Software Alternatives & Reviews

OpenWrt VS Arch Linux

Compare OpenWrt VS Arch Linux and see what are their differences

OpenWrt logo OpenWrt

OpenWrt is an open-source firmware based on Linux for wireless routers

Arch Linux logo Arch Linux

You've reached the website for Arch Linux, a lightweight and flexible Linux® distribution that tries to Keep It Simple. Currently we have official packages optimized for the x86-64 architecture.
  • OpenWrt Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-14
  • Arch Linux Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-29

OpenWrt videos

Upgrading Your Home Router to OpenWRT and Why It Is Worth It

More videos:

  • Review - Playing with OpenWrt Wireless Settings
  • Review - Make Your TP-LINK Router into a High Power Router with OpenWrt

Arch Linux videos

Top Five Reasons To Run Arch Linux

More videos:

  • Review - Ubuntu Vs Arch Linux | Which is the Best Linux Distro?
  • Review - Arch Linux - Simple, Fast, & Custom Distro Overview + Gameplay
  • Review - Arch Linux Is A Great Distro But You Shouldn't Use It
  • Review - Fedora vs Arch Linux - Battle of the Best!
  • Review - Fedora vs Debian and Arch Linux

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to OpenWrt and Arch Linux)
Operating Systems
25 25%
75% 75
Linux
16 16%
84% 84
Routers
100 100%
0% 0
Linux Distribution
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using OpenWrt and Arch Linux. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare OpenWrt and Arch Linux

OpenWrt Reviews

Best pfSense Software Alternatives and Competitors
Both pfSense and OpenWRT are formidable and versatile alternatives for network administration software. While OpenWRT is designed for embedded devices such as routers, Pfsense focuses on firewalls and routing functions that are more complex. Pfsense is more user-friendly, while OpenWRT provides more configuration options. Both are supported by thriving online communities...
The Best Open Source Router OS Software for Large or Small Networks
OpenWrt also offers a range of advanced networking configurations, including support for Quality of Service (QoS), network address translation (NAT), and virtual LAN (VLAN) tagging. These features make OpenWrt an attractive option for businesses and organizations that require more advanced networking capabilities. The open-source nature of OpenWrt means that users can...
Best free Linux router and firewall distributions of 2023
Unlike IPFire, OpenWRT has a large number of optional packages in its repository. As a result, you can configure this OS in countless different ways. Most importantly, OpenWRT has drivers for all hardware supported by Linux. This means that almost all Wireless hardware is supported, making it the most versatile OS for creating Access Points.
Source: teklager.se
Top 7 pfSense Alternatives
OpenWRT is made primarily to replace the software on existing routers, but it can also run on x86 (PCs, server hardware, VMs) machines. It is a very mature OS and has some of the best Wi-Fi support around, unlike a lot of other router software options. It has a pretty good GUI and a ton of add-on packages.
7 Best Router Firmware | Open Source | 2022
OpenWrt Project is a Linux based alternative open source firmware for routers in 2022 and embedded systems. And it is one of the best Open Source Firmware that offers you an utterly writable filesystem along with package management. It allows for full customization and lets you customize the device for any application.
Source: viralhax.com

Arch Linux Reviews

Top 9 Fastest Linux Distros in 2024
One of the defining features of Arch Linux is its package management system, ‘Pacman’, which is designed to be fast, and reliable as it uses a simple command-line interface and a binary package format. Moreover, it makes the OS easy to install and manage software on the system.
Source: linuxsimply.com
Finding the Best Linux Distro for Your Organization
Arch Linux is a lightweight and highly customizable Linux distro that emphasizes simplicity, minimalism, and a "do-it-yourself" approach. It is designed for experienced users who want to build a tailored and efficient operating system environment according to their specific needs. Arch Linux rolling-release model provides continuous updates to the latest software packages...
The best Linux distributions (operating systems)
Fans of Linux consider Arch Linux the “pure” distribution. The minimalistic operating system forgoes any graphical tools. As such Arch Linux is slim and customizable, but this could scare away newcomers. Simplicity is part of the basic idea of Arch Linux, but here it refers to the distribution’s features. Arch Linux is managed with Pacman and is a suitable base for most...
Source: www.ionos.com
6 Best Free Alternatives to Windows for Advanced Users
Arch Linux users enjoy the latest updates on other Linux distributions before most users. All you need to do is use Pacman, Arch Linux’s package manager.
Source: techcult.com
Best Top 20 Ubuntu Linux Alternatives (Pros and Cons)
Artix Linux is a rolling-release distribution based on Arch Linux, which uses OpenRC, runit, s6, suite66, or dinit as init rather than systemd. It is possible to utilize packages from the Arch Linux repositories or any other derivative distribution, even those that expressly depend on systemd, on Artix Linux, as it is a pacman-based distribution. AUR (Arch User Repository)...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Arch Linux should be more popular than OpenWrt. It has been mentiond 256 times since March 2021. 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.

OpenWrt mentions (103)

  • Recommendation for a wifi router with L2TP or other VPN server support?
    If your current router supports a custom firmware like openWRT then you could do this without having to buy a new one. Source: 5 months ago
  • OpenWrt Site Account Creation
    Unfortunately, I can't create an account via Github on the openwrt site. Source: 7 months ago
  • openwrt.org not loading
    Anyone else having trouble reaching openwrt.org right now? I can't get the forums, main page or downloads. I've done plenty of troubleshooting and there isn't anything else on my network having trouble reaching anything else on the internet. Source: 8 months ago
  • Things just got a little weird, my current network is down, I'm a newb trying to start from the ground up and I found out I actually have another (newer) wifi router.... what to do?
    On the router. openwrt.org has lots of great documentation that lays out exactly what you're looking for and then some. Source: 11 months ago
  • As of June 2023, what is the best router that I could buy specifically for ease of use with all things pi-hole related
    Is the Verizon one a combined modem/router? If you want to add your own router, you might have to call them and ask them to put it into bridged mode. I like OpenWRT because it gives you a lot of customization options. I've just been running it on an old TP-Link Archer C7 for the past 5 years or so and I haven't had any issues, but that's ancient hardware now. Source: 11 months ago
View more

Arch Linux mentions (256)

  • Penguin, Chicken or Duck? (Eros, OC, Microsoft Bing AI Generated)
    Arch is a popular Linux distribution(basically an os). Him saying that he uses arch is basically a joke that arch Linux users will always mention that they use the distro. (Also a penguin is also the Linux mascot). Source: 5 months ago
  • Arch Linux bugtracker migration to Gitlab completed
    Arch sends distribution news every week or so, usually in one or two paragraphs. https://archlinux.org/ I've followed the gitlab migration and every package and distribution change that warranted community notification for more than a decade. It's such an empowering feeling to have tracked all the changes to the distribution over a decade. The Arch maintainer culture has managed to provide consistent high quality... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Moving from Mint to Arch
    When searching for something just add Arch Linux to the and follow official archlinux.org and use duckduckgo.com for better results. You will get amazed how good arch wiki explained everything and how aur has very large apps. Source: 5 months ago
  • Can't "sudo pacman -Syu" (jdk-openjdk and jre-openjdk are in conflict)
    I wonder how many people got frustrated with the solution posted on the front page of https://archlinux.org/, as it seems to not have been fixed for 5 days already. Source: 6 months ago
  • why is archlinux not releasing the october's monthly update ?
    When I visit the archlinux.org website I can't find the archlinux 2023.10.x update,. Source: 7 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing OpenWrt and Arch Linux, you can also consider the following products

MikroTik RouterOS - The main product of MikroTik is a Linux-based operating system known as MikroTik RouterOS.

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

pfSense - pfSense is a free and open source firewall and router that also features unified threat management, load balancing, multi WAN, and more

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

OPNsense - OPNsense® you next open source firewall. Free Download. High-end Security Made Easy™. Offers Intrusion Prevention, Captive Portal, Traffic Shaping and more.

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