Arch Linux is a very popular name amongst Linux enthusiasts. It is very popular because it allows the user to tailor-make their Linux distro to their taste. Arch Linux provides a solid base for you to work with, while still allowing for expansion and complete customization.
Arch is fast, stable, and secure and also allowing you to have a great experience even on older computers. Building your own distro the Arch way is not for the Linux newbie nor is it for the faint-hearted. If you don’t want to build or customize your own distro, there are some very awesome Linux distros for you to choose from that have a very stable, secure, and fast Arch foundation. So let us take a look at five(5) of some of the best Arch Linux based distros.
5 Best Arch Linux Distributions
1. Manjaro
Manjaro remains one of the most popular arch-based distros because of its superior development, user base, and community support. And if you are looking for a solid, stable, and user-friendly Arch-based distro with a very good out of the box experience, Manjaro might just be the one for you.
One of the strengths of Manjaro is that even though it supports the AUR (Arch User Repository), it also has its very own repositories. Manjaro ships with the very popular LibreOffice office suite and a lot of other applications.
Unlike KaOS and other distros in this list, Manjaro editions come with different desktop environments including KDE and XFCE as the main editions and other community-based editions (Cinnamon, Gnome, LxQt, Enlightenment, and more) so you are likely to be sorted out per your DE requirements. Out of the box, Manjaro is stable and solid with very good community support.
2. Apricity OS (Discontinued)
Apricity Linux is currently one of the most gorgeous Linux distros around. It is also very fast and smooth and quite stable with a friend out of the box experience. It is available in two main flavors, that is Cinnamon or Gnome with some very interesting tweaks and customizations making it easy for Linux newbies. It is a robust and flexible OS and allows for customization with Freezedly which allows for modifications of quite a number of modules. It is also a rolling release distro so you can have the latest packages as soon as they become available.
3. Antergos (Discontinued)
Antergos OS is a rolling release distribution that comes pretty much with everything you need. It provides a very satisfying out-of-the-box experience that allows you to fully use the OS right after installation. Antergos is coming with the Numix customization icons to allow for customization. Antergos comes with 6 different Desktops including the default GNOME, KDE, Cinnamon, MATE, and Xfce. Antergos also uses the Arch Linux repositories and the AUR along with its own software repositories so all your software needs.
4. Chakra
Chakra Linux is a unique distro that focuses on KDE and Qt. It is a very user-friendly OS out of the box and for the KDE lover, the experience is just pure. Chakra is based on Arch and is very lean. It is on a rolling release model which means you get the latest updates as soon as the packages are available. Since Chakra comes with KDE, it allows for a lot of customization and theming. For the Linux newbie, Chakra may be a little bit overwhelming, but for the intermediate and advanced users, it could be a really good choice. It is solid and sleek.
5. Velt OS
VeltOS is a very beautiful Linux distro based on Arch Linux. VeltOS runs its very own Graphene Desktop, which is a simple interface designed to stay out of the way while still giving you quick access to all your applications and settings. Graphene is based on Google’s material design standards which make it very beautiful and simple. Out of the box, VeltOS comes with only the core of applications that you will need with no additional bloatware. All your other software needs can be gotten from the thousands of applications available for Arch Linux.
Conclusion
Building your very own Arch Linux OS is pretty awesome. You can install just what you want, when you need it, without the extra stuff that is common with pre-designed Linux distros. But if going this route is too much of a hassle, I believe some of the distros will come pretty close, being clean, small, or focused.
This list is for people who want the stability, security, and simplicity of Arch, yet do not have the time nor the patience to build one on their own. I bet these distros will get you Arch close to any customization or need you may require. So are you rocking any Arch-based distro? Let us know in the comments section below.
Arch user here. I installed arch on my system once and never looked for any other distro since. It’s facinating seeing distros based on arch. It allows people to get the arch experience without having to go through the tedious procee of installing it
Last summer, I left Ubuntu, after 11 years, for Manjaro for the software I needed which were removed from the repos. It’s faster than Ubuntu, is lighter-weight, and was perfect for a computer-illiterate friend who had a badly infected Win10 installation. I dumped it and installed Manjaro. He figured out how to use the MATE desktop in about 15 minutes, and was quite happy. I love Manjaro, and so does he.
I’m running Manjaro Xfce. Runs great. I tried Antergos and Zen Installer, I prefer Manjaro. It just works. I like that it works with Mint tools (usb formatter and usb image writer.)
I am rocking Arcolinux. I came recently from Mxlinux (debian). Arcolinux is very mutch a teaching distro. But you can start directly as a beginner with a full working distro with many WM’s. Their help and tutorials are great. Lots of them and added more everyday. Very flexible arch based distro.
Manjaro has been the greatest distro I have ever used. I started messing with Linux in the late 90’s and became a full time linux user around 2005. I’ve tried dozens of distros. Manjaro has the ease of use that I like (because I’m lazy) but also has the power of arch. The AUR is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen in a linux distro and I could never imagine going without it again. Once you learn how to make your own pkgbuild for packages not in the repo or AUR (which is almost never) you will never go without the programs you want on your system.
Give Reborn OS a try. It was basically a fork of Antergos, I do believe.
Yeesh, though, this list is badly outdated.
This post is outdated how could you guys forget Arco Linux Is one of the best arch based distros ever.
I’ll will just assume that you guys made up a mistake and one other thing old discontinued distros should not be marked as an alternative because it’s dead it won’t get any support or updates, So Encouraging people to run a non supported dead distro is terrible idea specially for the people who wants to enjoy arch .
Using Antergos currently. Works fine; but its starting to become a bit unstable. When logging in the screen can flash in black a bit and I have to force quit the laptop (hold down power button for 10 sec). Gonna try out Manjaro, but last time I tried it didn’t install correctly.
Artix is a good one too without the hastle of systemd. with openrc, runit or s6 to chose as init systems