It's been a long time since the packages started to be used snap and flatpack. Although they had been in testing for some time, both began to be really used in 2016, so any Linux user will have already tried some other package of this type. Earlier this year, my partner Diego wrote an article explaining the differences, advantages and disadvantages of each one, and today we are going to do a bit of the same, but focusing the information on personal use.
Predicting the verdict a bit, or part of it, I would say that you have to choose one or the other only when a package is in both formats, depending on how each one works for us. Also keep in mind that flatpaks are updated more, while snaps are updated only when the version is uploaded. It is common to see that the flatpak is updated to the same version many times, because they are supposed to have fixed something and the update arrives as soon as they upload the patch.
Snap and Flatpak, a matter of taste
There are some packages on Flathub that are labeled as alpha or beta, and they do so in the official repository, nothing of the beta. Other packages are updated very soon, similar to how Rolling Release distributions do, and this does not always bring us good things. The snap are updated somewhat less and usually offer versions that seem more stable, but this difference is generally small.
So, for the end user, what are the differences between the two options? Diego has already explained enough, but I would stick with four:
Available software
I feel that In terms of available software, Flathub beats Snapcraft by far. In fact, I have seen on several occasions how applications that were on Snapcraft disappeared, while on Flathub they continue to be and are updated. Developers, at least medium and small ones, usually choose Flathub, and all the new applications that arrive in the GNOME circle appear there soon. one of the last, Retro, a clock that can be edited with CSS rules.
However, the design of snaps makes them a better option for packaging and distributing other types of software, such as drivers or even versions of Python as 3.8.
Integration with the operating system
As Diego said, «snap packages have a complete permissions system so it is possible to configure them to interact with the operating system and installed applications in the usual way«. These permits They allow, despite the redundancy, that snap packages integrate better with the system than flatpaks. For example, there are multimedia applications that show information in the KDE task manager when using the snap version, but only the application icon when using the flatpak version.
opening speed
This may seem silly, but it is not. You have to pull Canonical's ears and say that you can't wait 10s for an application to open in snap format if you have a computer with a good processor and SSD. It's getting much better with the Firefox package, so there is room for improvement and you have to reduce the loading time. Flatpacks open much sooner.
Proprietary software
It may be something that many users in the Linux community do not like, but sometimes it is necessary to use it. In Snapcraft there is Microsoft's Visual Studio Code (official) or Valve's Steam with absolutely everything in the same package. Snaps are often chosen by major companies, partly because of their design, but also because Canonical reaches agreements with companies to give them priority.
What do I install: snaps or flatpaks?
As I said in the spoiler at the beginning of the post, I think you don't have to opt for one by decree. You have to try them. If you want something more up-to-date, you should probably go with the flatpak. If more integration is needed, it might be worth using the snap. If you can't wait a few seconds for the snap to open, then you have to go for the flatpak, and if you want something less corporate, although Diego has already explained that the shadow of Red Hat is present, flatpaks are worth it. Of course, if one of the two options does not work on our computer, we must use the other.
Personally, I use flatpaks more than snaps, but mainly for one reason: the program or application I use is on Flathub and not on Snapcraft. Now, if it's in official repositories... Goodbye to both.
I do not use, neither one nor the other, I use the official of the distro in question that I am using and period, everything else is experiments. Now I'm with slackware and debian and neither have I needed flatpak or snap.
In my case if it is not in deb format, it depends; if it is an app that takes up little space, I prefer it in Appimage, if it is more recurrent I look for it as Flatpak
Well, in my case, if it is not in the format of my distribution, I compile it and run it, since this is Linux.