shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use PureOS?

Not disclosed - pureos.net

Depends. Worth it only if you own Purism Librem hardware or insist on a strict free-software, privacy-first OS. Everyone else gets a better-supported, more current experience from Debian or Ubuntu directly.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 30+ public sources including forums, Reddit, and review sites. No named enterprise customers found. Note: 'Pureos Bioventures' sources are an unrelated Swiss VC fund.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depthNo comparative feature evidence found
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Free download

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
PureOS Subscription Standard$5.99/mo

Best for

  • Purism Librem hardware owners
  • Strict free-software purists
  • Privacy-focused Linux users
  • Linux-on-phone tinkerers

Not for

  • Anyone wanting current packages — users flag the older Debian base
  • Mainstream business desktops — Debian, Ubuntu, or Fedora fit better
  • Teams needing vendor support or SLAs — community forums only
  • Users needing proprietary drivers or apps — blobs are excluded

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Debian 10 base means older packages than current stable Linux distros

medium

No proprietary drivers accepted — expect friction on some laptops and Wi-Fi

low

Subscription ask ($5.99/mo) despite marketing as a fully free OS

low

Reviewer complaint: 'does not offer a free' trial listed on G2

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Fully free/libre, auditable OS with only free software included
  • Free to download; optional $5.99/mo subscription funds development
  • Pre-configured with privacy and security by default
  • Works well on small screens and phones
  • Some long-time users call it a nicely done, minimal distro

Cons

  • Based on older Debian 10; community flags it as outdated
  • Critics see no reason to pick it over plain Debian
  • Some users call it a subpar OS from a subpar company
  • Community publicly questioned whether a reported CVE gets patched
  • Strict no-blobs policy limits hardware and driver support

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/21/2026 - 10 sources - Privacy-first and fully auditable by design, but a 2026 forum thread questions patching of CVE-2026-31431 and GRUB issues were tracked in 2025.

official x2review x5security x2news x1
  • CVE-2026-31431 'Copy Fail' exploit, April 2026 forum thread asks whether PureOS will patch; status unclear in sources.
  • GRUB security issues (Feb 2025), Issues were reported to PureOS via its own tracker in March 2025.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free OS; paid tier is optional
  • Ease of use: 3/5. SourceForge ease-of-use rated 3.0/5
  • Feature depth. No comparative feature evidence found
  • Support quality: 2/5. Forums only; company reputation contested
  • Security posture: 3/5. Privacy-first design; patch-response questions raised
  • 5.0/5 SourceForge rating but ease-of-use scored 3.0/5
  • $0 Starting price optional dev subscription $5.99/mo
  • Yes Free tier fully free/libre, downloadable OS
  • 10 DistroWatch reviews reader reviews

Pricing

Free download

$0

  • Full OS
  • Community forum support

PureOS Subscription Standard

$5.99/mo

  • Funds development
  • Optional — OS works without it

Security

Privacy-first and fully auditable by design, but a 2026 forum thread questions patching of CVE-2026-31431 and GRUB issues were tracked in 2025.

  • CVE-2026-31431 'Copy Fail' exploitApril 2026 forum thread asks whether PureOS will patch; status unclear in sources.⁷
  • GRUB security issues (Feb 2025)Issues were reported to PureOS via its own tracker in March 2025.⁸

What users say

Opinion splits sharply: praise for its privacy focus and phone use, but frequent criticism that it is outdated and redundant versus Debian.

“PureOS is a subpar OS made by a subpar company. In my opinion”
Reddit, r/linux
“There is no reason to use PureOS instead of Debian”
Reddit, r/Purism
“PureOS works very well on devices with small screens”
DistroWatch reader review

Alternatives

Compare PureOS with each alternative.

  • Debian

    The upstream itself; critics say just use it directly

    PureOS vs Debian

  • Ubuntu

    More polished mainstream desktop with broader hardware support

  • Fedora

    Current, mainstream Linux with strong security defaults

    PureOS vs Fedora
Full analysis

Based on 30+ public sources including forums, Reddit, and review sites. No named enterprise customers found. Note: 'Pureos Bioventures' sources are an unrelated Swiss VC fund.

Free privacy-first Linux, but outdated Debian base — most people should just run Debian or Ubuntu.

Methodology

Based on 30+ public sources including forums, Reddit, and review sites. No named enterprise customers found. Note: 'Pureos Bioventures' sources are an unrelated Swiss VC fund.

Sources

  1. PureOS official sitepureos.net
    official
  2. PureOS Optional Subscription announcementpuri.sm
    official
  3. PureOS - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    news
  4. PureOS - DistroWatchdistrowatch.com
    review
  5. Parrot OS vs. PureOS Comparison - SourceForgesourceforge.net
    review
  6. PureOS outdated? - Purism forumsforums.puri.sm
    review
  7. Copy Fail exploit CVE-2026-31431 - Purism forumsforums.puri.sm
    security
  8. GRUB security issues - PureOS trackertracker.pureos.net
    security
  9. PureOS in 2023/2024 - Redditreddit.com
    review
  10. Thoughts on PureOS - Redditreddit.com
    review

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