No, they are not the same, although they end up in a similar place. Reverse osmosis pushes water through a membrane and leaves the contaminants behind on the feed side. Distillation boils water and condenses the steam, leaving the contaminants behind in the boiler. Same goal, opposite mechanisms, and the differences that matter come from which impurities each one fails to catch.
Two different physical tricks
Reverse osmosis is a pressure driven separation. Household water pressure, sometimes boosted by a pump, forces water against a semi permeable membrane whose pores admit water molecules and reject dissolved salts, most metals and larger molecules. Distillation is a phase change. The water is boiled, the vapor rises leaving dissolved solids in the boiling chamber, and the vapor is condensed back to liquid in a cooled coil. Nothing is filtered in a distiller and nothing is boiled in a reverse osmosis unit.
What each one misses
The mechanisms fail differently, which is the practical answer to the question. Distillation is excellent against anything that stays behind when water boils, which is minerals, salts and metals, but compounds that boil at or below the temperature of water can travel with the steam and condense back into the product unless the distiller carries a carbon stage to catch them. Reverse osmosis rejects dissolved salts very effectively but relies on carbon prefilters to protect the membrane from chlorine, and a neglected prefilter degrades both taste and membrane life.
How they behave in a kitchen
Reverse osmosis runs quietly in the background, fills a tank and dispenses on demand, and consumes water it sends to the drain. A distiller is a countertop appliance that you fill, switch on and wait for, uses a substantial amount of electricity to boil every batch, and leaves scale in the boiling chamber that you scrub out. Neither is better in the abstract. If you want a steady supply with no attention, reverse osmosis; if you want a small batch of very consistent water with no plumbing at all, a distiller.
Are they interchangeable for what you need it for
For drinking, cooking and coffee, most people cannot tell them apart, and both taste flat compared with mineral water because both remove the minerals that give water flavor. Where a manufacturer specifically calls for distilled water, in a steam iron or certain medical devices, follow that instruction rather than substituting. For general household use they substitute for one another freely. Our reverse osmosis water filter cost page covers what the equipment side of that choice looks like.
The decision most homes actually face
Almost nobody is choosing between two abstract water types. They are choosing between installing a system and buying jugs. A plumbed reverse osmosis system produces treated water at the tap for a fraction of what the same volume costs in bottles, which is why it wins for households drinking any quantity. Buying distilled water by the jug makes sense for occasional appliance use, not as a household drinking supply.
Questions people ask about is reverse osmosis water the same as distilled water
Which one produces purer water?
Distillation usually edges it on dissolved minerals, while a reverse osmosis system with good carbon stages handles chlorine and organics better. In practice both leave water with very little dissolved content.
Can I use reverse osmosis water where distilled is specified?
Often yes for household purposes, but follow any manufacturer instruction that names distilled specifically. Devices sensitive to residual minerals are specified that way for a reason worth respecting.
Do both taste the same?
Both taste flat because the minerals that carry flavor are gone. Some people add a remineralization cartridge to a reverse osmosis system to restore the mouthfeel, which is not an option with a distiller.
Which is cheaper to run at home?
Reverse osmosis, in almost every case. It runs on line pressure and sends some water to drain, while a distiller pays to boil every single batch of water it makes.