Debian powers countless servers worldwide. It runs quietly behind Raspberry Pi OS, Open Media Vault, and thousands of web servers you use daily. Rock-solid stability made it legendary in the server world.
But as a desktop operating system? That’s where things get complicated. Debian demands more technical knowledge than Ubuntu or Linux Mint. Plus, its ultra-conservative update policy means your software stays frozen for two full years. So before you jump ship from Ubuntu to Debian, let’s talk about what you’re actually signing up for.
The Installation Already Tests Your Patience
Finding the right Debian download takes more work than it should. Click “Download” on debian.org and you’ll get the Netinstaller—a minimal image without a live desktop to test first. That’s frustrating if you want to preview Debian before committing.
The full ISO images with live environments hide on the distrib page. Then you’ll navigate through confusing mirror links scattered across the globe. Ubuntu newcomers switching to Debian often grab the wrong image simply because the download process feels deliberately obscure.
Once you start the installer, expect more questions than Ubuntu ever asks. Domain names, proxy settings, root passwords—Debian wants answers for everything. Most of these questions aren’t critical (you can skip domain and proxy entirely), but the experience feels unnecessarily technical.
Here’s what trips people up: Debian requires a root account password during setup. Ubuntu users rarely think about root because sudo handles everything. But Debian takes the traditional Linux approach where root and regular user accounts stay separate.
Software Selection During Setup Matters More Than You Think
The “software selection” screen during installation deserves your full attention. Miss the right options here and you’ll boot into a command-line system with no desktop at all.
You must select “Debian desktop environment” to get a working graphical interface. Then choose your preferred desktop—Gnome, KDE, XFCE, or others. Skip “desktop environment” and you’ll only get the desktop software without the underlying framework. Skip both and Debian installs headless with just a terminal.
One more critical step: answer “Yes” when asked about using network mirrors. This gives you another chance to select software packages if your initial download missed components. It’s your safety net for fixing installation mistakes.
Two-Year Software Freeze Sounds Worse Than It Actually Is
Debian’s release model prioritizes stability over cutting-edge features. A new version appears roughly every two years (Debian 13 “Trixie” launched in 2025) and receives three years of support. During that entire period, you’ll only get security updates. No kernel updates. No feature updates for applications. Your software stays exactly where it started.
This is the complete opposite of rolling-release distributions like Arch Linux. Ubuntu offers a middle ground with biannual updates that include kernel upgrades and newer application versions.
For desktop users, this freeze has real implications. Your graphics drivers stay at the same version for two years. Gnome or KDE won’t gain new features during that time. Gimp, VLC, Firefox—everything remains static except security patches.
However, the freeze isn’t universally bad. Servers benefit enormously from this stability. Nothing breaks unexpectedly because nothing changes. If you’re running Debian on hardware that won’t see upgrades for years, the conservative approach makes perfect sense.
Plus, experienced users can enable backport repositories to get newer software versions manually. But that’s an opt-in workaround, not the default behavior.
Upgrading to the Next Debian Release Requires Manual Work
When Debian 14 eventually arrives, your system won’t automatically offer an upgrade. You must manually edit the “/etc/apt/sources.list” file and replace every instance of the old release name with the new one. That typically means changing three or four lines.
Then you run “sudo apt full-upgrade” to pull in the new version. It works reliably but requires comfort with text file editing and terminal commands. Ubuntu users expect a graphical “update manager” that handles upgrades with a few clicks. Debian doesn’t provide that convenience.
Sudo Doesn’t Work by Default and Other Quirks
Ubuntu users type “sudo” reflexively before system commands. Debian doesn’t recognize sudo out of the box. Instead, you must switch to the root account using “su” and entering the root password you created during installation.
Want Ubuntu-style sudo access? Install it yourself:
“
apt install sudo
usermod -aG sudo yourusername
“
That adds your user account to the sudo group. Simple fix, but unexpected if you’re coming from Ubuntu.
Another surprise: basic admin commands like “usermod” appear to be missing. They’re not actually missing—they live in “/sbin” and “/usr/sbin” directories that aren’t included in your default PATH. You must type the full path “/sbin/usermod” or modify your PATH variable to include those directories.
Fresh Debian installations sometimes include “deb cdrom” as a package source in “/etc/apt/sources.list”. This causes errors every time you try to install software. You’ll need to comment out or delete that line to fix the problem.
These quirks aren’t show-stoppers. But they create friction for users expecting Ubuntu’s smoother defaults.
Desktops Arrive Completely Unmodified
Debian delivers desktop environments exactly as upstream developers intended. Select Gnome during installation and you’ll get stock Gnome with zero modifications beyond a few Debian wallpapers. No custom themes, no pre-configured extensions, no usability tweaks.
KDE, XFCE, and other desktops follow the same pattern. Debian doesn’t add polish or convenience features. You must customize everything yourself using desktop settings, extension managers, and theme tools.
This isn’t necessarily bad. Purists appreciate getting the genuine upstream experience. But it assumes you know how to configure desktops and enjoy tweaking settings yourself. Ubuntu and Mint do this work for you—Debian doesn’t.
Firefox ESR Means Yearly Feature Updates at Best
Debian ships Firefox ESR (Extended Support Release) as the default browser. ESR prioritizes stability over new features, updating only once per year. Security patches arrive regularly, but you’ll wait 12 months for new Firefox features.
Standard Firefox releases new versions every four weeks. ESR users miss out on that rapid evolution. For most users this doesn’t matter much. But web developers and early adopters prefer staying current with browser capabilities.
Proprietary Drivers Became Much Easier Recently
Debian historically restricted proprietary software and firmware. You had to manually enable “non-free” repositories to install Nvidia drivers or certain Wi-Fi firmware. That changed—Debian now includes non-free sources by default.
Modern Debian installations can install Nvidia drivers, mesa-utils graphics libraries, and ffmpeg codecs directly without jumping through repository hoops. This brings Debian closer to Ubuntu’s approach of “just working” with common hardware.
But remember: those drivers stay at the same version for two years due to Debian’s release freeze. Bleeding-edge GPU owners might struggle with hardware support.
Debian Works Best for Specific Use Cases
Servers absolutely love Debian. The two-year software freeze becomes an advantage when you need predictable, stable systems that won’t surprise you with unexpected changes. Web servers, file servers, database servers—Debian excels here.
Older hardware benefits too. If your laptop is four years old and won’t receive any component upgrades, Debian’s conservative approach poses no problems. You’re not missing out on driver improvements because your hardware isn’t changing anyway.
Power users who enjoy system customization find Debian rewarding. The lack of pre-configured desktop polish becomes a feature rather than a bug. You control every aspect of your system without fighting against someone else’s configuration choices.
But daily desktop users on modern hardware should think twice. That new GPU you installed might need kernel support that won’t arrive for two years. The latest CPU might lack proper power management without newer kernels. Ubuntu’s rolling point releases handle these situations better.
Easier Alternatives That Keep Debian’s Foundation
Want Debian’s stability without the rough edges? Several distributions build on Debian while adding user-friendly polish.
MX Linux with XFCE provides a complete desktop experience while staying close to Debian’s core. Q4-OS offers similar convenience with KDE instead of XFCE.
Linux Mint LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition) gives you the closest possible match to Ubuntu’s user experience while running pure Debian underneath. LMDE includes Mint’s excellent Cinnamon desktop, hardware detection, and software management—all the polish Ubuntu users expect.
These derivatives prove you can have Debian’s rock-solid foundation without suffering through installation headaches and sparse desktop configurations.
Debian Requires More Work Than Ubuntu but Less Than Arch
Debian sits firmly in the middle of the Linux complexity spectrum. It demands significantly more technical knowledge than Ubuntu, Mint, or other beginner-friendly distributions. But it’s nowhere near Arch Linux’s “build everything yourself” philosophy.
The question isn’t whether Debian is “better” than Ubuntu. They serve different purposes. Ubuntu prioritizes convenience and modern hardware support. Debian prioritizes stability and control.
Choose Debian when stability matters more than cutting-edge features. Choose Ubuntu when you want modern software without two-year freezes. Neither choice is wrong—they’re just different tools for different jobs.
And if you want Debian’s foundation with Ubuntu’s polish, remember those derivatives exist. You don’t have to choose between stability and usability.
Comments (0)