Zorin OS vs. Solus: I tested two great Linux distros for beginners to find out which is best

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

Solus has come a long way since its humble beginnings.
You get just the right amount of preinstalled software and your choice of desktop.
Solus is close to Zorin OS, but two factors give Zorin OS the edge.

I recently tested Zorin OS 18.1 and dubbed it the best Linux distro – for anyone. I would go so far as to say that it’s the best OS I’ve ever used. That same day, I learned that Solus had a new release as well.

Version 4.9 of Solus was released on April 18, and I opted to download the Budgie version of the OS. I’ve used the Budgie desktop many times and thought it would be a good comparison against Zorin OS.

Also: Why Zorin OS 18.1 is simply the best Linux distro – for anyone

Why make this comparison? That’s simple: I’m often asked which distribution is best suited for new users, and I always want to make sure I’m suggesting the right option. Because of that, I like to compare them — such as when I compared Linux Mint to Zorin OS.

As I was testing Solus, it dawned on me that this Linux distribution could be easily recommended to those who’ve never used the open-source operating system. The more I dug in, the more I embraced that proposition.

But can it stand up to the mighty Zorin OS 18.1? That’s a high bar — let’s see if Solus 4.9 can reach it.

Preinstalled software

Just like Zorin OS, Solus has everything you need to get started without installing a single piece of software. You’ve got Firefox, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, Rythmbox, Celluloid, gedit (text editor), and all the usual bits and pieces that make up a desktop operating system.

Also: Can this $70 Linux app make up for the lack of Photoshop? I tried it to find out

And if you don’t find what you need, there’s a GUI app store (in the Budgie version, it’s KDE’s Discover) that has Flatpak support rolled in, so you can install a host of other apps (even proprietary ones like Slack and Spotify).

KDE Discover is a…

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