If it didn't have Snap, I would love it.
Updated May 15, 2025

If it didn't have Snap, I would love it.

Joseph Brower | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Ubuntu

We have many servers and a few workstations running Ubuntu. We wanted a nice alternative to Windows and something that was more robust and compatible for our web hosting needs. Additionally, we needed to have our chosen server system work with our tooling (Laravel Forge) and that made Ubuntu the clear choice.

Pros

  • Laravel Forge integration
  • Easy install/updates
  • User friendly interface
  • Decent software selection

Cons

  • Snap integration causes more problems than it solves, especially on servers
  • Container virtualization is weaker than I would like
  • Continues trying their own thing rather than supporting the upstream community
  • We've been able to get a lot done without needing to spend anything, as we've only ever used the open source offerings.
I just wish they wouldn't be pushing everything to SNAP. it makes management trickier than it should be.
I used to always recommend Ubuntu, but with Snap being done by default and causing issues, I've been moving away from it more and more. I'd really like to use Ubuntu, but until Snap is purged, it won't be my go-to for desktop Linux.

Do you think Ubuntu delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Ubuntu's feature set?

Yes

Did Ubuntu live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Ubuntu go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Ubuntu again?

Yes

It really depends on the use case, but for us, we found Ubuntu to work really well as a PHP, RDBMS, Load Balancer, NGINX server for our web hosting clients. We've also found it works ok as an SFTP endpoint.

Ubuntu Feature Ratings

Operating System
8.5
Resource Allocation
8
File Management
7
Hardware Device Management
10
Software Application Management
8
System Update Frequency
8
Operating System Security
10

Using Ubuntu

2 - Generally server administration and software development.
1 - Linux experience in general. An understanding of various package managers. With Ubuntu using SNAP now, having experience in that is useful, since it tends to have issues from time to time. For desktop usage, no need for deep command line skills, but on the server, command line skills are a must.
  • Webserver
  • Rendering workstation
  • Database Server
  • Load Balancer
  • Caching Server
While it works, we're finding that SNAP is getting more and more annoying, so we're probably going to migrate to Debian.

Evaluating Ubuntu and Competitors

  • Ease of Use
  • Other
Ubuntu has a nice community and solid documentation available. That made us feel more comfortable relying on it for business critical tasks.
Nothing would really change. The things that were important to us then are important to us now.

Ubuntu Implementation

It was all pretty much automatic for our use cases. It integrates nicely with Laravel Forge, which is our primary use case.
  • Implemented in-house
Change management was a small part of the implementation and was well-handled
  • No real issues, tooling handled everything for us.

Using Ubuntu

ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Well integrated
Quick to learn
Feel confident using
Familiar
Requires technical support
Cumbersome
  • Apt for package management
  • User interface is clean
  • Standard Linux/Unix tools
  • SNAP package management

Comments

More Reviews of Ubuntu

  1. Home
  2. Operating Systems
  3. Ubuntu Reviews
  4. User Review of Ubuntu