Monthly archive

Most Popular Linux Distributions – May 2026

In May 2026, Starbuntu was the most-viewed operating system on OpenSourceFeed, ahead of CachyOS and ROSA Linux. GNOME Desktop Environment led the desktop environments. The biggest climber in the top 50 was Slackel, up from #82 to #33.

May 1, 2026 – May 31, 2026 · compared with April 2026

See the live ranking →

Operating Systems

#1 Starbuntu

Ubuntu-based

▲ 2 100/100

#2 CachyOS

Arch-based

Latest: CachyOS August 2026

▲ 3 47/100

#3 ROSA Linux

Independent

Latest: ROSA Desktop Fresh R10

▲ 8 45/100

Biggest risers

Slackel #82 → #33 ▲ 49 places up from rank 82
Gentoo Linux #97 → #49 ▲ 48 places up from rank 97
TrueOS #91 → #46 ▲ 45 places up from rank 91

Biggest fallers

PorteuX Linux #10 → #38 ▼ 28 places down from rank 10
Mauna Linux #6 → #30 ▼ 24 places down from rank 6
Korora #22 → #43 ▼ 21 places down from rank 22

1 Starbuntu Ubuntu-based Openbox ▲ 2 places up from rank 3 100 out of 100
2 CachyOS Arch-based KDE PlasmaXfceMATE ▲ 3 places up from rank 5 47 out of 100
3 ROSA Linux Independent GNOMEXfceKDE Plasma ▲ 8 places up from rank 11 45 out of 100
4 Tiny Core Linux Independent ▲ 14 places up from rank 18 44 out of 100
5 Puppy Linux Independent JwmRoxfiler ▼ 3 places down from rank 2 42 out of 100
6 NixOS Independent GNOMEKDE PlasmaXfce ▼ 5 places down from rank 1 36 out of 100
7 FreeBSD Independent ▲ 45 places up from rank 52 35 out of 100
8 Kodachi Linux Debian-based Xfce ▲ 13 places up from rank 21 35 out of 100
9 KITE GNU/Linux Ubuntu-based GNOMELXDE ▲ 31 places up from rank 40 33 out of 100
10 Ubuntu Debian-based UnityGNOMECutefish ▲ 2 places up from rank 12 33 out of 100
11 Zorin OS Ubuntu-based GNOMEXfce ▲ 24 places up from rank 35 33 out of 100
12 Kali Linux Debian-based XfceGNOMEKDE Plasma ▲ 4 places up from rank 16 27 out of 100
13 Clover OS or CloverOS Gentoo-based Fvwm ▼ 4 places down from rank 9 25 out of 100
14 EndeavourOS Arch-based XfceMATECinnamon ▼ 7 places down from rank 7 25 out of 100
15 Tails Debian-based GNOME ▲ 32 places up from rank 47 25 out of 100
16 PCLinuxOS Independent XfceKDE PlasmaMATE ▲ 21 places up from rank 37 24 out of 100
17 Raspberry Pi OS Debian-based Labwc (wayland)Pixel (legacy) ▼ 9 places down from rank 8 24 out of 100
18 Sparky Linux Debian-based LXQtMATELXDE ▲ 7 places up from rank 25 24 out of 100
19 4MLinux Independent Jwm ▼ 15 places down from rank 4 22 out of 100
20 antiX Debian-based IcewmFluxboxJwm ▼ 6 places down from rank 14 22 out of 100
21 Chakra Linux Independent KDE Plasma ▼ 8 places down from rank 13 22 out of 100
22 Lubuntu Ubuntu-based LXDELXQt ▼ 5 places down from rank 17 22 out of 100
23 PureOS Debian-based GNOME NEW 22 out of 100
24 Endless OS Debian-based GNOME ▲ 36 places up from rank 60 20 out of 100
25 GhostBSD FreeBSD-based MATE ▼ 10 places down from rank 15 20 out of 100
26 Netrunner Debian-based KDE Plasma ▼ 6 places down from rank 20 20 out of 100
27 AerynOS (formerly Serpent OS) Independent GNOMECOSMIC ▼ 8 places down from rank 19 18 out of 100
28 Debian Independent GNOMEKDE PlasmaXfce ▲ 21 places up from rank 49 18 out of 100
29 Fedora Linux Independent GNOMEKDE PlasmaMATE ▲ 22 places up from rank 51 18 out of 100
30 Mauna Linux Debian-based XfceGNOMEMATE ▼ 24 places down from rank 6 18 out of 100
31 Pentoo Gentoo-based Xfce ▲ 33 places up from rank 64 18 out of 100
32 Peppermint OS Debian-based LXDE ▲ 12 places up from rank 44 18 out of 100
33 Slackel Slackware-based OpenboxMATE ▲ 49 places up from rank 82 18 out of 100
34 Solus Linux Independent BudgieXfceGNOME ▼ 10 places down from rank 24 18 out of 100
35 Antergos Arch-based CinnamonGNOMEKDE Plasma ▲ 13 places up from rank 48 16 out of 100
36 Damn Small Linux (DSL) Antix-based FluxboxJwm ▲ 23 places up from rank 59 16 out of 100
37 Oracle Linux Red Hat-based GNOME ▼ 14 places down from rank 23 16 out of 100
38 PorteuX Linux Slackware-based CinnamonGNOMEKDE Plasma ▼ 28 places down from rank 10 16 out of 100
39 ReactOS Independent Windows 9x inspired desktop ▲ 27 places up from rank 66 16 out of 100
40 Redox OS Independent Optional gui orbital ▲ 27 places up from rank 67 16 out of 100
41 Vanilla OS Debian-based GNOME ▼ 15 places down from rank 26 16 out of 100
42 Arch Linux Independent GNOMEKDE PlasmaMATE ▼ 3 places down from rank 39 15 out of 100
43 Korora Fedora-based GNOMEKDE PlasmaMATE ▼ 21 places down from rank 22 15 out of 100
44 Nitrux Linux Debian-based Hyprland ▲ 35 places up from rank 79 15 out of 100
45 Salix Slackware-based Xfce ▲ 45 places up from rank 90 15 out of 100
46 TrueOS FreeBSD-based Lumina ▲ 45 places up from rank 91 15 out of 100
47 Archman Arch-based XfceMATEKDE Plasma ▼ 16 places down from rank 31 13 out of 100
48 Arya Linux LFS-based MATEXfceGNOME ▲ 9 places up from rank 57 13 out of 100
49 Gentoo Linux Independent BudgieCinnamonFvwm-crystal ▲ 48 places up from rank 97 13 out of 100
50 Linux Mint Ubuntu-based MATECinnamonXfce ▲ 26 places up from rank 76 13 out of 100
51 OpenMandriva Independent KDE Plasma ▲ 49 places up from rank 100 13 out of 100
52 Q4OS Debian-based TrinityKDE Plasma ▼ 7 places down from rank 45 13 out of 100
53 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Independent GNOME ▲ 36 places up from rank 89 13 out of 100
54 RefreshOS Debian-based KDE Plasma ▼ 8 places down from rank 46 13 out of 100
55 UbuntuDDE Remix Ubuntu-based Deepindesktop ▲ 48 places up from rank 103 13 out of 100
56 Ubuntu GNOME Ubuntu-based GNOME ▲ 48 places up from rank 104 13 out of 100
57 Ubuntu Unity Ubuntu-based Unity ▼ 1 places down from rank 56 13 out of 100
58 Devuan GNU+Linux Debian-based Xfce ▼ 8 places down from rank 50 11 out of 100
59 Linux Lite Ubuntu-based Xfce ▲ 18 places up from rank 77 11 out of 100
60 Manjaro Linux Arch-based KDE PlasmaXfceMATE ▲ 26 places up from rank 86 11 out of 100
61 MX Linux Debian-based XfceKDE PlasmaFluxbox ▼ 19 places down from rank 42 11 out of 100
62 openSUSE Independent GNOMEKDE PlasmaXfce ▼ 29 places down from rank 33 11 out of 100
63 RedCore Linux Gentoo-based KDE Plasma ▼ 8 places down from rank 55 11 out of 100
64 ArchLabs Arch-based Openbox ▲ 6 places up from rank 70 9 out of 100
65 BackBox Linux Ubuntu-based Xfce ▲ 41 places up from rank 106 9 out of 100
66 Bodhi Linux Ubuntu-based Moksha ▲ 5 places up from rank 71 9 out of 100
67 Enso OS Ubuntu-based Xfce ▲ 5 places up from rank 72 9 out of 100
68 KaOS Independent KDE Plasma ▲ 41 places up from rank 109 9 out of 100
69 Mageia Independent GNOMEKDE PlasmaXfce ▼ 28 places down from rank 41 9 out of 100
70 Maui Linux Kdeneon-based KDE Plasma ▼ 17 places down from rank 53 9 out of 100
71 Neptune Debian-based KDE Plasma ▼ 9 places down from rank 62 9 out of 100
72 Pop!_OS Ubuntu-based GNOME ▼ 7 places down from rank 65 9 out of 100
73 Rhino Linux Ubuntu-based Unicorn NEW 9 out of 100
74 Shark Linux Debian-based MATE ▲ 6 places up from rank 80 9 out of 100
75 Calculate Linux Gentoo-based KDE PlasmaMATEXfce ▲ 10 places up from rank 85 7 out of 100
76 elementary OS Ubuntu-based Pantheon ▲ 20 places up from rank 96 7 out of 100
77 MakuluLinux Debian-based XfceCinnamon ▲ 1 places up from rank 78 7 out of 100
78 MidnightBSD FreeBSD-based LuminaGNOME ▼ 24 places down from rank 54 7 out of 100
79 Raspbian Debian-based ▲ 9 places up from rank 88 7 out of 100
80 Sabayon Linux Gentoo-based KDE PlasmaGNOMEXfce ▲ 27 places up from rank 107 7 out of 100
81 Ubuntu Cinnamon Ubuntu-based Cinnamon ▲ 12 places up from rank 93 7 out of 100
82 Ultimate Edition Ubuntu-based BudgieGNOMEKDE Plasma ▼ 52 places down from rank 30 7 out of 100
83 Xubuntu Ubuntu-based Xfce ▲ 25 places up from rank 108 7 out of 100
84 Apricity OS Arch-based CinnamonGNOME ▼ 57 places down from rank 27 5 out of 100
85 ArcoLinux Arch-based XfceOpenboxi3 ▼ 1 places down from rank 84 5 out of 100
86 CRUX Independent Openbox ▲ 9 places up from rank 95 5 out of 100
87 CutefishOS Debian-based Cutefish ▼ 51 places down from rank 36 5 out of 100
88 DragonFly FreeBSD-based AwesomeCinnamonFluxbox ▼ 30 places down from rank 58 5 out of 100
89 feren OS Linuxmint-based Cinnamon ▼ 16 places down from rank 73 5 out of 100
90 KDE neon Ubuntu-based KDE Plasma ▼ 15 places down from rank 75 5 out of 100
91 Linux From Scratch Independent ▼ 30 places down from rank 61 5 out of 100
92 NetBSD Independent ▼ 49 places down from rank 43 5 out of 100
93 Parsix GNU/Linux Debian-based GNOME ▼ 6 places down from rank 87 5 out of 100
94 Porteus Slackware-based CinnamonMATEKDE Plasma ▲ 7 places up from rank 101 5 out of 100
95 SolydXK Debian-based XfceKDE Plasma ▼ 27 places down from rank 68 5 out of 100
96 Trident Trueos-based Lumina ▲ 6 places up from rank 102 5 out of 100
97 Trisquel GNU/Linux Ubuntu-based MATE ▼ 68 places down from rank 29 5 out of 100
98 Ubuntu MATE Ubuntu-based MATE ▼ 60 places down from rank 38 5 out of 100
99 Voyager Live Debian-based GNOMEXfce ▲ 6 places up from rank 105 5 out of 100
100 deepin Debian-based Deepindesktop ▼ 68 places down from rank 32 4 out of 100
101 Elive Linux Debian-based Enlightenment ▼ 73 places down from rank 28 4 out of 100
102 Gnoppix AI Linux Debian-based XfceGNOMEKDE Plasma ▼ 28 places down from rank 74 4 out of 100
103 Kubuntu Ubuntu-based KDE Plasma ▼ 5 places down from rank 98 4 out of 100
104 NomadBSD FreeBSD-based Openbox ▼ 5 places down from rank 99 4 out of 100
105 Pardus Debian-based XfceGNOME ▼ 42 places down from rank 63 4 out of 100
106 Siduction Debian-based KDE PlasmaXfceLXQt ▼ 25 places down from rank 81 4 out of 100
107 SpiralLinux Debian-based CinnamonXfceGNOME ▼ 38 places down from rank 69 4 out of 100
108 Ubuntu Budgie Ubuntu-based Budgie ▼ 16 places down from rank 92 4 out of 100
109 Uruk GNU/Linux Pureos-based MATE ▼ 15 places down from rank 94 4 out of 100
110 ArchBang Arch-based Openboxi3 ▼ 27 places down from rank 83 2 out of 100
111 Slax Linux Debian-based Fluxbox ▼ 77 places down from rank 34 2 out of 100

Desktop Environments

#1 GNOME Desktop Environment

Latest: GNOME 51

▲ 2 100/100

#2 Pantheon Desktop

Improve your productivity

▲ 3 95/100

#3 Budgie Desktop

Latest: Budgie Desktop 10.7

▼ 2 86/100

Biggest risers

Regolith Desktop #15 → #4 ▲ 11 places up from rank 15
Trinity Desktop #16 → #10 ▲ 6 places up from rank 16
Moksha Desktop #14 → #8 ▲ 6 places up from rank 14

Biggest fallers

MATE Desktop #4 → #16 ▼ 12 places down from rank 4
LXQt Desktop Environment #2 → #13 ▼ 11 places down from rank 2
helloSystem #7 → #15 ▼ 8 places down from rank 7

1 GNOME Desktop Environment GNOME 51 ▲ 2 places up from rank 3 100 out of 100
2 Pantheon Desktop ▲ 3 places up from rank 5 95 out of 100
3 Budgie Desktop Budgie Desktop 10.7 ▼ 2 places down from rank 1 86 out of 100
4 Regolith Desktop ▲ 11 places up from rank 15 82 out of 100
5 Cinnamon Desktop Cinnamon 3.4 (Dead Link) ▲ 3 places up from rank 8 77 out of 100
6 Lumina Desktop Lumina Desktop 1.4.0 ▲ 6 places up from rank 12 59 out of 100
7 Deepin Desktop ▲ 6 places up from rank 13 50 out of 100
8 Moksha Desktop ▲ 6 places up from rank 14 50 out of 100
9 KDE Plasma Plasma 5.14.4 ▲ 2 places up from rank 11 50 out of 100
10 Trinity Desktop ▲ 6 places up from rank 16 50 out of 100
11 Cutefish Desktop ▼ 1 places down from rank 10 36 out of 100
12 Enlightenment ▼ 6 places down from rank 6 32 out of 100
13 LXQt Desktop Environment LXQt 2.4.0 ▼ 11 places down from rank 2 27 out of 100
14 Xfce Xfce 4.20 ▼ 5 places down from rank 9 27 out of 100
15 helloSystem ▼ 8 places down from rank 7 23 out of 100
16 MATE Desktop MATE Desktop 1.20 ▼ 12 places down from rank 4 23 out of 100
17 LXDE –No change 18 out of 100

Rankings archive

Year in review 2025 2024 2023

2026 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

2025 Nov Dec

Methodology

Data source: Page views of each distribution and desktop page on OpenSourceFeed during this calendar month, from the Google Analytics Data API. Hits on old or alias URLs are merged into the main page.
Popularity score: Each entry's page views divided by those of the #1 entry in the same list, scaled to 100.
Rank change: Compared with the rank in April 2026. “NEW” means the entry was not ranked then.
Frozen data: This page is a snapshot. It is not updated after the period ends; see the live ranking for current numbers.