--- title: Ubuntu 26.04 LTS raises minimum RAM requirement to 6 GB description: Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 'Resolute Raccoon' raises the minimum recommended RAM for the desktop from 4 GB to 6 GB, the first increase since 2019. Canonical frames this... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/ubuntu-26-04-lts-raises-minimum-ram-requirement-to-6-gb-ls3ux6fnl twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Ubuntu 26.04 LTS raises minimum RAM requirement to 6 GB | daily.dev og:description: Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 'Resolute Raccoon' raises the minimum recommended RAM for the desktop from 4 GB to 6 GB, the first increase since 2019. Canonical frames this... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/ubuntu-26-04-lts-raises-minimum-ram-requirement-to-6-gb-ls3ux6fnl og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/lS3uX6FNL.png og:image:alt: Ubuntu 26.04 LTS raises minimum RAM requirement to 6 GB og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Ubuntu 26.04 LTS raises minimum RAM requirement to 6 GB **[Collections](https://daily.dev/sources/collections)** · 2 min read · 2 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 'Resolute Raccoon' raises the minimum recommended RAM for the desktop from 4 GB to 6 GB, the first increase since 2019. Canonical frames this as an 'honesty bump' — the 4 GB figure was always optimistic given GNOME, a browser, and background apps routinely push such machines into swap. Ubuntu 26.04 will still install on lower-RAM machines but performance will suffer. Lighter alternatives like Lubuntu, Xubuntu, minimal netboot installs, or tiling window managers like i3 are suggested for older hardware. The comparison to Windows 11's 4 GB minimum is noted as misleading since virtually all TPM 2.0-capable machines ship with 8 GB anyway. ## Content Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 'Resolute Raccoon' bumps the minimum recommended RAM for the desktop from 4 GB to 6 GB — the first such increase since 2019. CPU and disk requirements stay the same: a 2 GHz dual-core processor and 25 GB of storage. Canonical is calling this an 'honesty bump' rather than a sign of bloat. The 4 GB figure was always optimistic. In practice, GNOME, a modern browser with a handful of tabs, and a few background apps will push a 4 GB machine into swap fairly quickly. The 6 GB number is meant to reflect what actually works day-to-day. ## The Windows 11 comparison is a bit misleading Several outlets have noted that Ubuntu's new minimum now exceeds Windows 11's official 4 GB requirement, which sounds like a strange reversal. But Windows 11 also requires TPM 2.0, and virtually every machine that meets that requirement ships with 8 GB RAM or more. The 4 GB Windows 11 minimum is technically accurate and practically useless as a benchmark — performance at that level is poor. Ubuntu's 6 GB figure is at least honest about what you need for a usable experience. ## What if you have less than 6 GB? Ubuntu 26.04 will still install on machines with less RAM — it just won't be fast. If you're working with older hardware, lighter alternatives are worth considering: - **Lubuntu** (LXQt) and **Xubuntu** are official Ubuntu flavors built for lower-spec machines - A minimal netboot install skips the full desktop environment entirely - Window managers like i3 or bspwm are an option if you're comfortable configuring things yourself None of this is a dramatic shift. It's more of an acknowledgment that the old number wasn't really telling the truth. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Ubuntu 26.04 now needs more RAM than Windows 11, which says more about Microsoft than Canonical](https://daily.dev/posts/ubuntu-26-04-now-needs-more-ram-than-windows-11-which-says-more-about-microsoft-than-canonical-cvbvj4qsf) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Should you upgrade your Linux desktop to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS?](https://daily.dev/posts/should-you-upgrade-your-linux-desktop-to-ubuntu-26-04-lts--pudhh8idl) · All Things Open · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux), [#ubuntu](https://daily.dev/tags/ubuntu) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/ubuntu-26-04-lts-raises-minimum-ram-requirement-to-6-gb-ls3ux6fnl) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Ubuntu 26.04 LTS raises minimum RAM requirement to 6 GB","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/ubuntu-26-04-lts-raises-minimum-ram-requirement-to-6-gb-ls3ux6fnl","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/ubuntu-26-04-lts-raises-minimum-ram-requirement-to-6-gb-ls3ux6fnl"},"datePublished":"2026-04-03T21:07:17.375Z","dateModified":"2026-04-05T13:51:40.779Z","description":"Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 'Resolute Raccoon' raises the minimum recommended RAM for the desktop from 4 GB to 6 GB, the first increase since 2019. 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