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Both Anaconda Distribution and Miniconda include , but they differ in what’s pre-installed.

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Watch: Anaconda Distribution vs Miniconda

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Anaconda Distribution

Anaconda Distribution is a Python/R data science distribution that contains:
  • conda: a package and environment manager for your command line interface.
  • Anaconda Navigator: a desktop application built on conda, with options to launch other development applications from your managed environments.
  • Over 600 automatically installed packages that work well together out of the box. See the full list of packages in Anaconda Distribution’s release notes.
  • Access to the Anaconda Public Repository, with 8000 open-source data science and machine learning packages. An RSS feed is updated each time a new package is added to the Anaconda package repository.

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Miniconda

Miniconda is a free, miniature installation of Anaconda Distribution that includes only conda, Python, the packages they both depend on, and a small number of other useful packages. See the full list of packages in Miniconda’s release notes. If you need more packages, use the conda install command to install from thousands of packages available by default in Anaconda’s public repo, or from other channels, like conda-forge or bioconda.

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Which installer is right for you?

Install Anaconda Distribution! It includes hundreds of standard data science and machine learning packages, which will give you a kickstart in your development journey.
For beginners, Anaconda recommends using Anaconda Distribution. The installer includes Anaconda Navigator, a desktop application that lets you interface with conda without using the command line. You can use Navigator to create environments, install packages, and launch development applications like Jupyter Notebooks and Spyder. For more information on Navigator, see Getting started with Navigator.
For advanced users, Anaconda recommends installing Miniconda.