Summary
- Ubuntu LTS versions get five years of updates, while non-LTS only gets nine months.
- LTS versions prioritize stability but contain older software. Non-LTS releases offer newer features but need frequent system upgrades.
- The LTS version is ideal for most users and anyone looking for long-term stability. Non-LTS versions are geared towards enthusiasts.
Are you confused between Ubuntu’s LTS and non-LTS versions and don’t know which one you should download? This article will help you understand their differences, why they exist in the first place, and which version is right for you.
What Exactly Is Ubuntu LTS?
If you try to download Ubuntu from the official website, you’ll find two versions—one labeled LTS and another non-LTS version. So, what does this actually mean?
LTS stands for Long Term Support. In the case of Ubuntu, the LTS versions get five years of support with routine security and maintenance updates from the date of its release. After five years, you’ll either need to upgrade to a new Ubuntu version, or you can buy Ubuntu Pro to get five additional years of support and updates. There’s also a Legacy Support program as a part of Ubuntu Pro which adds two more years of support, bringing the total support lifetime to 12 years for an LTS version.
In contrast, the non-LTS versions are only supported for nine months, at which point you’ll need to upgrade to a new version of Ubuntu as you stop receiving security and maintenance updates.
It’s worth noting that Ubuntu versions follow a year.month number scheme with new releases coming out every six months, in April and November. The LTS versions come out every two years in April of even-numbered years.
For example, at the time of writing, the current LTS version is Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, which was released in April 2024. The latest non-LTS version, Ubuntu 24.10, came out in October 2024. Following this schedule, we’ll see two more non-LTS versions—Ubuntu 25.04 and Ubuntu 25.10. The next LTS release arrives in April 2026: Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.
If Ubuntu LTS Exists, Why Use Non-LTS?
You might be wondering at this point, if LTS versions receive so much more support, why would anyone get the non-LTS release? What’s the point of it even existing?
Well, when we say LTS releases are supported for five years, we mean they receive security and maintenance updates for five years. However, the core components of the distribution—like system apps and the desktop environments—remain frozen and aren’t upgraded to newer versions. This design choice ensures stability but means the system can feel outdated over time.
For example, Ubuntu uses a customized version of GNOME as its desktop environment. Ubuntu 24.04 LTS ships with GNOME 46, and will stay on this version throughout its lifecycle. Even as newer versions like GNOME 47 come out, LTS users won’t receive these updates unless they upgrade to the next LTS release in April 2026.
Now, technically, you can force-upgrade GNOME 46 to GNOME 47 on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. However, this isn’t recommended as it can create conflicts with other components, leading to errors and overall system instability.
So, if you want to use GNOME 47 right now, you’re better off using Ubuntu 24.10—a non-LTS release, where all its components are configured to work with the newer GNOME version, minimizing your chance of errors. This is essentially the value of non-LTS versions: they give you a way to use newer software without waiting for two years. The only catch is that you’ll need to upgrade your distro to newer releases every six to nine months to keep receiving security updates.
Why Doesn’t Ubuntu LTS Update the Core Components?
Think of Ubuntu as a complex puzzle where all the pieces need to fit perfectly together for it to work. The problem is that these pieces come from different sources. The Debian base, the underlying Linux kernel, the GNOME desktop environment, among others, all follow their own development cycle, releasing new versions independently.
When Canonical (Ubuntu’s parent company) creates a new Ubuntu version, they carefully select specific versions of all these pieces that work well together, thoroughly test them, and release them as a complete package. Now, when enough important pieces have major new versions available, Canonical will again bundle them together into a complete new Ubuntu release. This is why you see new Ubuntu versions every six months, as that’s how long it takes them to test and verify that all the newer pieces are working smoothly together.
That said, if a single piece receives a major update, and we replace its old version with the new one, it might not fit perfectly with the other older pieces. This mismatch can potentially cause system instability and crashes. To avoid this issue, Ubuntu only sends the following types of maintenance update to supported versions:
- Security patches for known vulnerabilities.
- Bug fixes and stability improvements.
- Hardware Enablement (HWE) updates to ensure smooth compatibility with newly released hardware (specific to Ubuntu LTS releases).
If you are using an LTS version, you will receive these updates for five years, for free. If you are using a non-LTS version, you will receive these updates for only nine months.
How Snaps and Flatpaks Can Help
Major version updates are not just restricted to the core system components but extend to many of the applications you run, like Firefox, LibreOffice, etc. If you install these apps from the default Ubuntu repository using the APT command, you’ll likely end up with older packages.
However, you can access the latest major new releases of these software by installing them using Snaps or Flatpaks. Since Flatpak and Snap apps are sandboxed and have very little interaction with the core system, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll see any system crashes, no matter what version of the apps you use.
Should You Use Ubuntu LTS?
The LTS release is generally recommended for organizations, work computers, and servers because of its long-term stability and security updates. As such, you might assume that the non-LTS releases must be meant for personal desktop computers. However, the reality is a bit more nuanced!
Non-LTS releases primarily cater to tech enthusiasts who want their hands on new cutting-edge software—and these users do prefer to run Ubuntu on their personal computers. However, there are also tech enthusiasts who like to customize their PC and dislike frequent system updates that can break their configurations. If you fall into this latter group, even though you’re using Ubuntu on a personal system, the LTS version is the better choice.
For example, let’s say you decide to customize your Ubuntu PC with its massive library of GNOME extensions and themes. You can use these to add new functionalities and completely change how your system looks and feels. Unfortunately, there’s a high likelihood that these modifications will break when you upgrade to a new Ubuntu release. This means that after every upgrade, you’ll need to reconfigure your systems, reinstall your preferred themes and extensions, and tweak all your settings again. Being forced to do this every six (or nine) months can get tiresome, which is why I personally prefer and also recommend using the LTS version. Any customizations and modifications you make are there to stay for at least five years.
That said, if you use the default GNOME setup and primarily run Snap applications, the non-LTS releases might make more sense. The upgrades are much smoother when there’s less custom configuration to potentially break, and you’ll get access to newer features every six months.