Alternatives to Tails
Amnesic live operating system that routes everything through Tor. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Tails
Amnesic live operating system that routes everything through Tor.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Tails.
Whonix
Two-virtual-machine system that isolates the desktop from the network.
Whonix runs as two virtual machines on an existing desktop, isolating the workstation from the network rather than booting as an amnesic live system.
Kodachi
A privacy-focused Debian-based Linux distribution that routes traffic through Tor or VPN.
Kodachi is a Debian-based desktop routing traffic through Tor or VPN with a kill switch, but it is only partly source-available and maintained largely by one developer.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Tails as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
PureOS
Purism's free-software Linux operating system that converges between desktop computers and phones.
Tails is an amnesic live system that routes everything through Tor, rather than an installed free-software desktop and phone operating system.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Orbot
Tor VPN for Android and iOS that can route chosen apps.
I2P
Encrypted overlay network for anonymous sites, messaging and file sharing.
Lokinet
Onion-routed network built on staked nodes, routing at the IP layer.
MAT2
Strips metadata from images, documents, audio and video.
InviZible Pro
Android app bundling Tor, I2P and DNSCrypt with a no-root mode.
