When you purchase a cheap VPS, you are usually prompted to choose an operating system. Ubuntu and Debian are the two most popular Linux distributions for web servers, but they cater to slightly different philosophies.
Ubuntu: Bleeding Edge and Supported
Ubuntu, built on top of Debian, offers more up-to-date software packages out of the box and features massive commercial and community support. If you are following modern tutorials for running Node.js or Python apps, Ubuntu is almost always the assumed default OS.
Debian: Rock Solid Stability
Debian, on the other hand, is known for its legendary rock-solid stability and extremely low resource footprint. It ships with older, extensively tested packages. This makes Debian absolutely perfect for smaller servers where uptime and minimal memory usage are critical.
