Alternatives to PureOS

Purism's free-software Linux operating system that converges between desktop computers and phones. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as PureOS.

  • Tails

    Amnesic live operating system that routes everything through Tor.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Tails is an amnesic live system that routes everything through Tor, rather than an installed free-software desktop and phone operating system.

  • Kodachi

    A privacy-focused Debian-based Linux distribution that routes traffic through Tor or VPN.

    FreemiumProprietaryLinux

    Kodachi is a Debian-based desktop with built-in Tor, VPN and DNSCrypt routing, but it is only partly source-available and maintained largely by one developer.

  • Whonix

    Two-virtual-machine system that isolates the desktop from the network.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Whonix isolates the desktop from the network using two virtual machines on an existing host, instead of running as a standalone operating system.

Also worth comparing

These listings name PureOS as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • Alpine Linux

    A small, security-oriented Linux distribution built on musl libc and BusyBox.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    PureOS is a fully free-software Linux system that runs on both laptops and Librem phones, and it is closely tied to Purism hardware rather than minimal servers.

  • GNU Guix

    A transactional package manager and GNU/Linux distribution whose packages and system configurations are written in Guile Scheme.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxCommand line

    PureOS is also a fully free-software Linux system, but it drops Guix's Scheme-based reproducible configuration and is closely tied to Purism's laptops and phones.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.