Operating Systems · pricing
Debian pricing
Debian publishes a single tier. Below is what it costs, what it covers, and how that compares with the operating systems tools listed alongside it.
As of 29 August 2026, Debian pricing is free. Figures are the vendor's list prices as recorded on this page's last check; the vendor's site is the final word.
- Entry price
- Free
- Model
- Open-source
- Tiers
- 1
- Free tier
- Yes
Debian plans, side by side
Every published tier in ascending order of price, with the number of features each one lists. An absence here means the record does not itemise it, not that the tier lacks it.
| Plan | Price | Features listed | Step up from the tier below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian (Free) | Free | 5 | Entry tier |
Where Debian stops being free
Debian (Free), Free
- Full distribution download and use
- 60,000+ free software packages
- Community support via IRC, mailing lists and forums
- No licensing fees
- No restrictions on machines or users
No paid tier on record
Debian lists a free tier and no priced tier above it in the record we hold.
How that compares in Operating Systems
Too few operating systems tools in this directory publish a starting price to quote a meaningful median, so the table below is a like-for-like list rather than a ranking.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Rated | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian (this page) | Free | open-source | - | |
| Alpine Linux | Free | Open source, no licence fee | - | vs Debian |
| Rocky Linux | Free | Open source, no licence fee | - | vs Debian |
| AlmaLinux | Free | Open source, no licence fee | - | vs Debian |
| NixOS | Free | Open source, no licence fee | - | vs Debian |
| openSUSE | Free | Open source, no licence fee | - | vs Debian |
| Qubes OS | Free | Open source, no licence fee | - | vs Debian |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry, they are not reviews hosted on Softwr. How each figure is used is set out on the Debian badges page.
Before you pay for Debian
Three things this page cannot tell you, and all three change the bill. The record carries a price and a billing period but not the unit - per-seat and flat-rate pricing are indistinguishable in this data, so a five-person team may be looking at five times the figure above. It carries no annual rate, so any discount for paying yearly is not something this page can quote. And it carries no trial length.
What it can tell you is the shape of the ladder: a single tier at Free. Because there is a free tier, the cheapest way to answer the rest is to use it before paying anything.
Debian runs on desktop, server, supercomputers, embedded, laptop, workstation. The full record is on the Debian review, and the rest of the category is under best operating systems tools.
Debian pricing questions
- How much does Debian cost?
- Debian publishes a single tier, Debian (Free), at Free.
- Does Debian have a free plan?
- Yes. The Debian (Free) tier costs nothing and covers full distribution download and use, 60,000+ free software packages, community support via irc, mailing lists and forums.
- Which operating systems tools can I use without paying?
- 7 of the 8 operating systems tools listed alongside Debian have a free tier: Alpine Linux, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, NixOS, openSUSE.
- What am I actually paying for with Debian?
- The record we hold does not itemise what each tier includes beyond the plan names and prices. The Debian review carries whatever feature detail is available.
- Does Debian charge per user?
- The record carries a price and a billing period for each of its 1 tiers, but not the unit that price is charged in. Per-seat and flat-rate billing look identical in this data, so check the vendor's page before budgeting for a team.
- Are these Debian prices current?
- They are what the catalogue entry holds, refreshed when the entry is. Vendors change pricing without notice and nobody at Softwr re-verifies each tier by hand, so treat this as a structured summary and the vendor's own pricing page as the authority.
- What should I compare Debian against before paying?
- The closest operating systems tools in this directory are Alpine Linux, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, NixOS. Each has a side-by-side comparison with Debian covering price, platforms and features.