Ubuntu and Debian are close cousins — Ubuntu is built on Debian — so you can't really pick “wrong”. But there are real differences worth knowing before you spin up a VPS.
Choose Ubuntu LTS if you want newer packages, the biggest pile of tutorials and broad commercial software support. Choose Debian if you want maximum stability, a leaner base and a slower, more conservative update pace. Both are excellent; both run anything you're likely to deploy.
Ubuntu ships a new release every six months, with LTS (Long-Term Support) versions every two years that get five years of updates — LTS is what you want on a server. Debian releases "stable" roughly every two years and supports it for several years; its stable branch deliberately favours tested over new.
Ubuntu tends to carry somewhat newer versions of software in a given year, and many vendors publish .deb packages and install docs targeting Ubuntu first. Debian stable intentionally freezes versions for predictability — rock-solid, occasionally older. (If you need newer on Debian, backports exist.)
Debian's minimal install is famously lean and unopinionated, which some admins prefer for servers. Ubuntu Server is also lean but adds a few conveniences (and things like snap). On a small VPS both are light; the difference is more philosophy than megabytes.
Ubuntu has the larger volume of beginner tutorials and Q&A, so if you're newer to Linux you'll find more copy-paste help that matches your system exactly. Debian's documentation is excellent too, and skills transfer between the two almost completely — apt, systemd and the file layout are the same.
We offer Ubuntu 24.04 / 22.04 / 20.04 LTS and Debian 12 as clean KVM images with full root — plus AlmaLinux and Rocky if you want a RHEL-family system. Pick your OS in the order picker; reinstall to a different one from the panel whenever you like.
Both are excellent. Ubuntu LTS gives newer packages and the most tutorials; Debian stable gives a leaner, more conservative, very stable base. Pick by preference — skills transfer completely.
Ubuntu is built on Debian and shares apt, systemd and the file layout, but it adds a faster release cadence, newer packages, some conveniences (like snap) and commercial backing.
Ubuntu generally carries somewhat newer versions in a given year, and many vendors target it first. Debian stable freezes versions for predictability; backports add newer ones when needed.
Yes — on a VPS you can reinstall to a different OS from the panel any time. Back up your data first; a reinstall wipes the disk.
Ubuntu LTS, KVM, full root, from €4.99/mo.
Debian 12, lean and stable.
Why the virtualization type matters.
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