NixOS vs Fedora
NixOS and Fedora both ship recent software and organise it in incompatible ways. Fedora 44 delivers a tested RPM set with GNOME 50, GCC 16.0 and kernel 6.19.10 on 4 GB of memory; NixOS builds an immutable system from configuration with KDE Plasma and kernel 6.12.59.
Side by side
| NixOS | Fedora | |
|---|---|---|
| Family | independent | rpm |
| Release model | Versioned releases | Versioned releases |
| Desktop | KDE Plasma | GNOME |
| Package manager | Nix (nix-env / nix-shell) | DNF (rpm) |
| Init system | systemd | systemd |
| Immutable root | Yes | No |
| Wayland by default | Yes | Yes |
| Minimum RAM | — | 4 GB |
| ISO size | — | 2.6 GB |
| Latest kernel | — | 6.19.10 |
| Releases archived | 25 | 50 |
| Latest release | 30 May 2026 | 28 April 2026 |
What differs
Base & packages
Fedora packages with DNF over RPM and records GCC 16.0, glibc 2.43, LLVM 22, Golang 1.26, binutils 2.46, GDB 16.3 and LibreOffice 26.2.1 in release 44. NixOS packages with Nix into the Nix store as NAR archives, recording glibc 2.40, GNOME 49, GIMP 3.0.4, Firefox 145.0.2 and VLC 3.0.21 in 25.11.
Desktop & display
Fedora ships GNOME 50 with Evolution 3.60.0 and installs through Anaconda. NixOS records KDE Plasma with Wayland as the default, plus a GNOME 49 graphical ISO option, so the desktop is a configuration choice with a stated default.
Release model
Fedora released 43 on 28 October 2025 with kernel 7.2 and 44 on 28 April 2026 with kernel 6.19.10. NixOS released 24.11 on 30 November 2024 with kernel 6.12, 25.05 on 23 May 2025, 25.11 on 30 November 2025 and 26.05 on 30 May 2026.
Hardware requirements
Fedora states 4 GB of memory and a 2,615 MB image. NixOS records neither a memory minimum nor an ISO size, so no figure is given for it and no comparison is made.
Init & immutability
systemd on both — 259 on Fedora 44, 258.2 on NixOS 25.11 — and only NixOS is immutable. Fedora's root is edited in place; NixOS regenerates it from configuration files and the store.
Verdict
Choose Fedora if you want a current RPM desktop with a stated 4 GB floor, recent compilers, and a conventional filesystem you can modify without a rebuild step. Choose NixOS if you want the system defined as text, rebuilt rather than patched, with KDE Plasma and rollback as part of the model. Fedora is the faster desktop; NixOS is the more reproducible one.
FAQ
Which one is newer?
Fedora carries the newer kernel, 6.19.10 against 6.12.59 in NixOS 25.11, and the newer toolchain, GCC 16.0 against the versions recorded for NixOS.
Do both offer GNOME?
Fedora ships GNOME 50 by default. NixOS records KDE Plasma as its desktop with a GNOME 49 graphical ISO option.