In the mid-2000s, an upstart Linux distribution became both the most exciting and the most popular version around: Ubuntu.

But around two decades later, much of the excitement has gone away. The Ubuntu of today doesn't have the same spirit as the Ubuntu of yore. Now a different distro is drawing people for many of the same reasons Ubuntu did in the past, a distro that is ironically a year older: Fedora.

Is Fedora the new Ubuntu? Here are five reasons the answer is increasingly yes.

1. Fedora Delivers Features First

Fedora is a Linux distro that has, as part of its mission, the desire to be at the forefront of free and open-source software development. This means whatever the latest developments are in the Linux world, you will likely experience them in Fedora.

Many features that the Fedora community prioritizes end up making their way to most of the rest of the Linux landscape. Think PulseAudio, systemd, Wayland, PipeWire, and Flatpak. The immutable approach that Fedora Silverblue takes may also become another example.

In contrast, Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, provides invaluable support to many Linux projects, but many later initiatives that began with the company—Unity, Mir, Snaps—did not or have not yet found much adoption outside of Ubuntu.

2. Fedora's Desktop Is Exciting

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Canonical had big dreams for Ubuntu, to craft Linux into something regular consumers could purchase at a store and use as easily as the alternatives. They expanded on what GNOME could do, eventually creating their own desktop environment known as Unity. Those were exciting times, but things didn't quite pan out as hoped.

These days both Fedora and Ubuntu use the GNOME desktop, which is increasingly becoming its own distinct and invigorating experience. Fedora embraces GNOME's vision and provides the latest releases as quickly as possible. When you install Fedora, you know you will get the latest GNOME and the latest underlying technologies.

On Ubuntu, the current approach is to deliver the latest GNOME with whatever changes are necessary to make it feel like the design language Ubuntu used in the Unity years. This is a job that sometimes results in taking longer to deliver the latest GNOME software and, in the end, delivering an experience that is less consistent and a vision that is less coherent.

The goal for Ubuntu's desktop now is keeping the current experience functional for people who have come to depend on it. This is fine, and what a lot of people want, but hardly exciting. It's a preservation effort rather than a drive to create what comes next.

3. Fedora Is Easy to Install and Use

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If you ask many people why they first began using Ubuntu way back then, the answer is often because it was easy enough for them to figure out as a first-time Linux user. A big part of this was the introduction of a Live CD that allowed people to try out Ubuntu without making any changes to their computers. The installer simplified the process of replacing or joining the operating system on their computer.

These things are now commonplace across most Linux distros. In most areas, Fedora is as easy to use as Ubuntu. The installer may not be as intuitive, but it's straightforward enough, and a new one is in the works.

Fedora now greets new users with a brief introduction of how to use their desktop. GNOME Software does a much better job introducing people to new apps. The MP3 codec is now included out of the box.

Fedora still doesn't provide other proprietary codecs right off the bat or point people toward proprietary graphics drivers, as this clashes with the project's goal to exclusively showcase FOSS software. But it does make it easier to find third-party sources.

The main point here is not that Fedora has become easier to use than Ubuntu, but that it's no longer a clear answer whether Ubuntu is easier to use than Fedora.

4. Fedora Has a Large and Growing Community

One of Ubuntu's strengths is the size of its community. Millions of people use the Ubuntu desktop on a daily basis and have been doing so for well over a decade. That means that many people have asked questions, provided answers, filed bug reports, created how-to guides, made videos, and so much more that is all available online.

That means when you're learning Ubuntu, even if you don't know anyone else doing so in person, there is a treasure trove of online material to help you along.

Fedora's community is not as large as Ubuntu's, but it's still pretty substantial. If Ubuntu's number one, Fedora feels like a solid number two. Fedora has been around for longer than Ubuntu, and a large catalog of online resources has also been generated during that time.

Fedora's presence also continues to grow, as more podcasters and YouTubers draw attention to the project. You can find Fedora communities on your platform of choice, be that Reddit or Discord or elsewhere. There are people ready to help you with any issues, provide you with tips, and point you toward exciting developments.

5. Fedora Has Great Software Support

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The size of the community is notable for one other big reason. App vendors that specifically target Linux often provide a Fedora-compatible RPM in addition to the DEB format that Ubuntu uses. With many people using Fedora Linux, there's a reason for developers to support the distro.

But Fedora's own size is only part of the story. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is one of the most dominant forms of Linux on servers and in enterprise environments, which gives hardware and software vendors plenty of reason to support Fedora, the Linux distro that RHEL is based on.

Fedora benefits from the success of RHEL, and before being purchased by IBM, Red Hat had grown to become the largest open source company in the world.

All this is just to say that if you find an app released for Ubuntu, there's a good chance it's available for Fedora as well.

But Fedora Isn't Ubuntu Just Yet

For starters, Ubuntu still has substantially more users, even if Canonical's desktop no longer generates the kind of headline-grabbing attention it once did.

Second, each Fedora release only receives around 13 months of updates. In contrast, you can install an Ubuntu LTS and receive updates for up to a full decade. LTS releases have long received more downloads than other versions of Ubuntu.

Many people simply want a computer that works and doesn't change for as long as possible. Fedora works. But that second part? That's not Fedora. Not at all.