OpenKiosk

Free
Proprietary
Linux
Mac
Windows

OpenKiosk Alternatives

28
Options
Considered
2022-05-25
Last
Updated

#1 Porteus Kiosk

Free
Proprietary
Windows
Online

Porteus Kiosk is a powerful and lightweight Linux operating system that has been restricted to allow only the use of the web browser. It can run on any computer and take up less than 4GB of disk space. It is based on Slackware Linux, with secure GNU/Linux applications and a fully automatic system setup. The user has no access to the system console or terminal.

This is ideal for many applications like retail kiosks, digital signage, internet cafes, and much more. It is a free Linux operating system designed to run on bare metal, with the major purpose of being used as a web kiosk. However, with the growing popularity, thousands of organizations, institutions, and schools around the world are using Porteus as a rapid-deployment solution for their public PCs.

#2 Google Chrome OS

Free
Proprietary
Chrome OS
Online

Google Chrome OS is a Linux-based operating system designed by Google that is intended to provide a lightweight operating system that aims to maintain the look and feel of the Chrome browser and can be booted from USB flash drives. It is the code name of a Linux-based operating system designed by Google.

It is designed to be used primarily on supported systems manufactured by companies other than Google, but can also be installed on personal computers. The operating system also includes an application framework implemented in HTML5 and JavaScript, with its companion Web Store to serve as an online marketplace for applications, as well as a new file system called Google File System (GFS).

#3 Instant WebKiosk

Free
Proprietary
Linux
Online

Instant WebKiosk is a Debian-based Linux OS that is designed for use in web kiosks and multi-user “web workstations.” It is generally used for business and enterprise-level applications, ranging from digital signage to interactive information terminals to public computing facilities. It aims to be very easy to install and manage, using a live CD ISO image or the virtual machine appliance.

The networking technology eliminates the cost associated with building and maintaining a network. The technology is designed to provide all major central services of a traditional network, including an automated update manager, documentation server, ticketing system, e-mail notification server, and more, in a simple to use web interface.

#4 CloudReady

Free
Proprietary
Chrome OS
Mac
Online

CloudReady is free software that transforms Windows devices into Chrome devices. It’s available directly from the website or through several channels, including our partner Device Imaging Services, to make it easy for administrators, resellers, and schools to deploy.

It will ensure that all students have access to these advantages and that students who already own PCs get to take advantage of them while also reducing schools’ technology costs. For schools, it means that they’ll only have to manage one set of apps and updates for all of their students and teachers, regardless of what devices those teachers or students bring to school.

#5 Chromium OS

Free
Proprietary
Linux
Mac
Windows
Online
Chromium

Chromium OS is an open-source operating system designed for running web applications and browsing the World Wide Web. It is lightweight, runs on most hardware, and serves as a solid foundation upon which to build your app or digital experience. It includes all the software necessary to run your app or digital experience: a web browser, runtime, system framework, and the Chromium project itself, a complete set of open-source components needed to create an operating system. It offers a variety of features that make it ideal for powering your app.

It’s easy to set up on any hardware, so you can focus on the code that makes your app special. It also provides a familiar and powerful environment for developers accustomed to operating systems such as Mac OS X, Linux, or Windows. It is a lightweight operating system based on the Linux kernel for use in computers that do not need the full Windows experience. It is designed for running web applications and to allow media streaming from the internet. As such, Chromium OS primarily supports web applications, and the use of native desktop applications is not well-supported (though some may function).

#6 KolibriOS

Free
Proprietary
Self-Hosted

KolibriOS is a tiny yet incredibly powerful and fast operating system designed for the next generation of devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and even gateways. It’s perfect for the new ARM devices with Windows 8, Windows Phone, Ubuntu, Android, and even for upcoming x86 devices.

It combines lightning-fast boot-up speed with the flexibility of a modern operating system, making it a perfect desktop replacement. It is designed, and will always be designed, to support the needs of computer users who are looking for speed and simplicity in their PCs. It is user-friendly, small, and lightweight, and it has many unique features for a fast, enjoyable experience.

#7 TempleOS

Free
Proprietary
Self-Hosted

TempleOS is a non-preemptive multi-tasking, multi-cored, public domain, open source, ring-0-only, single address space, non-networked PC operating system for recreational programming. It is an experimental operating system written in C. It’s designed to be simple, powerful, and free. TempleOS is a non-commercial, public domain, x86_64 64-bit, multi-tasking, multi-cored, ring-0-only, single address space, and non-networked operating system for recreational programming.

It is written in C/C++ and has a Forth-like scripting language. It is written in the C programming language; it can be easily ported to other devices and platforms, such as the Raspberry Pi and Apple’s iOS devices. It hosts Web applications, which users can access via their browser or by using a command-line interface.

#8 Webconverger

Free
Open Source
Linux
Github
Online

Webconverger is a web-browser-based operating system that doesn’t depend on or require any local applications to be installed other than a web browser. Everything you need is accessible from the browser, including e-mail and office applications. The system runs entirely from the browser and can be installed instantly on any computer with an internet connection. It doesn’t install or write anything to disk, and when you’re done using it, everything is gone.

Webconverger is a complete operating system designed for browsing the internet. The project’s main goal is to allow users to use applications and services without any restrictions, censorship, or surveillance. It aims to provide internet users with security tools that protect their online freedoms. It includes a web browser, an e-mail client with built-in encryption, and an application manager that allows users to install whatever software they want.

#9 Legacy OS

Free
Proprietary
Linux
Online

Legacy OS is a GNU/Linux distribution based on the latest Puppy Linux that has pretty much like the old Ubuntu with the latest kernel and drivers for modern hardware, except it’s faster and lighter than Ubuntu ever was. It comes with many great applications pre-installed, including LibreOffice, Firefox, and VLC media player, and it has access to PPAs for many other applications that are compatible with 64-bit systems.

It runs extremely fast even on older equipment and includes a choice of lightweight desktop environments. It is built around the lightweight LXDE desktop environment, designed to work well with older and lower-power hardware, being suitable for computers with 128 MB RAM (though 256 MB or more is recommended). The main goal of Legacy is to provide a ready-to-use system for everyday use and non-demanding usage.

#10 FydeOS

Free
Proprietary
Chrome OS
Online

FydeOS is a lightweight operating system with a Linux kernel, browser platform, and container technology driver. It is fast, open-source, and uses cloud-in for easy configuration on server boot. It creates a secure and protected operating environment that is ideal for cloud computing.

This platform offers the following benefits: an operating system + browser platform + container technology driver, multi-OS cloud computing infrastructure, desktop virtualization, an app marketplace, and a new way to run your business. It is optimized for running server applications, containers, and “cloud computing” workloads. FydeOS is built on open source software such as Linux with several modifications that allow it to function exactly as the FydeOS team envisions it.

#11 Puppy Linux

Free
Linux
Windows

Puppy Linux is one of the smart software that contains a huge collection of multiple Linux distributions and is developed to execute multiple tasks within no time. With the help of its smart window manager, it displays the overall performance like total & available memory, system application, stopped or running application, specific usage of RAM utilized by the running apparition, number of unnecessary applications which are running at the background of the system and many other details in the form of attractive graphs or colorful charts for better visualization.

The highlighted function of this platform includes it offers reliable client solutions for access all the resources of the server and booting a device, lets unequaled flexibility and accessibility when you decide to remotely control your resources for working on complex tasks and many others. Another hot function of this platform is that it has the ability to perform single & multiple protocol configurations and is fully supported by HTTP, FTP, TFTP, DHCP, DNS, SNTP, and SYSLOG server connections.

#12 Haiku

Free
Open Source

Haiku is an open-source operating system that focuses on personal computing, which is directly installed in your personal computers and aids you in multitasking.The attractive function of this platform includes it aids you to perform different changes in the system such as customization download files, browse the history and favorites, and all the possible changes are permanently saved to the respective USB for future purpose.

There are special boot options like update the UEFI order, check the UEFI boot, hide the Microsoft Windows UEFI, and partition status. With the help of its GRUB functions, it facilitates you to fix GNU & Linux boot, restore the settings of GRUB and GRUB2, updates Debian & Ubuntu grub menus, and many others. With the help of its graphical or imaging function, it persuades you to change the color settings like brightness, contrast, saturation, hue, posturize, size, flow, and opacity, which is not present in any other software

#13 SliTaz

Free
Open Source
Linux

SliTaz is one of the secure operating systems that utilize Linux kernel and GNU software, allowing you to perform multitasking or other native application for better productivity. The adorable function of this platform includes it facilitates you with the collaborative management, KISS, guidelines and mercurial and other services, a special option for stable or sub-projects, translation, goals and management, source code repositories, and custom CGI or shell bug tracker and many others.

The other key feature of this utility includes it offers full compatibility with boots in both UEFI and Legacy BIOS modes; you can easily choose between Grub2 and Grub4Dos as the default boot loader, supports hard drive, external drive, USB, and SSD, utilize FAT32 partitions to support booting in UEFI mode, store larger files such as VHD files as a backup, and many others. Another important function of this software is that you can get additional details about the partition number and location, which is displayed on the side panel.

#14 Alpine Linux

Free
Open Source
Linux

Alpine Linux is basically a Linux distribution that is completely based on musl and BusyBox and specially designed to perform multitasking with high profile security, simplicity, and resource efficiency. Actually, it utilizes OpenRC for its initial system and compiles all the userspace binaries in the form of position-independent executables along with the stack smashing protection. It covers a modern backup tool that allows the creation of a backup for all the configuration files in the form of an APK overlay file and contains special options to add more directories.

Alpine Linux facilitates you to with the efficient notifying or alert system that informs you as an alert in the form of notification with the location when any error takes place in running operations. It includes patches that allow efficient meshed VPNs using the DMVPN standard, and all the packages are also compiled with stack-smashing protection to help mitigate the effects of userland buffer overflows. Linux

#15 Tiny Core Linux

Free
Open Source
Linux

Tiny Core Linux is one of the professional Linux distributions that contain special options for new users for establishing the network connection and based on a recent Linux kernel, BusyBox, Tiny X, Fltk, and Flwm. The key features of this platform include a 3D desktop along with a set of compatible cards, send or receive an email, instant messaging, blogging, tweeting, and watching online video, listen to your favorite music collection, and orange them as comprehensive lists within no time.With the help of its built-in multi-thread technology, it downloads every file from the internet at up to 10X speed as compare to other traditional operating systems and is fully supported by other hardware like Storage, Printer, Webcam Video, and TV/Radio.

Another function of this platform includes other languages like Ada for formal verification of special properties, and the use of platform features like IOMMU, flash protections, and deactivated SMM mode increases the security as well.. It includes patches that allow efficient meshed VPNs using the DMVPN standard, and all the packages are also compiled with stack-smashing protection to help mitigate the effects of userland buffer overflows.

#16 Arch Linux

Free
Open Source
Linux

Arch Linux is an all-in-one software that lets you create customizability and controls over your machines. It provides you with granular control that gives you to minimal operating system, making you build upon the elements of your choice. The core functions of this platform include it contains all the packages which are needed to set up a base system, lets centralized repository for x86-64 users, testing repositories with packages for core & extra, and many others.

With the help of its arch build system, it compiles source tarballs into binary packages and provides a directory tree of shell scrips, enabling you to rebuild the entire system by using modified compiler flags without any disturbance. Other hot function of this platform includes user can easily handle package installation, upgrades, downgrades, removal and features automatic dependency resolution.

#17 MenuetOS

Free
Open Source
Linux
Windows
Self-Hosted

MenuetOS is an operating system that is written in assembly language, offers multitasking with multiple processors, and supports 64 and 32bit x86 assembly programming for smaller, faster, and fewer resource applications. The classical function of this platform includes it lets you perform multitasking that is based upon 1000hz scheduler, multiprocessor, multithreading, ring-3 protection, enabling you to protect your data from strangers or other hacking systems, the adorable graphical design having maximum resolution like 1920 x 1080 along with compatible with more than 16 million colors, and many others.

With the help of its built-in multi-thread technology, it downloads every file from the internet at up to 10X speed as compare to other traditional operating systems and is fully supported by other hardware like Storage, Printer, Webcam Video, and TV/Radio. Other function of this platform includes you can fetch data in real-time and fits on a single floppy or boots from CD & USB drives.

#18 Slax

Free
Proprietary
Linux
Online

Slax is an operating system that gives an out-of-the-box operating system with support for running major desktop environments such as XFCE, KDE Plasma Desktop, and Razor-QT. It also supports running a wide range of applications, including Chrome and Firefox web browsers, LibreOffice and GIMP image editors, and the Audacity sound editor. The important thing is to note that it is one of the few distributions with support for the English version of LibreOffice. It is made by a small developer team, which is not based on any existing Linux distribution.

It is built from scratch with simplicity, modern technologies, and an outstanding design in mind. It is a modern, portable, small, and fast Linux operating system with a modular approach and outstanding design. It is based on the Linux kernel, the Xfce desktop environment, and the BusyBox utilities. Slax is available in your pocket, on a USB flash drive, CD/DVD, or even a floppy disk. It comes in two flavors, one bootable CD version for i686 and x86_64 and a live CD for x86_64 only.

#19 Porteus

Free
Open Source
Linux

Porteus is cost-effective software that lets a sortable Linux operating system, enabling you to run Linux operating system from CD or USV flash drive, making you perform various Linux tasks in no time. It is utilized by the top leading schools, offices, public libraries, internet cafes, and other business establishments. The attractive function of this platform includes it aids you to perform different changes in the system such as customization download files, browse the history and favorites, and all the possible changes are permanently saved to the respective USB for future purpose.

With the help of its PLoP boot manager, it permits you to boot from any kind of device which is not supported by your BIOS. Other classical function of this platform includes all the modules are directly copied to the RAM, lets root copy or magic folder, and many others.

#20 Lubuntu

Free
Open Source
Github
Linux

Lubuntu is one of the lightweight, clean operating systems that utilizes minimal desktop LXDE & LXQT and covers light applications to perform necessary functions without installing the whole operating system. It comes with a simple graphical user interface and a wide variety of applications chosen for their small footprint so you can browse, email, chat, play, and perform all of your tasks in a productive manner.

The interesting function of this platform includes you can set up automated deployment, upgrade the older installations without any network accessing, lets LVM or RAID partitioning, and many others. With the help of its graphical or imaging function, it persuades you to change the color settings like brightness, contrast, saturation, hue, posturize, size, flow, and opacity, which is not present in any other software.

#21 Manjaro Linux

Free
Open Source
Linux

Manjaro Linux is one of the secure Linux-based operating systems that provide all the benefits of the cutting edge software, which are combined with the focus on user-friendliness and accessibility, enabling beginners or other Linux users to perform a variety of functions in no time. The adorable function of this platform includes it lets full control over all the connected hardware, compatible with famous window applications like Wine, PlayonLinux, or Proton via Steam, option to configure, change, remove or replace whatever you like, and many more.

Manjaro Linux facilitates you to protect your data with a strong password or touch ID so that no one can access it without taking your permission. Other stunning function of this platform includes if different people are using your computer you can create different accounts for them having selected functions or storage capacity, automatically install language packs for a variety of programs and notifies you about new translations for your favorite programs and more.

#22 Linux Mint

Free
Open Source
Linux

Linux Mint is a rich-featured operating system specially designed the laptops or emulators, covering a variety of out-of-the-box applications or tools for maximizing productivity and accuracy in your workflows. It is fully integrated with the Office, enabling you to make presentation process words, drawings, or spreadsheets and easily import all the documents in the form of PDF in no time.

The exciting functions of this platform include it work in 3D with blender, allowing you to edit or draw pictures and use Inkscape for vector graphics; you can enjoy your music, watch TV, enjoy your movies in high quality like 720p, 1080, 4K HD and 8K ultra HD. With the help of its gaming option, it provides you instant access to more than 78000 games with Steam and easily installs GOG to get more. Other crazy functions are you can browse the Web, watch YouTube and Netflix with Firefox and turn any website into a desktop app for immediate access.

#23 PCLinuxOS

Free
Open Source
Linux

PCLinuxOS is an easy-to-handle Linux distribution with deep integration with famous graphics or sound cards to perform multiple functions in no time. The key features of this platform include a 3D desktop along with a set of compatible cards, send or receive an email, instant messaging, blogging, tweeting, and watching online video, listen to your favorite music collection, and orange them as comprehensive lists within no time.

With the help of its video or graphics option, it persuades you to listen, organize and stream mp3 music from your desktop, sync your mp3 player with your music collection, listen to streaming internet radio, watch TV shows and movies online as well as DVDs and design DVD slide shows and many others. It covers LibreOffice that entitles you to edit documents, create presentations, efficiently work on the spreadsheets with maximum accuracy and choose multiple languages for better handling of all the operations.

#24 Pardus

Free
Open Source
Linux
Online
Self-Hosted

Pardus is a Linux distribution that focuses on maximum productivity or efficiency while performing multitasking in offices or other multi-national organizations. The classical function of this platform includes it offers sound support which is provided by Alsa mixer, audio player and CD ripper & encoder, SSH client and server powered by Dropbear, special graphical boxes for command-line utilities, more than 5K available packages that can be installed from the mirror, you can browse the Web with Midori, Firefox or Lynx in text mode and many others.

Pardus covers different professional tools that are introduced for creating, editing, or burning CD or DVD images without any disturbance. With the help of its smart boot manager, it provides a complete set of options for each boot item and giving the user flexibility to configure multiple-boot systems, and you can customize and secure the computer with user IDs and passwords.

#25 Damn Small Linux

Free
Open Source
Linux
Mac
Windows

Damn Small Linux is one of the versatile 50MB mini desktop-oriented Linux distributions that is specially developed for personal computers to run live media lie bootable business card-sized CD. Actually, it is based on the Linux live CD such as KNOPPIX and created for Linux distribution Debian. The crazy functions of this platform include you can instantly transform into Debian OS with the traditional hard drive, run efficiently with every RAM, you can boot it with the simple CD or pen USB drive without any disturbance, and many others.

Damn Small Linux facilitates you to recover the data from an unbootable operating system; just you need to perform multiple steps like boot the live CD, locate the target files, choose the files which you want to recover, upload all the respective files to a server or copy files to an external drive in no time.

#26 Macpup

Free
Open Source
Linux

Macpup is one of the minimalist desktop Linux distributions that are based on Puppy Linux, utilizes enlightenment as the default window manager, and is fully integrated with Office, graphics, or other multimedia functionalities. The stunning functions of this platform include it work in 3D with blender, allowing you to edit or draw pictures and use Inkscape for vector graphics; you can enjoy your music, watch TV, enjoy your movies in high quality like 720p, 1080, 4K HD and 8K ultra HD.

has the ability to automatically generate the configuration files for Windows, PhoenixOS, Android, Ubuntu, Debian, Suse, Fedora, Manjaro, Mint, Clover, and more. With the help of its gaming option, it provides you instant access to more than 78000 games with Steam and easily installs GOG to get more. Other hot function of this platform includes user can easily handle package installation, upgrades, downgrades, removal and features automatic dependency resolution

#27 Apricity OS

Free
Open Source
Linux

Apricity OS is a Linux distribution operating system-based program that allows users to place the customized web apps on the desktop ICE and provides additional features like backup, configurations, gaming consoles, digital media handling, and many secure functionalities. With the help of the Pushbullet feature, the users can stay in touch with multiple gadgets’ synchronizations at the same time for sending links & files and provides complete alerts like mobile notifications, texts, and phone calls.

The tool doesn’t only minimize the chances of security risks but also embeds with easy editing options for editing the files effectively. It is a highly flexible or versatile command line that consumes less battery and provides additional functionality with default configuration with specific personalized settings. The Syncthing specification helps you transfer a large amount of data among various modules and secure sensitive information to the selective folders without cloud storage encryptions.

#28 DeLicate Linux

Free
Open Source
Linux
Online

DeLicate Linux is a version of the Operating System that is specially designed and developed for very low-end PCs and machines. Usually, the Windows OS consumes very much memory from RAM as well as from Hard disk to run and perform even basic tasks.

That makes the PC slow and hard to work on. So if a Lightweight Operating system is provided, then there is enough RAM and other resources are available for other tasks. It makes the system more reliable and fast. So keep an eye on this fact; this version of Linux is provided.