implicit however you privation to physique your desktop.

Benefits of Using Ubuntu

• Excellent operator enactment gives you a distro that works with astir hardware out-of-the-box.
• As the astir fashionable Linux distro, it's ace casual to find tutorials and guides for Ubuntu, making it fantabulous for Linux newcomers.
• Flexibility of a Long Term Support (LTS) merchandise for longer stableness and a non-LTS merchandise for entree to caller features and tools each six months.
• Includes AppArmor by default arsenic an further information layer.

Why Ubuntu Might Not Be for You

• The default bundle halfway pushes Snap apps, which are known to load much dilatory and instrumentality up much disk space.
• Includes an opt-out telemetry system, which, though anonymized, tin beryllium concerning for much the privacy-conscious.

3 Archcraft

Archcraft is simply a comparatively caller distro connected my radar and 1 that looks perfectly gorgeous! The layout, colour scheme, and wide interface marque for a modern and polished aesthetic that's uniquely Linux! Furthermore, the distro ships with 15 themes (or styles) retired of the container which you tin easy use utilizing the right-click menu.

What's much awesome is that each of these styles wholly changes the wallpaper, colour scheme, icon pack, and desktop layout to present 15 unsocial ambiences with a chiseled idiosyncratic experience. You tin besides premix and lucifer these elements from each theme, giving you perchance hundreds of antithetic variations.

If that's not awesome enough, Archcraft is besides 1 of the astir lightweight distros I person encountered. After a caller install, it takes up little than 10GB of disk abstraction and uses little than 500MB RAM portion idle! This is imaginable due to the fact that Archcraft avoids dense desktop environments, and alternatively uses a model manager, Openbox, which is highly lightweight. The lone contented with utilizing Openbox is that you'd fundamentally request to constitute scripts (like coding) to configure its plan and layout. Thankfully, Archcraft ships with 15 unsocial variations, truthful you don't request to interest astir gathering 1 yourself—unless you privation to!

Benefits of Using Archcraft

• As an Arch-based distro, you get entree to the Arch User Repository (AUR), which unlocks tens of thousands of apps.
• It follows a rolling merchandise model wherever you get entree to caller bundle arsenic soon arsenic they are available.
• Unique productivity-focused workflow utilizing the Rofi launcher and right-click paper that allows you to rapidly entree worldly you privation with arsenic fewer clicks arsenic possible.
• Super-lightweight and fantabulous for breathing beingness into older hardware.

Why Archcraft Might Not Be for You

• Arch-based Linux distros necessitate regular strategy attraction and frankincense are not recommended for beginners.
• The distro volition necessitate you to usage the terminal and edit config files much often than different distros.
• If you're not utilized to model managers, the idiosyncratic acquisition volition consciousness alien erstwhile you commencement out.

2 Fedora KDE Plasma Spin

Coming backmost to the satellite of desktop environments, KDE Plasma is perchance the most customizable DE. Now, determination are tons of distros retired determination that vessel with KDE Plasma—some heavy customized, others mildly—but successful my opinion, Fedora KDE Plasma Spin is the champion mode to acquisition vanilla Plasma.

Out-of-the-box, the distro offers a accepted Windows-like desktop acquisition with a taskbar connected the bottom, exertion launcher to the left, and speedy settings connected the right. However, you tin alteration each of that. You tin reposition the taskbar anyplace you like. You tin adjacent person aggregate taskbars!

You tin besides power the placements of the Application launcher and the Quick Settings area, delete them, oregon person them successful the center. There's besides enactment for desktop widgets, which you tin besides adhd to your taskbar.

That's conscionable what you tin bash with the wide layout. There are besides tons of scripts and desktop effects to tweak however the desktop behaves and however you interact with it. The champion portion is that you person graphical tools to assistance you with these customizations.

Benefits of Using Fedora

• New versions rotation retired each six months and diagnostic each the latest tools and packages.
• Extremely unchangeable and reliable adjacent with a absorption connected delivering cutting-edge software.
• SELinux is enabled by default for enhanced security.
• One of the champion distros for developers with tons of developer-friendly tools built-in.

Why Fedora Might Not Be for You

• With a absorption connected open-source apps, the distro leaves retired each proprietary apps and drivers.
• You mightiness acquisition problems installing it connected a PC moving an NVIDIA GPU, from the deficiency of proprietary NVIDIA drivers.
• Each mentation is lone supported for 13 months, aft which it volition halt receiving updates.

1 Garuda Linux

If you privation to spot what's truly imaginable with KDE Plasma, you request not look further than Garuda Linux. There are 2 flavors of Garuda Linux utilizing a customized mentation of KDE Plasma arsenic its default desktop—the Dragonized variation and the Mokka edition—and some of them are stunning. Remember however KDE Plasma, by default, looks similar Windows? Well, Garuda wholly changes that successful favour of a macOS-style desktop with a dock astatine the bottommost and a sheet up apical boasting the exertion launcher, speedy settings, and adjacent a paper bar!

While some editions support the aforesaid layout, they alteration the wide aesthetics. The Dragonized variation goes for a bold, in-your-face, gamer-y, neon-infused, cyberpunk plan style, whereas Mokka feels overmuch much professional, polished, and sophisticated—great for a enactment PC. Now, nary substance which enactment you pick, you'll person a desktop that'll crook heads astatine the java shop—coming from idiosyncratic experience.

Benefits of Using Garuda Linux

• As an Arch-based distro, similar Archcraft, you get entree to the AUR and caller bundle packages arsenic soon arsenic they're available.
• It ships with circumstantial strategy optimizations similar the Zen Linux Kernel and zRAM to instrumentality afloat vantage of modern hardware.
• It's 1 of the champion distros for Linux gaming.
• Comes with almighty graphical tools for strategy maintenance, meaning you seldom request to interaction the terminal.

Why Garuda Linux Might Not Be for You

• Even with each the graphical tools, an Arch-based distro tin beryllium overwhelming to Linux newcomers.
• Requires regular strategy maintenance, which mightiness beryllium a spot technically overbearing for immoderate people.
• As a performance-oriented distro, it tin conflict to relation good connected older hardware.

Which Distro Should You Choose?

If you are idiosyncratic caller to Linux and conscionable privation a distro to effort retired antithetic desktop layouts and spot what champion fits your workflow, past spell with Zorin OS. However, if you cognize what you privation and privation to marque it yourself, you tin prime either Ubuntu oregon Fedora KDE Plasma depending connected whether you similar GNOME implicit KDE Plasma.

Garuda Linux shines arsenic an enactment for radical who don't privation to toil distant hours configuring their strategy and already similar the ambience and aesthetics of the Mokka oregon Dragonized edition. It's acold simpler to spell successful and deactivate a peculiar diagnostic that you don't like, than to download, install, and activate each of them yourself. Archcraft besides taps into a akin symptom constituent by offering 15 pre-configured Openbox themes that look perfectly stunning. That said, I'd lone urge the distro if you're an experienced Linux idiosyncratic who feels comfy tweaking config files and moving successful the terminal.

How to Get Started

If you similar 1 of them, I'd powerfully urge that you try the distro out and spot each the customization options earlier installing it connected your system. A VirtualBox VM tin beryllium a large instrumentality here, allowing you to make virtual systems moving each of these distros. Once you find a distro that strikes the cleanable equilibrium of customizability and easiness of usage for you, spell up and install it connected your system!