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Linux Mint vs. Ubuntu How Different Are They, Really?

Fergus O'Sullivan

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  • Before we get to the differences, let’s first establish in which ways Linux Mint and Ubuntu are similar. Ubuntu is the older distro, and Mint was built on the foundation that Ubuntu laid. Both ultimately use the Debian architecture as their base and thus use the same DEB type of packages to install programs.
  • Ubuntu, for example, looks a lot like Mac the first time you see it.
  • Linux Mint, on the other hand, has a more Windows vibe to it, something I discuss at length in my article on what Linux Mint is.
  • This is mainly down to these two OSes using different desktop environments as their default. Ubuntu uses one called GNOME, which gives you the Mac feel, while Mint uses Cinnamon, which is a bit more like Windows. (
  • Ubuntu has a bigger community, and also is served by Canonical’s massive collection of documentation. This means that while getting started is about the same, if you have a specific issue with your Mint install you probably will end up having to use Ubuntu fixes to see which will work. It’s usually not an issue, though I have had to tinker a bit to get something working at times.