The top three Linux distros on DistroWatch right now are CachyOS, Linux Mint, and MX Linux. I tested all three to understand what makes each one tick and who each one is really built for. One of them is for performance-obsessed users, one is for people tired of Windows, and one is quietly doing something most distros can’t. Here’s the full breakdown, and how I’d personally rank these three.
Who decided that these are the most popular distros? And how?
Defining “popular” is tricky when it comes to Linux. Unlike Windows or macOS, Linux distros don’t ship with telemetry, and there’s no central database tracking how many people are actually running any given distro. Nobody really knows the real numbers.
The closest thing we have is DistroWatch—a website that’s been cataloging and tracking Linux distros since 2001. It gets a lot of traffic from people in the Linux community looking up distros, reading release announcements, and comparing options. One of the metrics it tracks is HPD (hits per day)—basically how often people are landing on a particular distro’s page on the site.
While it doesn’t tell you how many people actually use a distro, it’s a decent proxy for what the community is paying attention to, and it’s been the go-to reference for this kind of thing for years. Based on DistroWatch’s April 2026 rankings, the top three are CachyOS, Linux Mint, and MX Linux—in that order. I tested all three, and at the end of this piece, I’ll give you my personal ranking.
CachyOS
Arch Linux + Performance gains – technical headaches = this distro
CachyOS is an Arch-based distro, and it’s been sitting at the top of DistroWatch’s popularity charts for over eighteen months now. That’s impressive because usually a distro pops up, grabs the #1 spot out of novelty, and then gets displaced by the regulars like Mint or Ubuntu. However, it’s clear that CachyOS is here to dominate and the reasons aren’t hard to see.
Firstly, it’s running KDE Plasma, which offers a familiar Windows-like experience that looks and feels more modern and customizable than Windows itself. The distro also comes with an optimized kernel—the CachyOS kernel—as well as many optimized packages to help you squeeze the most performance out of modern hardware—AMD Ryzen or Intel Haswell and later.
I tested CachyOS on my main PC running a Ryzen 5 5600G and Nvidia RTX 3060, and it genuinely felt snappier than most distros I’ve used, including Garuda Linux—my daily driver. This makes it an excellent distro for gamers. In fact, there’s a dedicated ISO for handheld gaming devices like the Steam Deck, Legion Go, and Legion Go S.
- Power Source
-
50Whr battery
- What’s Included
-
Console, charger, carrying case
- Brand
-
Valve
- Screen
-
7.4-inch (diagonal) LCD display
- Storage
-
512GB NVMe SSD
- CPU
-
Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz
Elevate your gaming experience with the Steam Deck OLED. Immerse yourself in stunning visuals on the vibrant OLED display, while enjoying powerful performance and portability.
Furthermore, despite being an Arch-based distro, the developers have made it as beginner-friendly as possible. You get the CachyOS app, which gives you a graphical interface for routine maintenance. It also ships with Btrfs + Snapper for system snapshots, which ensures that if something breaks, you can just roll back to a previously working state from the GRUB menu.
The only downside I can think of is that since it’s a rolling release distro, you’ll need to update it regularly—at least once every two weeks. But the updates typically take less than 15 minutes, and if you’re okay with that, CachyOS can truly feel like the perfect distro.
You can download CachyOS from here.
Why This Distro Is More Popular Than Ubuntu and Linux Mint Right Now
How is CachyOS able to catch everyone’s attention?
Linux Mint
The distro that got people from ‘trying’ Linux to ‘staying’
Linux Mint is the most popular gateway distro—it’s what shows up whenever someone asks for the best Linux experience for newcomers. And it’s also one of the most successful distros that manages to retain users once they make the switch to Linux. Given the fact that most users started their Linux journey through Mint, it makes complete sense that it consistently sits near the top of DistroWatch. But why do so many users like Mint?
Well, Mint is by far one of the most flexible, beginner-friendly distros I’ve used, with a ridiculously high ceiling. It starts you off with a familiar Windows-like layout to ease your transition into Linux. But once you get comfortable, the distro grows with you. There are actually a bunch of powerful features hiding beneath the surface—not to overwhelm you if you’re new, but to reward your curiosity once you start to explore.
A few notable features include Nemo Actions, which lets you run bash scripts from the right-click context menu, fully customizable touchpad and touchscreen gestures with support for custom commands, a powerful extension system, and native support for desktop and panel widgets. You also get deep theming support. I was able to make Mint look like macOS, and it turned out pretty convincing.
Other than this, Mint is based on Ubuntu LTS, which means rock-solid stability and compatibility with almost every piece of hardware. The main downside is that packages in the official repository can be a bit dated, but that’s an easy problem to fix if you primarily download Flatpak apps.
You can download Linux Mint from here.
I was too advanced for Linux Mint until I discovered these 3 power user features
Mint’s “beginner-friendly” reputation is hiding some serious power.
MX Linux
A serious distro for people seeking practical tools
I personally find it a shame that not many people know or talk about MX Linux. I have rarely seen articles or YouTube videos on the distro. Fortunately, real users do notice its charm and utility, earning it a place at the top of DistroWatch for the past few years now. In fact, MX Linux has been consistently beating more popular names like Ubuntu and Fedora. But what makes the distro so endearing?
Well, a big part of the reason is that the MX Linux team has made their distro compatible with a wide range of hardware. Firstly, the distro ships in three editions—KDE Plasma for modern machines, Xfce for mid-range systems, and Fluxbox for genuinely under-powered hardware. There’s also an AHS (Advanced Hardware Support) edition that ships with a newer kernel and updated graphics stack to make the distro more compatible with newer GPUs. This is important because MX Linux is based on Debian, which isn’t quite known for its support for the latest hardware.
The other thing that sets it apart is MX Tools—a collection of tools that let you tweak system-level settings through a graphical interface, similar to the Windows Control Panel. You get package management, GRUB configuration, system snapshots, cleanup tools—all in one place. On other distros, this kind of functionality is either fragmented or requires a terminal. MX Tools brings it all together and makes it accessible.
Finally, you’ve got native support for persistent live booting. You can essentially run MX Linux off a live USB and have your files, settings, and installed apps persist across reboots. This means you can carry your entire OS on a keychain. Granted, other distros also support persistent live booting, but they require some technical legwork. On MX Linux, this feature is a first-class citizen.
You can download MX Linux from here.
This distro nobody talks about is more popular than Ubuntu and Fedora—here’s 3 reasons why
The distro nobody talks about is beating the ones everybody uses.
How do I rank these three distros?
CachyOS takes the top spot for me—I’m a power user, and the performance gains are real and noticeable. MX Linux comes in second for its graphical tooling and persistent live USB support. Mint lands third, not because it’s bad, but because everything it offers beyond the basics I already get from KDE Plasma on the other two. Furthermore, my Linux journey started with Ubuntu, so I never had the Mint nostalgia.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
