 Visitor Reviews |
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Reader supplied reviews for DietPi
Average rating
9.2 from 11 review(s)
Version: 10.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-05-20
Country: Portugal
Votes: 0
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I've been using Dietpi on Raspberry Pis for many, many years, and I liked it so much that I simply installed it on all the machines available here, including laptops. I use it on my media servers, browse the internet, and everything stays cool. The only thing I can't comment on is gaming; I don't play games, but for everything else it's 10/10. Using Navidrome intensively, it serves my entire building on a "server" that's just an old HP laptop with a cracked screen, much like the ubiquitous Pi-hole. I've used good operating systems, but this one was the only one that fit my home, professional, and hobbyist needs perfectly. I start my day on an RPI and end it on a laptop, never switching systems. Universal. Simple. Magical.
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Version: 10.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-04-29
Country: Mexico
Votes: 2
|
I've been running this distro in my Pi4 - 8GB for about six months and it has been a setup once and (almost) forget about it experience. The installation and setting up experience is way smoother than the one I usually had when installing ubuntu based distros (I used Ubuntu MATE's last RPi version). Setting things up is very straight forward even if you have no terminal experience. The system guides you and it could be in fact a great introductory distro for those who would like to learn to use the CLI.
As for stability, I usually just keep the system updated. It is very light on resources and the Pi only throttles because of my cooling limitations, not because of the software. But that only happens when I move large amounts of data through the network for back-ups. The RaspberryPi is not, after all, designed to be a heavyload powerhouse (even if it IS a powerhouse on it's own, since mine has been running non-stop for around 5 years now).
If you want to use a desktop enviroment, DietPi has a lot of options that do not undermine the system's efficiency, but I'll admit that I don't touch the GUI that much, so I'm unable to tell fellow users how clean that experience is.
If you are looking for a distro that will not have you searching for tutorials on forums or Reddit for setting things up, this is your distro. The distro's site is very well documented on what packages if offers throught their DietPi-software tool with instructions on how to set things up in case that you are a bit lost. It will also help you decide on which software might be the best for you and your use case.
All in all, this distro helped me convince myself that maybe using a Debian-based distro for my daily driver might not be that painful.
I'd give it an 11, but 10 is as high as it goes.
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Version: 10.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-04-28
Country: South Korea
Votes: 3
|
Why does nobody ever mention this distro when talking about self-hosting? It is a true champion, for whatever your needs are: Jellyfin, email or Wordpress. It has the most popular server software ready to be installed and auto-configured, which makes it all just a breeze. I have never had a single issue with this distro that wasn't caused by my own lack of knowledge or short-sightedness. 5/7, perfect distro. I cannot recommend this one enough for self-hosting purposes. And that can even come without the usual 'not for beginners' caveat. This distro does it all, and well.
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Version: 10.0
Rating: 9
Date: 2026-02-15
Country: Canada
Votes: 1
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Built on Debian this distro is quick to install, updates are fast, and you select what apps you want to add to your install. It won't added extra junk you don't use like Windows, or other distros that install extra apps you never use, or don't care to use. Installer is less than a gig, while most distros are at least a couple of gigs. Been using this for a few years now, and it makes a 20 year old computer feel powerful. Making backups of my computer OS only takes a few minutes. I love that customization is a breeze, and easy to deploy for most of operating system scenario needs are. I highly recommend testers give it a try, and see how you like it.
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Version: 10.0
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-30
Votes: 0
|
I use this on an Odroid M-1 and it makes installation of applications so easy. You will not learn much about using the command line, DietPi has Text based UI, which works very well. They have a large community and tons of applications you can install. This is good for the user who doesn't want to fuss with configurations and such.
On my Odroid M-1 I have Plex, Nextcloud, Nginx, Dozzle, Uptime Kuma, to name a few. The best part about this distro is that it is Debian based, so NO snap packs installed.
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Version: 9.12
Rating: 10
Date: 2025-05-12
Votes: 6
|
Brought my old Raspberry Pi 2 back to life.
I had an old Raspberry Pi 2 laying around that I was wanting to use for a project. I tried Lakka for emulation, but the aging hardware struggled with even the most basic of systems such as Gameboy Advance. I tried a few other distros with very poor performance (after all, this is an 11 year old ARM processor running at 700MHz). After looking around online, I found this distro and it has been great! I've been using it as an at home media Plex server with no problems. This honestly surprised me at how well it ran. Movies and shows can take a bit to load and to skip around in, but once it plays, it plays smooth. The stripped down Debian base has made it extremely stable and VERY light on resources. Out of the box, I believe it was using around 130mb of RAM. While it doesn't have a gui which may be a turn off for some beginner tinkerers, the built in scripts (which are always shown on first sign in), make management and installing software very easy. Their website also has a nice layout to search for what projects they offer so you can also browse it that way. Running the scripts brings you to an easy to use text menu where you can manage services, install software, install updates, changes network settings, etc. My only concern (which is not a problem if you know about it) is having default username and root passwords setup after installation. These can obviously be changed, but if someone is a beginner, they may not know about it, and it could be a security risk for them (so change your passwords!). Overall, I am very pleased with it since it revived my ancient raspberry pi in a way that is fairly easy to use.
Pros:
Easy to use scripts for those new to a terminal only interface
Very light on resources
Will run on the oldest raspberry pis with no issue
Plenty of available software from their scripts, for various fun raspberry pi projects
Cons:
Not the best out of the box security
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Version: 9.2
Rating: 10
Date: 2024-12-29
Votes: 17
|
I’ve been searching for a simple, no-frills Linux distribution, and DietPi has turned out to be exactly what I needed. It’s designed to be lightweight and easy to use, making it perfect for both beginners and those looking for a straightforward setup. The commands are intuitive and make managing software effortless. DietPi also offers a great selection of software packages that are easy to install and configure, so I can get everything I need up and running quickly. Whether I'm working on headless setups or smaller devices like a Raspberry Pi, DietPi has proven to be reliable, fast, and efficient. It’s quickly becoming my go-to distro for most of my projects. If you're new to Linux or looking for a hassle-free distro, I highly recommend giving DietPi a try.
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Version: 9.2
Rating: 10
Date: 2024-06-02
Votes: 15
|
Running v9.4.2 - an insanely fast minimalist distro. Works great on arm64 devices.
Pros
Extreme speed and minimal resource usage. Doesn't waste your chiplet's time cycling everything to the memory card.
DietPi-Survey shares trustworthy performance data on many SBCs -- really helps pick one for the next project
Decent support for many arm-based SBCs
It's still debian if you need it to be
Neutral
Learning curve for ubuntu/debian users. htop not top. dropbear not OpenSSH
Backport script can frankendebian from other .deb distros instead of flashing. Chew up your memory card a little at first to get the speed later!
Cons
Not really focused on security, default settings need to be improved
Limited mirrors for dietpi packages, especially in North America
Default wait for network to come online is just ridiculously long
Once you taste the speed, going back to mainline distros for the features you miss still feels like molasses in winter
|
Version: 8.2
Rating: 10
Date: 2023-12-19
Votes: 13
|
Current version is v8.25.1
- very small and very quick and flexible
- Desktops can be installed later
- multiplatform (arm/x_86_X64)
- good support from forum community
- Less suitable for beginners
- Unfortunately there are no fancy VMs available for ARM, you have to create them yourself
- Installation via images or ISO with bare metal installer (Native PC x86-X64)
- Installation also via Convertierunsscrpit (convert installed Debian to Dietpi)
Too good to only run on SBCs, runs well on native PCs and VMs.
|
Version: 8.2
Rating: 9
Date: 2023-01-18
Votes: 14
|
Pros - Easy to use once you understand which files to modify for Raspberry Pi usage this is simple.
Does have the ability to install apps using dietpi-software which allows you to set up various things which may be useful.
Cons - If you are not aware of how to use Linux or have not looked over the DietPi Docs this is tough to set up and use properly.
Overall, if you READ the docs and understand how to cut the sd card and set up the wifi, the process becomes simpler.
Been using this for years and it does the job!
|
Version: 6.25
Rating: 3
Date: 2021-06-07
Votes: 0
|
I was hoping for a solid armbian alternative, but this is really immature.
Activating hardware features for example takes more than (as opposed to armbian) one step, as for they arbitrarily mask those features with their config-tool, while the "work" of writing down the device identifier in /boot/armbianEnv.txt (yes it's not more than a layer on top of armbian) has to be manually done.
For my board, serial communication was unusable buggy (while it works fine with armbian), with no culprits to be found at the usual set screws (said config, dtb, dietpi-config, ...). Whatever they did to achieve this behavior, they now don't care to fix it (my bugreport not even being acknowledged, not even them saying that they don't support my older board anymore but listing it on their website).
The head of the team has an alarmingly unprofessional way of praising their script collection as advanced in all regards. Noticed this afterwards, would have made me suspicious earlier.
I'm sorry for developers who put hard work into it, on the other hand it became a big time sink for me and appears not be done correctly. With the "trying-to-be-cool" factor, makes me personally quite antipathetical.
Would not recommend!
If you do find it working and have a good time, great, otherwise don't waste your time!
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Latest Reviews
Project: DietPi
Version: 10.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-05-20
Votes: 0
|
I've been using Dietpi on Raspberry Pis for many, many years, and I liked it so much that I simply installed it on all the machines available here, including laptops. I use it on my media servers, browse the internet, and everything stays cool. The only thing I can't comment on is gaming; I don't play games, but for everything else it's 10/10. Using Navidrome intensively, it serves my entire building on a "server" that's just an old HP laptop with a cracked screen, much like the ubiquitous Pi-hole. I've used good operating systems, but this one was the only one that fit my home, professional, and hobbyist needs perfectly. I start my day on an RPI and end it on a laptop, never switching systems. Universal. Simple. Magical.
|
Project: DietPi
Version: 10.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-04-29
Votes: 2
|
I've been running this distro in my Pi4 - 8GB for about six months and it has been a setup once and (almost) forget about it experience. The installation and setting up experience is way smoother than the one I usually had when installing ubuntu based distros (I used Ubuntu MATE's last RPi version). Setting things up is very straight forward even if you have no terminal experience. The system guides you and it could be in fact a great introductory distro for those who would like to learn to use the CLI.
As for stability, I usually just keep the system updated. It is very light on resources and the Pi only throttles because of my cooling limitations, not because of the software. But that only happens when I move large amounts of data through the network for back-ups. The RaspberryPi is not, after all, designed to be a heavyload powerhouse (even if it IS a powerhouse on it's own, since mine has been running non-stop for around 5 years now).
If you want to use a desktop enviroment, DietPi has a lot of options that do not undermine the system's efficiency, but I'll admit that I don't touch the GUI that much, so I'm unable to tell fellow users how clean that experience is.
If you are looking for a distro that will not have you searching for tutorials on forums or Reddit for setting things up, this is your distro. The distro's site is very well documented on what packages if offers throught their DietPi-software tool with instructions on how to set things up in case that you are a bit lost. It will also help you decide on which software might be the best for you and your use case.
All in all, this distro helped me convince myself that maybe using a Debian-based distro for my daily driver might not be that painful.
I'd give it an 11, but 10 is as high as it goes.
|
Project: DietPi
Version: 10.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-04-28
Votes: 3
|
Why does nobody ever mention this distro when talking about self-hosting? It is a true champion, for whatever your needs are: Jellyfin, email or Wordpress. It has the most popular server software ready to be installed and auto-configured, which makes it all just a breeze. I have never had a single issue with this distro that wasn't caused by my own lack of knowledge or short-sightedness. 5/7, perfect distro. I cannot recommend this one enough for self-hosting purposes. And that can even come without the usual 'not for beginners' caveat. This distro does it all, and well.
|
Project: DietPi
Version: 10.0
Rating: 9
Date: 2026-02-15
Votes: 1
|
Built on Debian this distro is quick to install, updates are fast, and you select what apps you want to add to your install. It won't added extra junk you don't use like Windows, or other distros that install extra apps you never use, or don't care to use. Installer is less than a gig, while most distros are at least a couple of gigs. Been using this for a few years now, and it makes a 20 year old computer feel powerful. Making backups of my computer OS only takes a few minutes. I love that customization is a breeze, and easy to deploy for most of operating system scenario needs are. I highly recommend testers give it a try, and see how you like it.
|
Project: DietPi
Version: 10.0
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-30
Votes: 0
|
I use this on an Odroid M-1 and it makes installation of applications so easy. You will not learn much about using the command line, DietPi has Text based UI, which works very well. They have a large community and tons of applications you can install. This is good for the user who doesn't want to fuss with configurations and such.
On my Odroid M-1 I have Plex, Nextcloud, Nginx, Dozzle, Uptime Kuma, to name a few. The best part about this distro is that it is Debian based, so NO snap packs installed.
|
Project: DietPi
Version: 9.12
Rating: 10
Date: 2025-05-12
Votes: 6
|
Brought my old Raspberry Pi 2 back to life.
I had an old Raspberry Pi 2 laying around that I was wanting to use for a project. I tried Lakka for emulation, but the aging hardware struggled with even the most basic of systems such as Gameboy Advance. I tried a few other distros with very poor performance (after all, this is an 11 year old ARM processor running at 700MHz). After looking around online, I found this distro and it has been great! I've been using it as an at home media Plex server with no problems. This honestly surprised me at how well it ran. Movies and shows can take a bit to load and to skip around in, but once it plays, it plays smooth. The stripped down Debian base has made it extremely stable and VERY light on resources. Out of the box, I believe it was using around 130mb of RAM. While it doesn't have a gui which may be a turn off for some beginner tinkerers, the built in scripts (which are always shown on first sign in), make management and installing software very easy. Their website also has a nice layout to search for what projects they offer so you can also browse it that way. Running the scripts brings you to an easy to use text menu where you can manage services, install software, install updates, changes network settings, etc. My only concern (which is not a problem if you know about it) is having default username and root passwords setup after installation. These can obviously be changed, but if someone is a beginner, they may not know about it, and it could be a security risk for them (so change your passwords!). Overall, I am very pleased with it since it revived my ancient raspberry pi in a way that is fairly easy to use.
Pros:
Easy to use scripts for those new to a terminal only interface
Very light on resources
Will run on the oldest raspberry pis with no issue
Plenty of available software from their scripts, for various fun raspberry pi projects
Cons:
Not the best out of the box security
|
Project: DietPi
Version: 9.2
Rating: 10
Date: 2024-12-29
Votes: 17
|
I’ve been searching for a simple, no-frills Linux distribution, and DietPi has turned out to be exactly what I needed. It’s designed to be lightweight and easy to use, making it perfect for both beginners and those looking for a straightforward setup. The commands are intuitive and make managing software effortless. DietPi also offers a great selection of software packages that are easy to install and configure, so I can get everything I need up and running quickly. Whether I'm working on headless setups or smaller devices like a Raspberry Pi, DietPi has proven to be reliable, fast, and efficient. It’s quickly becoming my go-to distro for most of my projects. If you're new to Linux or looking for a hassle-free distro, I highly recommend giving DietPi a try.
|
Project: DietPi
Version: 9.2
Rating: 10
Date: 2024-06-02
Votes: 15
|
Running v9.4.2 - an insanely fast minimalist distro. Works great on arm64 devices.
Pros
Extreme speed and minimal resource usage. Doesn't waste your chiplet's time cycling everything to the memory card.
DietPi-Survey shares trustworthy performance data on many SBCs -- really helps pick one for the next project
Decent support for many arm-based SBCs
It's still debian if you need it to be
Neutral
Learning curve for ubuntu/debian users. htop not top. dropbear not OpenSSH
Backport script can frankendebian from other .deb distros instead of flashing. Chew up your memory card a little at first to get the speed later!
Cons
Not really focused on security, default settings need to be improved
Limited mirrors for dietpi packages, especially in North America
Default wait for network to come online is just ridiculously long
Once you taste the speed, going back to mainline distros for the features you miss still feels like molasses in winter
|
Project: DietPi
Version: 8.2
Rating: 10
Date: 2023-12-19
Votes: 13
|
Current version is v8.25.1
- very small and very quick and flexible
- Desktops can be installed later
- multiplatform (arm/x_86_X64)
- good support from forum community
- Less suitable for beginners
- Unfortunately there are no fancy VMs available for ARM, you have to create them yourself
- Installation via images or ISO with bare metal installer (Native PC x86-X64)
- Installation also via Convertierunsscrpit (convert installed Debian to Dietpi)
Too good to only run on SBCs, runs well on native PCs and VMs.
|
Project: DietPi
Version: 8.2
Rating: 9
Date: 2023-01-18
Votes: 14
|
Pros - Easy to use once you understand which files to modify for Raspberry Pi usage this is simple.
Does have the ability to install apps using dietpi-software which allows you to set up various things which may be useful.
Cons - If you are not aware of how to use Linux or have not looked over the DietPi Docs this is tough to set up and use properly.
Overall, if you READ the docs and understand how to cut the sd card and set up the wifi, the process becomes simpler.
Been using this for years and it does the job!
|
Project: DietPi
Version: 6.25
Rating: 3
Date: 2021-06-07
Votes: 0
|
I was hoping for a solid armbian alternative, but this is really immature.
Activating hardware features for example takes more than (as opposed to armbian) one step, as for they arbitrarily mask those features with their config-tool, while the "work" of writing down the device identifier in /boot/armbianEnv.txt (yes it's not more than a layer on top of armbian) has to be manually done.
For my board, serial communication was unusable buggy (while it works fine with armbian), with no culprits to be found at the usual set screws (said config, dtb, dietpi-config, ...). Whatever they did to achieve this behavior, they now don't care to fix it (my bugreport not even being acknowledged, not even them saying that they don't support my older board anymore but listing it on their website).
The head of the team has an alarmingly unprofessional way of praising their script collection as advanced in all regards. Noticed this afterwards, would have made me suspicious earlier.
I'm sorry for developers who put hard work into it, on the other hand it became a big time sink for me and appears not be done correctly. With the "trying-to-be-cool" factor, makes me personally quite antipathetical.
Would not recommend!
If you do find it working and have a good time, great, otherwise don't waste your time!
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