FreeBSD vs Debian

Versions, support lifecycles and key facts side by side. Dates update automatically from the release data.

Attribute	FreeBSD	Debian
Type	Operating system	Linux distribution
Project status	Active	Active
Developer	The FreeBSD Project	The Debian Project
First release	1 Nov 1993	15 Sep 1993
Release cadence	New major version about every 2 years; minor releases in between	About every 2 years (no fixed date)
Newest release	FreeBSD releng/14.5 · released Sep 2026	Debian 13 · released Aug 2025
Latest LTS	—	—
Supported versions	5	2
Longest support	FreeBSD stable/15 — until Dec 2029	Debian 13 — until Jun 2030
OS family	BSD (Unix-like)	Linux
Package manager	pkg; ports collection	—
File systems	ZFS, UFS	—
Notable features	Jails, bhyve hypervisor, DTrace, pf firewall	—
Architectures	amd64, arm64, riscv64 and others	amd64, arm64, armel, armhf, i386, ppc64el, riscv64, s390x
License	BSD 2-Clause	Free software (Debian Free Software Guidelines)
Package format	—	.deb (dpkg, APT)
Init system	—	systemd
Default desktop	—	GNOME (KDE, Xfce and others at install)
Support	—	About 3 years of security updates, then 2 years of LTS
Origin	—	Global volunteer project
Guides on TecAdmin	—	160 guides

Supported versions today