Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Lutris VS Pop!_OS

Compare Lutris VS Pop!_OS and see what are their differences

Lutris logo Lutris

Lutris is an open source gaming platform for GNU/Linux.

Pop!_OS logo Pop!_OS

A developer-focused minimalist Linux distro from System 76
  • Lutris Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-18
  • Pop!_OS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-01

Lutris features and specs

  • Open Source
    Lutris is an open-source platform, which means it is free to use and its source code is publicly available. This allows for community contributions and greater transparency.
  • Centralized Game Management
    Lutris provides a centralized platform for managing games from various sources including Steam, GOG, and Uplay, making it easy to organize and access all your games from a single interface.
  • Wide Range of Supported Games
    Lutris supports a wide variety of games, including native Linux games, Windows games (via Wine), emulators, and even web games, offering a versatile gaming experience.
  • Automated Installations
    Lutris offers scripts that automate the installation process for many games, saving time and reducing the complexity involved in setting up games, particularly those that require Wine.
  • Community-driven
    The platform benefits from a strong community that shares scripts, tips, and support, enhancing the overall user experience and providing solutions to common issues.

Possible disadvantages of Lutris

  • Complex Setup
    Initial setup and configuration can be complex and may require a fair amount of technical knowledge, particularly when dealing with Wine and non-native games.
  • Performance Overhead
    Running Windows games via Wine can incur a performance overhead compared to running them natively on Windows, potentially affecting game performance.
  • Compatibility Issues
    Not all games run smoothly on Lutris, and some may have compatibility issues, requiring additional tweaks and configurations to function properly.
  • Limited Support
    While there is a community to provide support, there is no dedicated professional support team, which can be a drawback compared to commercial game management platforms.
  • Learning Curve
    For users unfamiliar with Linux or Wine, there can be a steep learning curve, making it less accessible to less tech-savvy gamers.

Pop!_OS features and specs

  • Optimized for Productivity
    Pop!_OS is built with various features oriented towards productivity, such as a customized GNOME desktop environment that includes tiling window management and keyboard shortcuts.
  • User-Friendly Installation
    The installation process for Pop!_OS is straightforward and user-friendly, making it accessible for both beginners and advanced users.
  • Hardware Compatibility
    Pop!_OS is developed by System76, a hardware manufacturer, ensuring excellent support and compatibility with a wide range of hardware, particularly their own computers.
  • Regular Updates
    The operating system receives regular updates, ensuring that users have access to the latest features, security patches, and improvements.
  • Pre-installed NVIDIA Drivers
    Pop!_OS offers a version with pre-installed NVIDIA drivers, which simplifies the setup process for users with NVIDIA graphics cards.

Possible disadvantages of Pop!_OS

  • Limited Community Support
    While Pop!_OS has a growing community, it is still relatively small compared to more established distributions like Ubuntu or Fedora, which might make finding solutions to specific issues more difficult.
  • Resource Intensive
    Pop!_OS's GNOME-based desktop environment can be more resource-intensive compared to other lightweight desktop environments, which might not be ideal for older hardware.
  • Default GNOME Environment
    Some users may prefer other desktop environments over GNOME, and while it's possible to install them on Pop!_OS, it doesn’t come with this flexibility out of the box.
  • Designed for System76 Hardware
    Although it works well on various hardware, Pop!_OS is primarily developed for System76 devices, which might lead to some optimizations not being as effective on non-System76 hardware.
  • Learning Curve for New Users
    New users coming from Windows or macOS might find certain aspects of Pop!_OS different and challenging, such as the tiling window manager and keyboard-driven workflow.

Analysis of Lutris

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Lutris is generally considered a good platform for managing and playing games, particularly on Linux.

Why this product is good

  • Lutris is a popular open-source gaming platform that helps users manage and play games, especially on Linux systems. It offers a unified interface for launching games from various sources, including Steam, GOG, and emulated games. The application supports a wide range of emulators and compatibility layers, making it easier for users to run Windows games on Linux through Wine. Its supportive community and continuous updates contribute to its effectiveness and reliability in providing a seamless gaming experience on Linux.

Recommended for

  • Linux gamers looking for a versatile game management tool.
  • Users who want to run games from multiple sources and emulators in one interface.
  • Gamers interested in playing Windows-only titles on Linux using Wine.
  • Individuals who value open-source software and community-driven projects.

Analysis of Pop!_OS

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Pop!_OS is highly regarded in the Linux community, praised for its ease of use, especially for individuals who need good hardware support out of the box, such as developers and gamers. However, as with any Linux distribution, user preference plays a big role, and trying it out is the best way to see if it meets your needs.

Why this product is good

  • Pop!_OS is a popular Linux distribution developed by System76. It is designed to provide a clean, efficient, and user-friendly desktop experience. Its strong points include excellent support for NVIDIA GPUs, a customized GNOME desktop environment with added features, and the Pop!_Shop for easy application management. It's also noted for its focus on privacy and security, alongside seamless updates and system performance.

Recommended for

  • Developers seeking a stable and customizable platform
  • Gamers needing reliable GPU support
  • Users new to Linux looking for a smooth and straightforward experience
  • Individuals concerned with system privacy and security

Lutris videos

Here are six reasons I LOVE Lutris!

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to Use Lutris for Gaming on Linux
  • Review - Lutris - An Amazing Open Source Gaming Platform For Linux

Pop!_OS videos

Pop!_OS Is Even Better With 19.10 (Full Review)

More videos:

  • Review - Moving In - Pop!_OS 19.04 Review
  • Review - Using Pop!_OS 19.10 ep. 1 - Intro, Installation, Desktop and Gaming Prep

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Lutris and Pop!_OS)
Gaming
100 100%
0% 0
Linux
16 16%
84% 84
Operating Systems
0 0%
100% 100
Game Managers
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Lutris and Pop!_OS. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Lutris and Pop!_OS

Lutris Reviews

15 Lutris Alternatives
Lutris is a free, open-source game manager that only works on Linux. You can install and run games without any complicated setup. Expert gamers and programmers made the solution; it has almost everything you could want to improve your gaming.

Pop!_OS Reviews

10 Most Popular Linux Distros of the Year 2023
Although Pop!_OS is based on Ubuntu, it is still able to make its unique place among Dekstop users because of its fast performance, with a customized GNOME desktop environment to provide a polished interface and out-of-the-box installed software & drivers. The US hardware distributor System76 developers behind the Pop!_OS also offers Laptops and desktops with pre-installed...
12 Best Linux Distros You Should Use
Pop!_OS is based on Ubuntu and uses the COSMIC desktop environment, which is Pop!_OS’ homemade desktop environment based on GNOME. However, unlike GNOME, it’s a lot cleaner and has got a few neat tricks up its sleeve, like the keyboard shortcuts, which makes Pop!_OS one of the cleanest Linux systems. Overall, Pop!_OS is a great option for budding creators as well as folks...
Source: beebom.com
The best Linux distributions (operating systems)
Pop!_OS has been developed by System76 and is based on Ubuntu. The operating system offers GPU support for AMD and Nvidia as well as their programming interface CUDA. Pop!_OS has a high-quality desktop environment and offers a tiling function that benefits gamers.
Source: www.ionos.com
7 Best Rufus Alternatives To Create Bootable USB In 2022
Popsicle is a USB flasher shipped with Pop!_OS, one of the most popular Linux distributions. One of the best features of the tool is that it allows you to flash an ISO to multiple USB devices simultaneously.
Source: fossbytes.com
13 Best Linux distros for gaming in 2022
The Pop!_OS distro by hardware vendor System76 is one of the best options for gamers who want to assemble their own gaming installation.

Social recommendations and mentions

Lutris might be a bit more popular than Pop!_OS. We know about 524 links to it since March 2021 and only 456 links to Pop!_OS. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Lutris mentions (524)

  • Amazon Prime Video Will Start Showing Ads on January 29
    You can get Lutris: It's an open source launcher that you login into with GOG account and it will download the games and wrap them with Wine, similar to Steam. https://lutris.net/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Making the switch - what are the gaps?
    For "normal" games you could look yourself using ProtonDB regarding every game released on Steam and AreWeAntiCheatYet for most multiplayer games. If a game isn't available on Steam you have three possibilities. First if it's available on GOG, Epic Games or Amazon Gaming, you could use the Heroic Games Launcher. Second you could try to run the launchers through Steam itself using once again Proton. Third you... Source: over 1 year ago
  • WoW Season of Discovery freezes on every honorable kill!
    Can I suggest you head over to the lutris.net site and follow the link the lutris discord - with what you are describing, it would take me 20 minutes to get the base battle.net working so you can see what is causing your issue or 3 days back and forwards here. As a hint, your wine version has known issues, and unless you manually installed the lutris 0.5.14 from the git page in Mint, or are running flatpak, you... Source: over 1 year ago
  • Windows 11 is last in gaming performance tests against 3 Linux gaming distros
    As a data point, you can run a fair number of Windows games under Proton by using Lutris instead of Steam: * https://lutris.net * https://github.com/lutris/lutris It's an OSS game launcher that takes the place of Steam, and you can set things up to run locally so you don't even need an account on their system (lutris.net). - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Been thinking of switching to linux but I am a noob
    My advice would be to go to Protondb first and look at your Steam games and how it would fit. They are graded at Gold/Platinum/Silver in terms of compatibility. Alternatively you can try Lutris if your game is not in Steam. I think there are a few others but I can't recall any. Source: over 1 year ago
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Pop!_OS mentions (456)

  • Part 1: Getting Started With Linux
    To start using Linux, I personally would recommend going with Pop!_OS. You got a few options here: either you can run it on a VM or install it on Bare Metal. Don't worry, I got you covered—you can use any one of the following methods:. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • The Future Is Niri
    Did you see Pop OS? https://pop.system76.com/ They follow ubuntu releases, kind of. The downside, they went all in into their new desktop env - cosmic, and until they release it they won't move on from 20.04.. I really loved the tiling feature in PopOS 20.04 which came out of the box. But then I bought a new laptop, and had to move to arch to use it.. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Apple's Software Quality Crisis: When Premium Hardware Meets Subpar Software
    Please try a distro [0] maintained by a company making their own Linux laptops. [0] https://pop.system76.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Perl 🐪 Weekly #707 - Is it ethical?
    What is Pop!_OS? Sounds like the name of one of the kids of Elon Musk. But no. It is apparently an Ubuntu-based Linux operating system for STEM and creative professionals. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Malibal and Coreboot Have a Disagreement
    > We no longer ship to Colorado due to the actions of System76's Principal Engineer (https://www.system76.com), Pop_OS! Maintainer (https://pop.system76.com), and Redox OS BDFL (https://www.redox-os.org) named Jeremy Soller (https://soller.dev). Source: https://portal.malibal.com/kb/a1064/why-dont-you-ship-to-colorado/ Err, what? I really can't follow the logic here. What does some dude have to do with Colorado. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Lutris and Pop!_OS, you can also consider the following products

Bottles - Easily manage wineprefix on Linux

Linux Mint - Linux Mint is one of the most popular desktop Linux distributions and used by millions of people.

RetroArch - RetroArch is a frontend for emulators, game engines and media players.

Manjaro - Manjaro Linux is a linux distribution which is based on arch linux. It uses the PACMAN package manager.

Playnite - Source code generated using layoutit.com

Ubuntu - Ubuntu is a Debian Linux-based open source operating system for desktop computers.