Software Alternatives & Reviews

Pop!_OS VS Lakka

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

Pop!_OS logo Pop!_OS

A developer-focused minimalist Linux distro from System 76

Lakka logo Lakka

Lakka is the official Linux distribution of RetroArch and the libretro ecosystem.
  • Pop!_OS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-01
  • Lakka Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-30

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

Lakka videos

Lakka Emulator Frontend Running On Raspberry Pi 3 Emulation Station Alternative

More videos:

  • Review - What Is Lakka ? Retro Game System Explained
  • Tutorial - How to make a Retro Emulator Machine - Lakka OS Guide + Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Pop!_OS and Lakka)
Linux
97 97%
3% 3
Gaming
41 41%
59% 59
Operating Systems
100 100%
0% 0
Gaming Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Pop!_OS and Lakka. 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 Pop!_OS and Lakka

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.

Lakka Reviews

The best Linux distributions (operating systems)
Lakka OS is a lightweight distribution that lets users convert old computers into retro game consoles. The operating system is based on LibreELEC and uses the RetroArch front-end. Once set up, Lakka OS works cross-platform and numerous old console games can be installed.
Source: www.ionos.com
13 Best Linux distros for gaming in 2022
All the emulators are compiled with the best optimizations possible and so Lakka OS runs the games more smoothly than the normal emulators. Most games will require very few hardware resource, except for the Playstation or Xbox games.
Best Linux Distro for Gaming
Lakka is a lightweight Linux retro gaming distro that turns your computer into a retro gaming console. It’s so lightweight, it can even run on a mini-PC like a Raspberry Pi. It’s still being actively developed and worked on. Lakka uses the RetroArch emulator, so you can play all types of games on this distro, including running emulated N64, PlayStation, PSP, NES, Sega,...
Source: linuxstans.com
9 Best Linux Gaming Distributions in 2021
All the emulators are compiled with the best optimizations possible and so Lakka OS runs the games more smoothly than the normal emulators. Most games will require very few hardware resource, except for the Playstation or Xbox games.
Source: itsfoss.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Pop!_OS seems to be a lot more popular than Lakka. While we know about 450 links to Pop!_OS, we've tracked only 5 mentions of Lakka. 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.

Pop!_OS mentions (450)

  • Cosmic: The Road to Alpha
    You can click the button labeled "Support Pop" on this page. https://pop.system76.com/ The only option is $12/year last I checked. It'd be nice if we could donate a larger amount easily. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Using Linux Full-Time 2 years later
    Back when I first started to commit myself to "full-time Linux" I experienced stuff that many others had which was Decision Fatigue due to the amount, I mean the AMOUNT of choices of distros that I can use nuts, and I stick to the gamer OS which is Pop!_OS and my experience isn't really nice, especially with the experience of updates that sometimes a bit...outdated, also the software I use is limited that is just... - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Cannot Launch ANY Games...........
    Pop_OS uses systemd_boot instead of Grub and requires a 1GB Fat32 partition with the boot flag enabled. Manjaro can still boot Pop_OS. Pop_OS LTS ISO ==> https://pop.system76.com/. Source: 5 months ago
  • New to Linux
    You have a mix of older and bleeding edge hardware. Core i7-4790 was release in 2014 thus "older" (not old in my opinion). Your RTX 4060 GPU is bleeding edge hardware. What this means is that your CPU will be supported by a long list of Linux kernel versions. Your GPU might need one of the newer kernels to work properly. System76, makers of the Pop_OS distro, also sell Linux laptops and desktops with RTX 4000... Source: 5 months ago
  • Introduction
    My first Linux distro was PopOS and It was a refreshing experience. It was really easy to install, use, and game on. I distro hopped a few times to see what other linux flavors are like. These are the ones that I remember trying Zorin OS and Linux Mint. These ones looked mostly like windows and it was easy to use. At work, I gained most of my linux knowledge from docker and configuring / administrating RHEL... - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
View more

Lakka mentions (5)

  • New RG351v owner, what should I do first?
    While it's not there, if you don't want to bother with emulationstation and would just like basic retroarch, there is also a build of Lakka (pure retroarch) available for the 351v. Source: 10 months ago
  • Best console for emulation? Looking for something simple
    I think there'll be another providers of such kits in the USA, but I don't know them. Perhaps also on EBay. The Magic words are "lakka.tv", "recalbox" and "retropie" for ready-to-go and easy to use raspi emulations boxes. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • MAME 0.242
    Maybe something like Lakka[1]? It supports many game consoles, but I believe MAME is part of it. [1]: https://lakka.tv/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Planning on making an arcade machine from a pi zero w 2 and a crt tv, any tips?
    Most peoples go to package is RetroPie, and don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad option…. But in my experience, http://lakka.tv is a bit cleaner, more lightweight, and has less compatibility issues / hurdles that you need to jump through for some features…. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Help making emulator stick !
    You mean a USB to boot on a PC? Check out Lakka or Batocera. Source: over 2 years ago

What are some alternatives?

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

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

Batocera.linux - Batocera.linux is an open-source and completely free retro-gaming distribution that can be copied to a USB stick or an SD card with the aim of turning any computer/nano computer into a gaming console during a game or permanently.

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

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

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

RetroBat - RETROBAT RetroBat is a software distribution designed for emulation and to be the easiest way to enjoy your game collection on your Windows computer.