For a web server the choice of Linux distribution matters less than people argue about it, and more than "just pick one". All four below run Nginx, PHP and MariaDB well. They differ in how often things change, how long they are supported, and which tools and panels assume them.
The two families
Debian family — Debian, and Ubuntu built on it. Packages via apt, config in /etc/ laid out the Debian way (sites-available/sites-enabled), the largest body of tutorials on the web.
Enterprise Linux (EL) family — Red Hat Enterprise Linux and its free rebuilds AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux (CentOS, the old rebuild, ended in 2021). Packages via dnf, SELinux on by default, ten-year support, and the ecosystem that cPanel, Plesk, and most commercial software certify first.
Ubuntu Server
Every two years an LTS release (22.04, 24.04, 26.04) with five years of free security updates, ten with the free Ubuntu Pro subscription. Newest packages of the four at release, the widest tutorial coverage, and the default on most cloud images. Interim releases (24.10 etc.) are supported nine months — never use them on a server.
Choose it when: you want recent PHP/Node/Python versions from the standard repositories, you will follow guides written for it, or you are not sure. It is the default for a reason.
Debian
The upstream of Ubuntu, released roughly every two years with about five years of support (three from the Debian team, two more from LTS volunteers). Extremely stable, minimal, no commercial layer. Packages are older than Ubuntu's at release and stay that way; PHP from Debian's repository will be whatever was current when the release froze, so most people add the Sury repository for newer PHP.
Choose it when: you value minimalism and predictability over freshness, or you run many servers and want the smallest possible base.
AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux
Both are 1:1 rebuilds of RHEL, free, and functionally interchangeable — the difference is governance (AlmaLinux is run by a foundation with CloudLinux's backing; Rocky by the original CentOS founder's organisation). Major versions every three years, each supported for ten. Packages are conservative: PHP, MariaDB and Node come as modules with several versions to choose from, plus the Remi repository for the very newest PHP.
Choose them when: you run cPanel (which requires EL) or Plesk in an enterprise setting, need a server that will not need a major upgrade for a decade, or your team has RHEL experience. SELinux is a real security benefit once you learn it and a real nuisance until then.
Side by side
| Ubuntu LTS | Debian | AlmaLinux / Rocky | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Release cadence | 2 years | ~2 years | 3 years |
| Support | 5 yr (10 with Pro) | ~5 yr | 10 yr |
| Package freshness | newest | conservative | conservative, modules |
| Package manager | apt | apt | dnf |
| Default firewall | ufw | nftables/none | firewalld |
| SELinux / AppArmor | AppArmor | AppArmor (optional) | SELinux, enforcing |
| Panel support | Plesk | Plesk | Plesk, cPanel |
| Tutorials | most | many | many (as RHEL/CentOS) |
What about the others?
CentOS Stream is now a preview of the next RHEL — fine for development, wrong for production. Fedora releases every six months; a desktop distribution. Arch, Alpine, NixOS are excellent for their purposes and their purposes are not "a web server someone else will maintain in three years". Amazon Linux is only sensible inside AWS.
The upgrade question
Ubuntu upgrades in place between LTS versions (do-release-upgrade) and it usually works. Debian too (apt full-upgrade after changing sources). EL major-version upgrades are officially "reinstall", though the leapp tool exists. If you dislike reinstalling, that argues for Ubuntu or for EL's ten-year cycle — either way you avoid the problem for years.
What we run
VPSPioneer shared and reseller servers run AlmaLinux with Plesk — the ten-year support and the panel's first-class support for EL matter at scale. A managed VPS is Ubuntu LTS by default, because it is what most customers' developers know, with AlmaLinux or Debian on request. Whichever you choose, the hardening steps are the same.