Vivaldi Linux – which installation method?

Brainstorm
1

You can install Vivaldi on Linux as a .deb, Flatpak or Snap.
What are the differences, and which installation method is best?

I’m keen to hear your thoughts…

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2

Try not to confuse ‘Linux’ with ‘Debian’, or ‘Kubuntu’ with ‘Debian’ either…

I installed vivaldi 7.9.3970.47-1 from the package manager…

Name            : vivaldi
Version         : 7.9.3970.47-1
Description     : An advanced browser made with the power user in mind.
Architecture    : x86_64
URL             : https://vivaldi.com
Licenses        : LicenseRef-custom
Groups          : None
Provides        : vivaldi-stable
Depends On      : alsa-lib  at-spi2-core  cairo  libcups  libxcomposite  libxdamage  libxkbcommon  libxrandr  libxss  mesa  nss  pango  ttf-font  desktop-file-utils  shared-mime-info  hicolor-icon-theme
Optional Deps   : vivaldi-ffmpeg-codecs: playback of proprietary video/audio
                  org.freedesktop.secrets: better secret storage in gnome-keyring or kwallet [installed]
                  libnotify: native notifications [installed]
                  pipewire: WebRTC desktop sharing under Wayland [installed]
                  gtk3: gtk3 integration [installed]
                  gtk4: for use with --gtk-version=4 [installed]
                  qt5-base: qt5 integration [installed]
                  qt6-base: qt6 integration [installed]
                  upower: Battery Status API support [installed]
Required By     : None
Optional For    : None
Conflicts With  : None
Replaces        : None
Installed Size  : 430.59 MiB
Packager        : Mark Wagie <mark@manjaro.org>
Build Date      : Wed 01 Apr 2026 21:01:14 +07
Install Date    : Thu 02 Apr 2026 14:41:13 +07
Install Reason  : Explicitly installed
Install Script  : No
Validated By    : Signature

I don’t like, or need, the overhead of other methods unless there’s a good reason.

3

There is no “correct” answer to this question.

It comes down to personal preference and your specific needs.

Personally, I would generally prefer a repo package if it was available. In your case, I assume the deb is actually coming directly from Vivaldi’s repo which I would probably prefer to a containerized application.

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4

discover offers vivaldi only as a flatpak

so that’s what i use.

if it was offered as a native .deb build in the kubutntu repositories, i would choose that… but since the only .deb version has to be side loaded from a downloaded file, i would tend to avoid.

the flatpak works well enough for me, but firefox is my daily driver… ymmv

5

.deb → System package for debian-like distributions. Similar (not exactly the same) to Windows executables - you double click it, it opens the package manager, you click Install, it works. It installs to a system directory, most often /usr/bin

But don’t treat it like Windows executables - those run everywhere (mostly).
A .deb made for debian-based distro X might not work on debian-based distro Y and the converse is true as well. In fact, if a .deb is made for ubuntu X then it might break on ubuntu X+1. However, sometimes, the debs are universally compatible. Depends on the distributor. Please check the official documentation of the program.

Snap → first ‘sandboxed’ way of running applications introduced by Canonical ubuntu. You set up snap once, run a sudo snap install or install the Snap from your package manager and it’s good to go. It has all the dependencies bundled in to it and will download anything else required automatically. Snaps also install under root but under a specific directory, probably /var/lib/snapd
But they don’t touch or depend on your system packages.

Flatpak → More “open” alternative to Snap. Introduced later. More favoured by the Linux community. Very similar to snap. Packages are, however, of two types:
System flatpaks → /var/lib/flatpak
User flatpaks → ~/.local/share/flatpak
Flatpaks install as system or user depending on your configuration.

Which one is recommended?

  1. Prefer the version maintained by the original developers / owners of the software
  2. Prefer verified flatpaks
  3. Go for System Packages if the sandboxed alternatives have known issues…
    This is how I decide my installs, btw there’s also AppImages… :joy: :penguin:
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6

Many many many many many different versions of Linux. Take Aych and Arch based distros you would install from the regular repositories NOT a .deb file pr flatpak or snap.

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7

On this Vivaldi help page :

The Flatpak version of Vivaldi can be installed from Flathub. For detailed installation instructions and tips, see the help page ‘Install Vivaldi on Flatpak’. Please note! Although the package available on Flathub is maintained by a member of the Vivaldi team, it has not yet been officially approved or supported by Vivaldi Technologies.

I am using the native package (rpm for openSUSE). A repository is installed automatically; updates are applied as with any other package.

8

For my KDE Neon Testing, I went with the downloaded deb from Vivaldi, it adds its own repository (the same way Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge does) so you can update it with whichever package manager you want.

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