Best Photon OS Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 tools from operating systems ranked against Photon OS on the same published basis.
- 1Photon OS vs pfSense
- 2Photon OS vs Ubuntu Server
- 3Photon OS vs Kali Linux
- 4Photon OS vs HPE Morpheus VM Essentials Software
- 5Photon OS vs Nix
- 6Photon OS vs Rocky Linux
- 7Photon OS vs AlmaLinux OS
- 8Photon OS vs Manjaro Linux
- 9Photon OS vs MX Linux
- 10Photon OS vs Debian
- 11Photon OS vs OPNsense
- 12Photon OS vs CentOS Stream
- 13Photon OS vs Fedora Linux
- 14Photon OS vs Kubuntu
- 15Photon OS vs Pop!_OS
- 16Photon OS vs SUSE Multi-Linux Manager
- 17Photon OS vs Wind River Conductor
- 18Photon OS vs OmniOS
- 19Photon OS vs postmarketOS
- 20Photon OS vs Raspberry Pi Imager
Photon OS alternatives compared
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | pfSense | 7.4 | Free plan | — | Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 2 | Ubuntu Server | 7.3 | Free plan | $2.08/mo | Linux, self-hosted |
| 3 | Kali Linux | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 4 | HPE Morpheus VM Essentials Software | 7.0 | No | $50/mo | Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 5 | Nix | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 6 | Rocky Linux | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted, Windows |
| 7 | AlmaLinux OS | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted, Windows |
| 8 | Manjaro Linux | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux |
| 9 | MX Linux | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux |
| 10 | Debian | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 11 | OPNsense | 6.7 | Free plan | — | API, self-hosted, Web |
| 12 | CentOS Stream | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 13 | Fedora Linux | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 14 | Kubuntu | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux |
| 15 | Pop!_OS | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux |
| 16 | SUSE Multi-Linux Manager | 6.6 | No | — | API, Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 17 | Wind River Conductor | 6.0 | No | — | Windows, Linux |
| 18 | OmniOS | 5.9 | No | — | Linux |
| 19 | postmarketOS | 5.9 | No | — | Linux |
| 20 | Raspberry Pi Imager | 5.9 | No | — | Linux |
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Questions about Photon OS alternatives
What is the best alternative to Photon OS?
pfSense, number 1 in operating systems with a score of 7.4 out of 10. The others here: Ubuntu Server, Kali Linux, HPE Morpheus VM Essentials Software and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Photon OS?
pfSense is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 14 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing.