Manjaro Linux

What Manjaro Linux does

Manjaro Linux is a community-driven, open-source Linux distribution built on Arch Linux, founded in 2011 by Philip Müller and incorporated in 2019 as Manjaro GmbH & Co. KG, a German limited partnership headquartered in Berlin. Its core product is a rolling-release operating system with a cascading stability model (unstable, testing, stable branches) that ships official editions for KDE Plasma, GNOME, and Xfce alongside community editions for Cinnamon, i3, and Sway, and supports both x86 and ARM architectures across 18 named ARM devices including Raspberry Pi, Pinebook Pro, Orange Pi, and Khadas boards. The platform is differentiated by proprietary tooling such as the Pamac graphical package manager (with offline updates) and Manjaro Immutable, an Arkdep-based declarative OS providing atomic updates and rollback for enterprise fleet management.

The company serves two primary segments: individual home users who download free ISO images from manjaro.org, and business/enterprise customers who purchase bespoke professional services covering full-service workstations, OS conversions, aftermarket maintenance, and a Business Cloud add-on. Hardware partners — Slimbook, Orange Pi, Star Labs, and Zotac — preinstall Manjaro on laptops, single-board computers, and gaming handhelds and share revenue from device sales, providing the project with both distribution reach and a recurring revenue stream. Revenue is otherwise funded through community donations and volunteer contributions, with CDN infrastructure donated by CDN77.

Commercially, Manjaro is a small private entity (1–10 stated employees, ~20-person core team) that monetizes primarily through OEM revenue-sharing, enterprise services contracts, and donations rather than a software-license model. Its go-to-market combines self-serve free downloads (top-of-funnel, consumer), OEM preinstallation (channel, consumer and prosumer), and direct enterprise sales (email/phone, corporate). Recent strategic emphasis has shifted toward enterprise-readiness — exemplified by the 2024 launch of Manjaro Immutable, the 2024 appointment of Roman Gilg as CTO, and the addition of Zotac gaming hardware — signaling an effort to convert open-source mindshare into contracted commercial revenue.

Name

Manjaro Linux

Legal name

Manjaro GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://manjaro.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Manjaro Linux is a community-driven, Berlin-based open-source Linux distribution built on Arch Linux, offering rolling-release OS editions for x86 and ARM devices, serving individual home users, enterprise customers via bespoke support services, and hardware OEMs through preinstallation partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Linux Operating System Distribution

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

IT Operations Management (ITOM) Platforms (HDAEALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Managed DevOps / Platform Operations (Run & Operate) (BPAEAKAO), Incident Response, On-Call & Operational Readiness (BPAEAKAL)

Keywords

• Linux operating system
• Open source distribution
• Desktop operating system
• Enterprise Linux support
• ARM Linux platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Bavaria

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Community Donations: Manjaro relies on community donations to cover server costs, software development tools, infrastructure expenses, training, conference travel, and key developer salaries. Donations come from individual users and supporters.
2. Enterprise Support Services: Professional support services for businesses including full service (workstation provision and management), conversions from other OS, aftermarket maintenance, and Business Cloud setup. Revenue is generated through service contracts with organizations.
3. Hardware Partner Revenue Sharing: Hardware manufacturers (Slimbook, Orange Pi, Star Labs) share revenue from device sales when Manjaro is preinstalled. Partners send a percentage of sales to support the project.
4. Open Source Community Contribution: As an open-source project, Manjaro benefits from volunteer contributions and community-maintained tools without direct revenue exchange.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Manjaro Linux is a user-friendly, open-source Linux distribution based on Arch Linux that ships rolling releases through cascading stability branches (unstable, testing, stable) for both x86 and ARM architectures. It is offered as free community downloads for personal use and as paid enterprise services (workstation provisioning, OS conversions, aftermarket maintenance, and Business Cloud add-on) for organizations, alongside hardware partner preinstallations on devices from Slimbook, Orange Pi, Star Labs, and Zotac.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Manjaro Linux x86 Edition Free, downloadable x86 Linux distribution with rolling releases, cascading stability branches, and multiple desktop environment options, for personal computers and laptops.
• Manjaro ARM Edition Free downloadable Linux images for 18+ ARM devices including Raspberry Pi, Pinebook Pro, Orange Pi, Khadas, Odroid, Rock 3A, Quartz64, Radxa Zero, and Pinephone (Plasma Mobile).
• Manjaro Immutable Declarative, immutable Manjaro variant with atomic updates and easy rollbacks, designed to let IT departments control update timing and reduce fleet-wide failure risk.
• Manjaro Enterprise Services Professional B2B support services from the distribution creators, including full-service Manjaro workstation provisioning with hardware partners, OS conversions from other Linux distributions or proprietary systems, aftermarket maintenance, and an optional open-source Business Cloud and on-premise server infrastructure add-on.
• Manjaro Search Engine Web-based search service aggregating Manjaro documentation, repositories, issues, forum solutions, and package sources (native, snap, flatpak) for users and contributors.
• Manjaro Packages Service Web-based package search and visualization service enabling version comparison across Manjaro branches with regex support and differentiation between Manjaro and upstream packages.

Quantifiable outcome

• Manjaro ARM 22.12 recorded 75,706 downloads in first two months across all supported ARM devices
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered foundational, strategic and core.

• Arch LinuxfoundationalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2024Manjaro is based on Arch Linux and maintains close collaboration with the Arch Linux project. The partnership involves ongoing technical alignment and community collaboration.
• CodeWeaversstrategicTechnology or Integration · 4 February 2024CodeWeavers (makers of CrossOver Wine) collaborate with Manjaro to improve Windows application compatibility on Linux, benefiting gaming and productivity use cases.
• Pine64strategicTechnology or Integration · 4 February 2024Pine64 develops open source hardware including Pinebook Pro, Pinephone, and Quartz64. Manjaro ARM provides optimized images for Pine64 devices and participates in joint events.
• Open Invention Network (OIN)strategicOthers · 1 March 2014Manjaro Linux became part of the Open Invention Network (OIN) in March 2014. OIN is a community of licensees that provides patent non-aggression for Linux and adjacent open source software.
• SlimbookcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerSlimbook is a hardware partner offering laptops with Manjaro preinstalled, including the Manjaro Hero gaming laptop. They offer configurable storage, RAM, and CPU options. Slimbook shares revenue from device sales with Manjaro, supporting the project's financial sustainability.
• Orange PicoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerOrange Pi (Shenzhen Xunlong Software Co., Ltd) is an open source hardware brand offering single-board computers and devices with Manjaro preinstalled. Products include the Orange Pi Neo gaming handheld with AMD Ryzen. The partnership is described as an important step in open source exploration.
• Star LabscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerStar Labs offers laptops (StarFighter, StarLite, StarBook) with Manjaro preinstalled. The partnership creates seamless access to cutting-edge hardware and software, with aligned interests in making open-source software more accessible.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Canonical (Ubuntu): Commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, the dominant Linux distribution for desktops, servers, and cloud. Direct competitor in user-friendly desktop Linux and enterprise Linux services, but with vastly greater scale, ISV relationships, and a fully commercialized support model.
• Red Hat (Fedora / RHEL): Sponsors Fedora (community) and RHEL (enterprise). Competes with Manjaro for both community desktop users (Fedora) and enterprise Linux deployments (RHEL), but at much larger commercial scale with established support contracts and certifications.
• SUSE: Enterprise Linux incumbent behind SUSE Linux Enterprise and openSUSE. Competes with Manjaro's enterprise service ambitions and overlaps in community desktop via openSUSE, with substantially greater enterprise sales infrastructure.

Direct peers

• Linux Mint: One of the most popular user-friendly desktop Linux distributions, similarly targeting Windows switchers and home users. Most direct functional peer to Manjaro in terms of user base, ease-of-use positioning, and community-driven GTM.
• Fedora Project: Community-driven Linux distribution sponsored by Red Hat. Competes with Manjaro for power-user and developer desktop share, with overlapping focus on latest upstream software — though Fedora's release cadence is fixed rather than rolling.
• System76 (Pop!_OS): Linux computer OEM that ships Pop!_OS preinstalled on its hardware. Highly comparable dual business model of community Linux distribution plus hardware partnership revenue, directly mirroring Manjaro's Slimbook/Star Labs/Orange Pi channel.
• openSUSE: Community-driven Linux distribution backed by SUSE. Competes in user-friendly desktop and server Linux with rolling (Tumbleweed) and stable (Leap) branches, mirroring Manjaro's cascading stability model.
• elementary OS: User-friendly Linux distribution focused on macOS-like polish and Windows switchers. Targets a similar persona to Manjaro's home user segment with comparable ease-of-use positioning, though on Ubuntu base.
• Zorin OS: Ubuntu-based Linux distribution explicitly designed for Windows migrants. Closely comparable to Manjaro in targeting non-technical users transitioning off proprietary OSes, with paid Pro tier analogous to Manjaro's enterprise services.

Emerging players

• Endless OS / Endless Network: User-friendly Linux distribution targeting emerging markets and first-time computer users. Partial overlap with Manjaro's accessibility-driven value proposition and community/OEM distribution, though with a distinct immutable base architecture.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/manjaro/website
• Xx.com/ManjaroLinux
• Facebookfacebook.com/ManjaroLinux

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Manjaro Linux