Debian 13, also known as 'Trixie,' was released in August 2025, and Ubuntu 26.04, also known as 'Resolute Raccoon,' was released in April 2026. Both of these are the latest versions of Linux. Ubuntu is actually built on top of Debian. They work on the same philosophies, but in different ways.
Here, we present a detailed comparison of Debian 13 and Ubuntu 26.04 so that you can decide which Linux distribution to use for your home lab or server deployment.
Core & Packages
Ubuntu 26.04 is modernizing the Linux foundation. Canonical swapped out classic GNU utilities for rust-coreutils and replaced the standard sudo with sudo-rs. Ubuntu 26.04 includes APT version 3.1. The latest version of Ubuntu gives you Kernel version 7.0. If you install a damaged version of Ubuntu and you want to go back to an old version, you can roll back to your old Ubuntu version using the apt history-undo command.
Debian prioritizes strict stability. Debian 13 also plays it safe. Debian 13 provides Linux Kernel 6.12 LTS, Systemd 257, and standard GNU 2.41 tools. It also ships wcurl for HTTP/3 support. Debian packages are not officially designed for rolling back old packages.
Desktop & Display
Ubuntu has now dropped the GNOME session. It uses Wayland. Ubuntu 26.04 provides Wayland. Some desktop users who use KDE on X11, Xfce, MATE, and i3 still use GNOME. Machines using Nvidia graphics fully support Wayland. Firefox version 150 and the GNU Image Manipulation Program provide the latest version 3.2. Initial hardware enablement work for the Snapdragon X Elite platform has been included in the desktop ISO.
Debian 13 stays flexible. The Debian 13 desktop environment features GNOME 48, KDE Plasma 6.3, LXDE 13, LXQt 2.1.0, and Xfce 4.20. The new KDE framework is built on Qt 6. Debian 13 is stable, so you can use the display server of your choice.
Hardware & Architecture
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS comes with a new Hardware Enablement virtualization stack, which will be continuously updated and deliver the latest versions to your system. It is the first variant of Ubuntu with amd64v3, which is optimized for the x86-64-v3 microarchitecture level. The Ubuntu Universe repository now includes AMD ROCm software version 7.1.0. These libraries provide back-end infrastructure to support AI training and inference on AMD GPU hardware. The only supported RISC-V platform is QEMU virtualization with the -cpu rva23s64 CPU profile, and the IBM Z requirement has been raised to z15.
Debian 13 provides the first riscv64 architecture, allowing you to run Debian on 64-bit RISC-V hardware. Supported UEFI and U-Boot firmware can now boot the Debian Installer and Debian Live Images using "HTTP Boot."
AI & Compute
Ubuntu now includes AMD's ROCm software v7.1.0 in its Universe repository, which provides the core framework for AI training and machine learning on AMD GPUs. Debian 13 will run your homelab, but Ubuntu is still working on an AI operating system.
Security
In Ubuntu 26.04, you can securely store your data in your computer's Trusted Platform Module (TPM). AppArmor is provided for system protection, which helps decrease the impact of any exploits in applications. Debian focuses on low-level hardware protection.
Compare all version
| Package | Ubuntu 26.04 | Debian 13 (trixie) |
|---|---|---|
| Apache | 2.4.66 | 2.4.65 |
| Bash | 5.3 | 5.2.37 |
| BIND DNS Server | 9.20.18 | 9.20 |
| Cryptsetup | 2.8.4 | 2.7 |
| curl/libcurl | 8.18.0 | 8.14.1 |
| Emacs | 30.2 | 30.1 |
| Exim (default email server) | 4.99.1 | 4.98 |
| GCC, the GNU Compiler Collection | GCC 15 | 14.2 |
| GIMP | 3.2.2 | 3.0.4 |
| GnuPG | 2.4.8 | 2.4.7 |
| Inkscape | 1.4.3 | 1.4 |
| the GNU C library | 2.43 | 2.41 |
| Linux kernel | 7.0 | 6.12 series |
| LLVM/Clang toolchain | 21 | 19 (default), 17 and 18 available |
| MariaDB | 11.8 | 11.8 |
| Nginx | 1.28.3 | 1.26 |
| OpenJDK | 25 | 21 |
| OpenLDAP | 2.6 | 2.6.10 |
| OpenSSH | 10.2 | 10.0p1 |
| OpenSSL | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Perl | 5.40.1 | 5.40 |
| PHP | 8.5 | 8.4 |
| Postfix | 3.10 | 3.10 |
| PostgreSQL | 18 | 17 |
| Python 3 | 3.14 | 3.13 |
| Qt 5 | 5.15.18 | 5.15.15 |
| Qt 6 | 6.10.2 | 6.8.2 |
| Rustc | 1.93.1 | 1.85 |
| Samba | 4.23 | 4.22 |
| Systemd | 259 | 257 |
| Vim | 9.1 | 9.1 |
Conclusion
Choosing between Debian 13 and Ubuntu 26.04 depends on your type of usage. If you want the newest tools like a built-in AI framework, APT rollback, and a modern workspace, then choose Ubuntu 26.04. If you want stability and a one-time setup — like set it and forget it — then choose Debian 13. With GNU tools and a rock-solid LTS kernel, Debian gives your server more years of security, and if you want to modify your Linux, then go with Ubuntu 26.04.
