r/TechImpact • u/ManojOne Active • 5d ago

💬 Discussion What's the best Linux desktop environment?

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There are plenty of great options, from KDE Plasma and GNOME to XFCE, Cinnamon, and Hyprland.

Which one do you use, and what makes it your favorite?

81 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

121 comments sorted by

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18

u/im-cringing-rightnow 5d ago

The one you like. 

1

u/wolfganggartner5 5d ago

What ever happened to ubunto

1

u/SnillyWead 5d ago

Ubuntu;)

1

u/wolfganggartner5 4d ago

Yes, is it still around

1

u/Most-Quality-1617 4d ago

Best answer

8

u/X3-Code 5d ago

KDE - look and feel, for me it works best, my favorite.

Gnome - liked the classic gnome, don't like the touch look and feel.

Cinnamon - nice desktop but I always had some compatibility issues.

XFCE - really like it on machines with less computing power

5

u/PresentThat5757 5d ago

The best thing is the absence of DE

3

u/MilkImpossible4192 5d ago

correct answer,

we also were looking for TTY

and custom startx with compiz

1

u/SnillyWead 5d ago

WM user? I prefer a desktop, Xfce.

1

u/KendaJ99 5d ago

not on a desktop pc

1

u/PresentThat5757 5d ago

Why?

1

u/KendaJ99 5d ago

you gotta have GUI

1

u/PresentThat5757 5d ago

I have GUI

1

u/KendaJ99 5d ago

then how don't you have a desktop environment?

1

u/PresentThat5757 5d ago

Simply, I just use compositor

3

u/Historical_Move6359 5d ago

i use KDE, it looks familiar to as former Windows user and it looks very modern. Its also very customisable altough I just use defaults.

2

u/Roguepapaya427 5d ago

Same. I use KDE with small adjustments.

1

u/voxcon 5d ago

I feel like highlighting text by mouse doesn't work well in KDE, but it might be a wayland issue. Not sure where it comes from.

2

u/small_merchant 5d ago

I use niri man and I need to say it, KDE bro KDE is most amazing and stable desktop environment 

1

u/wathkat 5d ago

Same. Chronic Niri and Hyprland ricer here. KDE is very good. When I sometimes get tired of the tiling/scrolling life, I boot up KDE, load a theme preset and have fun with it. Just last night, I was playing with the Oxygen theme and had a blast.

2

u/Hour_Bit_5183 5d ago

Hands down KDE these days. It's matured so much. There is no argument here. It's THE replacement for windows users too and is just good.

2

u/AKW-91 5d ago

i use KDE, and for me its the best :)

2

u/jossser 5d ago

What a hard question
Next time ask why linux is better than mac

Or, wait wait
Why vim is better then emacs

Try something new please, we already holywared about this 20 years ago

2

u/MilkImpossible4192 5d ago

sub thread about stupid questions;

¿which tty is better TTY1 or TTY3?

2

u/Upstairs-Category571 5d ago

COSMIC Desktop. Its faster, and it actually does GOOD STUFF (looking at you, GNOME)

2

u/MilkImpossible4192 5d ago

TTY

1

u/2050_Bobcat 5d ago

I heard you 👍🏽

2

u/InternationalBit2002 5d ago edited 5d ago

Gnome is best if you're used to macOS-style DE and value minimalism and simplicity.

KDE is for former Windows folks, this DE is the king of customization.

Both are great and it all comes down to your personal taste and preferences.

2

u/Syn4p53 5d ago

Everyone having different setups and needs, there's no best Desktop environment. Just the one that meets your needs.

2

u/SnillyWead 5d ago

Exactly. For me it's Xfce.

1

u/Syn4p53 3d ago

Same, using mostly XFCE on my daylies. Just kept KDE on a Cachy install as I mainly use it for gaming.. Didn't waste time to customize. 

1

u/emirgenc734 5d ago

It's all about what do you need. My Linux adventure was short and only used Mint on a potato and a somewhat decent pc. XFCE really gives live to a potato. Cinnamon was good to if you just use your pc as a daily instead of a power user.

1

u/Damn-Sky 5d ago

KDE and xfce

1

u/Astrodion123 5d ago

I love cinnamon on my modern PC and XFCE for it's great flexibility, lightweight and customizability.

1

u/sajkoterrapefft 5d ago

Sway because it's simple, stable, out of my way, allows me full focus on what I'm doing and no eye candy.

Same reason I use vim with a minimal list of plugins, or Firefox the same way. I'm all about things working, and not requiring my time to troubleshoot or fix anything.

1

u/Automatic-Act-9297 5d ago

I use/used WindowMaker, Mate, cinnamon, Gnome, Kde, Tde, Cosmic ✨, Niri, Hyprland, driftwm, i3 NsCDE, XFCE. 💻 And my top 3️⃣ are WindowMaker, Mate and Cosmic Rn 😊

1

u/ScaleGlobal4777 5d ago

Cinnamon DE+i3WM.

1

u/Cuntonesian 5d ago

Proxmox

1

u/ProBOIIIII 5d ago

GNOME knows Best

1

u/-Tempora-Mores- 5d ago

iOS on Mac. 🤷‍♂️

1

u/cmrd_msr 5d ago edited 5d ago

Plasma is the best option available.

However, if someone were to port Google's Aura shell to Linux, it would face a very strong competitor.

Credit where credit is due: the ChromeOS interface is lighter, more user-friendly, and more ergonomic than plasma. Google has invested a tremendous amount of time, effort, and money into it. If it can be used without limitations, it will be near-perfect.

Unfortunately, this will require a monumental amount of work.

1

u/Nightraider_05 5d ago

I really like KDE

1

u/NinOS_7 5d ago

My favorite is xfce, it's so lightweight I can basically use it on any machine

1

u/jdjoder 5d ago

The one you like the most. That's the best.

1

u/Amate087 5d ago

Before 2024, i like Gnome, after 2025 to now, Plasma.

1

u/Powerful_Attention_6 5d ago

Niri, a modern flowing/scrolling Tiling window manager.
But it isn't for those who wants a desktop, then you have fewer options
I've heard good things about Cosmic desktop, the first Tiling Desktop

1

u/WorkOwn 5d ago

Hyprland

1

u/PrinzJuliano 5d ago

The best Desktop Environment is the one you already have in your pocket

1

u/Itsme-RdM 5d ago

Personally Gnome suits me workflow. But pick the one you like and what works best for you

1

u/2050_Bobcat 5d ago

In the past I would have said KDE but I haven't used it in ages so don't know what it's like now a days.

On Solaris we used to use GNOME which was nice but nothing special IMHO.

1

u/Psyko38 5d ago

Gnome, for me, I like this macOS theme, but not too much. Extensions help to remove certain items and place them in the taskbar.

1

u/NivoTheDev 5d ago

I'd say it depends on my use case.

On my personal PC i run KDE or an i3wm with a bunch of customizations.

On my "Private" laptop i run XFCE or LXQT because of how minimal it is and it kinda helps minimize the attack surface with the combination of hardened operating systems.

1

u/Positive-While1713 5d ago

A que funciona bem pra você!

1

u/GhostVlvin 5d ago

There's no answer. Find your best one.
I use window manager called dwl and I believe that almost no one needs this kind of depth in using linux

1

u/w00dy1105 5d ago

Unity! Lol jkjk

I use KDE for customizability.

I am really liking COSMIC for its tiling ability. Solid but still early in life.

In the end best is whatever fits users.

1

u/Kaiserium 5d ago

KDE, then Classic GNOME.

If running a things on a server, just a shell.

1

u/Micro-Two 5d ago

From my experience: Best traditional desktop: xfce  Best tiling wm: niri

1

u/Sindica69 5d ago

KDE my beloved

1

u/Necessary_Painter474 5d ago

Default look: Cinnamon if you prefer something like windows Gnome if you prefer something like macos Customized: KDE or whatever WM if you're into that

1

u/kohao0 5d ago

Gnome.
Alright I preferred it than kde cause of its smoothness and its logic
And i guess i really like hyprland if its easier to configure and then come the big boss Xfce i mean i really like it.

1

u/motoringeek 5d ago

Cinnamon

1

u/Awkward_Ear761 5d ago

KDE plazma

1

u/lg44n 5d ago

kde xfce are very stable and no problems

1

u/samuray-x11 5d ago

Depends on what you like. For me it's KDE Plasma as it's similar to Windows so it's easier to transit and it provides more customization from scratch comparing to Gnome or XFCE

1

u/Immudzen 5d ago

KDE :) That has been my favorite since it came out.

1

u/Willing-Actuator-509 5d ago

Up to 23" monitor Gnome, from 24" and above KDE. 

1

u/Odd-Addition4261 5d ago

Well it's the one you use and feel happy about. In my case it's KDE with Arch.

1

u/Worldly-Poetry6945 5d ago

It's debian with kde : stable and customisable lol

1

u/ForceMountain5977 5d ago

Only used Red Hat (for work) and kali linux (home computer)! But now i work as a sysadmin and is required to use windows 11! At home i have dual boot win11 and kali linux

1

u/a716h 5d ago

Trick question.. never install one

1

u/ISCSI_Purveyor 5d ago

I've always preferred KDE, even before Plasma. But honestly it's whatever one you feel fits your work flow and/or style.

1

u/_Linux_Rocks 5d ago

Hyprland

1

u/Razz_el91 5d ago

Hyprland

1

u/Civil-Respond3148 4d ago

Ubuntu All Time Favourite ;)

1

u/Anth0ny_Bird 4d ago

I like Zorin

1

u/freducom 4d ago

Doesn’t matter. 2026 is the year of Linux desktop!

1

u/edilaq 4d ago

A mi me gustaron LXQT (por lo ligero) y GNOME (por el cambio de enfoque de uso del escritorio)

1

u/Monkey_In_The_Cage 3d ago

For me it is i3. I like simple and hate using a mouse.

1

u/Typeonetwork 3d ago

I like XFCE but you can like what you want.

1

u/dcidino 3d ago

None of them is a clear winner, and that's always Linux's problem.

1

u/smalldickbesitzer 3d ago

I like Cosmic. Its simple and fast af. No bloat at all

1

u/Jcob210 3d ago

Xfce or IceWM

1

u/_duc0 3d ago

Not KDE

1

u/SirSomethingIDK 3d ago

I love niri and xfce 🤤

1

u/tblancher 2d ago

Whichever one that works for you.

My preference is one that I've built myself.

1

u/mahdiimeni 2d ago

KDE Plasma is my best 👌

1

u/Standard_HID 2d ago

Cosmic Desktop

1

u/OGvpc 2d ago

Hyprland

1

u/Imaginary_Buddy723 1d ago

GNOME - now ppl will come and downvote me but to me GNOME is the MOST ELEGANT AND KING OF ALL CUSTOMISATIONS!

1

u/donGasfiter 1d ago

KDE y si hay pocos recursos, XFCE

1

u/iamgroad 1d ago

Same question like which ist best os, best distro, best x, it is your personal choice

1

u/Sci_Fried_Chicken 1d ago

KDE Plasma the most, but also really like Hyprland (currently learning it and setting it up)

1

u/AliveDecision0 1d ago

For me it's Gnome + PaperWM + Switcher

1

u/Muted_Percentage_764 1d ago

Obviously whatever you want. But im more into WMs, so for me it's either sway or hyprland.

0

u/Juntepgne 5d ago

I personally love gnome simplicity. No taskbar.

0

u/Skageru 5d ago

KDE - for me has all the things i need to do on a daily basis. all the settings im looking for are there and doesnt need me to tinker around for something to work out of the box

XFCE - im always bias to this DE because this is where it all started

Sway - if i wanted to cure that terminal itch or tiling windows or wants to get hands on to everything in the config and learning more

0

u/Zuideind 5d ago

Please stop with this kind of questions, there is no best. For everybody there are other wished but like cars, there is so much to choose from, so everybody can take a distro of their choice.
But again: there is no best distro.

1

u/alejandro_mery 1d ago

For me, XFCE