# Ubuntu Pro

14 Hacker News commenters recommended Ubuntu Pro and 19 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Free for personal use on up to 5 machines; extends Ubuntu LTS security updates and adds kernel live patching. Critics dislike the price and withheld updates.

## Why people recommend it

- Free for personal use (5 comments): "free for up to 5 personal devices you can even get kernel live patching" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50081245)) "Ubuntu Pro is still free for personal use on up to 5 physical machines" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46117107)) "free for personal use and it extends the LTS support of 5 years" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48233809))
- Extends LTS security updates (4 comments): "The ESM program has been a provider of peace of mind when still leaving that SDR machine connected to the internet and running javascript." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46020918)) "the availability of 15 years LTS is also a good argument for Linux in some corporate decision making" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46023474)) "Without Ubuntu Pro, your LTS system can sit in a very insecure state for a long time" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48496556))
- Comprehensive security and compliance features (2 comments): "The ESM program has been a provider of peace of mind when still leaving that SDR machine connected to the internet and running javascript." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46020918)) "delivers the most comprehensive open source security and compliance features" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48284812))

## What people warn about

- Subscription price seen as steep (3 comments): "Unfortunately the per server price is $500/yr, which maybe competitive with some of the competition, but still seems steep to me." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46769110)) "This is a nonstarter for me simply because I don't do software subscriptions, and especially not for operating systems." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46765289)) "balk at the yearly subscription price of Ubuntu Pro" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46023305))
- Some updates gated behind subscription (5 comments): "There are additional patches they are releasing that aren't contributed upstream for either security or compliance features." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50107877)) "its Pro subscription isn't showing up as active, so I couldn't get the update even if they do release it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50181738)) "Ubuntu (including Ubuntu Pro) still doesn't have a CVE-2026-99999 patch" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50195395))
- Upsells, nagware and snap (4 comments): "Ubuntu only tries to upsell you via Ubuntu Pro, I guess it's not as aggressive though." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46116097)) "I installed a dummy package that displaces the nagware about the pro version too" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46461012)) "it force-reinstalled snapd. ... I was very annoyed, though." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47889406))
- Distrust of Canonical (2 comments): "They're on my list of enshittifiers, who by definition should never be given any money in any form." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46766851)) "I blame that one solely on canonical, not on Linux in general" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46567431))

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://ubuntu.com/pro)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Ubuntu Pro", https://hackerapproved.com/p/ubuntu-pro/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).