The Best GNOME AlternativesTop Desktop Environments & Window Managers like GNOME

GNOME is described as '3 has been designed from the ground up to help you have the best possible computing experience. Learn about what it has to offer' and is a very popular desktop environment in the os & utilities category. There are more than 25 alternatives to GNOME for a variety of platforms, including Linux, BSD, Windows, Mac and Linux Mobile apps. The best GNOME alternative is KDE Plasma, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like GNOME are Xfce, Cinnamon, MATE and LXDE.

GNOME alternatives are mainly Desktop Environments but may also be Window Managers or Application Launchers. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of GNOME.

GNOME

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Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment

GNOME 3 has been designed from the ground up to help you have the best possible computing experience. Learn about what it...

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KDE Plasma
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Linux
BSD
postmarketOS
25 KDE Plasma alternatives
Plasma is a cross-device work environment by the KDE Community where trust is put on the user's capacity to best define their own workflow and preferences.
- - KDE Plasma is the most popular Linux alternative to GNOME.
- - KDE Plasma is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to GNOME.
Suggest and vote on features
KDE Plasma Features
1. LightweightKDE Plasma consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsKDE Plasma can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
3. Dark ModeKDE Plasma supports dark mode for comfortable usage in low light conditions.
4. Ad-freeKDE Plasma doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
5. Privacy focusedKDE Plasma is considered a privacy friendly alternative.
6. Support for scriptingKDE Plasma supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
7. No TrackingKDE Plasma will not track you or use your personal data.
8. Full-Text SearchKDE Plasma lets you search for specific words or phrases from inside a document or database.
9. Support for Multiple MonitorsKDE Plasma supports the use of multiple displays.
Customizable
Themes
Transparency
Blurry transparency
Optimized for Fastboot mode
Comments about KDE Plasma as a Alternative to GNOME
Almost everyone thinks KDE Plasma is a great GNOME alternative.
all • positive • negative relevance • date
Paul
As stable and lightweight as GNOME, but way more customizable, which is why I prefer KDE over GNOME.
Top positive comment •
0

kiminariyamamoto
High configurability and more options than GNOME.
Top positive comment •
5

Guest
It actually cares about it's users
Positive comment •
0

Guest
Instead of forcing you to use a specific workflow, KDE gives you the tools you need to make it work with whatever workflow suits your needs. It's not just how it looks that's configurable, you can also easily configure how application windows operate - such as forcing fullscreen programs to run in a window.
Positive comment •
0

nextgensparx
It's faster, uses less system resources, is vastly more customizable, has better HiDPI support, is developed more rapidly and its development team actually listens to users' feedback rather than removing features on a whim.
Positive comment •
1

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5 of 9 comments
Xfce
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Window Manager
Linux
BSD
25 Xfce alternatives
Xfce (pronounced as four individual letters) is a free software desktop environment for Unix and other Unix-like platforms, such as Linux, Solaris and BSD. It aims to be fast and lightweight, while still being visually appealing and easy to use.
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Xfce Features
1. LightweightXfce consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsXfce can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
3. Support for Multiple MonitorsXfce supports the use of multiple displays.
Customizable
Modular System
Comments about Xfce as a Alternative to GNOME
Almost everyone thinks Xfce is a great GNOME alternative.
Daltro Auguso Campanher de Souza
Good library-agnostic (Gtk/Qt) environment, specially for those who didn't want fancy UI or a too much refined UX. It's just classic desktop, and works good.
Comment •
1

Roman Rokon
Low resource usage & very stable
Positive comment •
2

Guest
Lightweight, nice and fast
Positive comment •
1
Cinnamon
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Window Manager
Linux
BSD
23 Cinnamon alternatives
Cinnamon is a Linux desktop which provides advanced innovative features and a traditional user experience. The desktop layout is similar to GNOME 2. The underlying technology is forked from GNOME Shell.
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Cinnamon Features
1. Dark ModeCinnamon supports dark mode for comfortable usage in low light conditions.
2. No TrackingCinnamon will not track you or use your personal data.
3. Privacy focusedCinnamon is considered a privacy friendly alternative.
4. LightweightCinnamon consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
High-dpi support
Customizable
Comments about Cinnamon as a Alternative to GNOME
Almost everyone thinks Cinnamon is a great GNOME alternative.
Guest
Very handy, working well, great applets and themes. Little too high on resources though. This is my personal favourite.
Positive comment •
1

Guest
Very customizable. Resource friendly. Very responsive.
Positive comment •
-2
MATE
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Linux
BSD
FreeBSD
OpenIndiana
GhostBSD
22 MATE alternatives
Many users of GNOME 2 dislike GNOME 3. MATE is a fork of the good old GNOME 2. It provides an intuitive and attractive desktop environment using traditional metaphors for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems.
MATE has no features, suggest some!

Comments about MATE as a Alternative to GNOME
Almost everyone thinks MATE is a great GNOME alternative.
John Fastman
Mate is an open source desktop environment forked from GNOME 2. That happened because GNOME 3 was not to some people's liking; it drastically changed how the desktop experience is organized. Mate is highly customizable, relatively light on resources, a tiny bit dated now, but very usable and gives XFCE a run for its money.
Positive comment •
-1
LXDE
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Linux
BSD
26 LXDE alternatives
The "Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment" is an extremely fast-performing and energy-saving desktop environment. Maintained by an international community of developers, it comes with a beautiful interface, multi-language support...
Suggest and vote on features
LXDE Features
1. LightweightLXDE consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
X server
Opinions about LXDE as a Alternative to GNOME
Almost everyone thinks LXDE is a great GNOME alternative.
Budgie
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Window Manager
Linux
24 Budgie alternatives
The Budgie Desktop is a feature-rich, modern desktop designed to keep out the way of the user. It consists of a number of components to provide a more complete desktop experience.
Budgie has no features, suggest some!

Comments about Budgie as a Alternative to GNOME
Almost everyone thinks Budgie is a great GNOME alternative.
Snow Code
Budgie has a great look and can be customized very easily. Also Budgie is a great choice for low-end devices that cannot support GNOME while still having a kind of GNOME feel.
Positive comment •
0

Aaron C.
Budgie is amazing, it's like a lighter weight, more customizable version of Gnome, with the same utilities and everything. I loved using it with Manjaro, but I switched to Fedora for unrelated reasons, and it's not in the official repositories yet (it is coming soon in Fedora 37 though) If you use a Debian (Ubuntu, Mint, etc.) or Arch (Manjaro, etc.) based distro, I highly recommend Budgie right now!
Positive comment •
0

Guest
Good looking, easy to use, feature rich, low resource usage, low RAM usage,
Positive comment •
2
LXQt
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Window Manager
Linux
BSD
25 LXQt alternatives
LXQt is the Qt port and the upcoming version of LXDE, the Lightweight Desktop Environment. It is the product of the merge between the LXDE-Qt and the .
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LXQt Features
1. LightweightLXQt consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
QT Based
X server
Opinions about LXQt as a Alternative to GNOME
Almost everyone thinks LXQt is a great GNOME alternative.
i3
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Window Manager
Linux
BSD
44 i3 alternatives
i3 is a dynamic tiling window manager with clean, readable and documented code, featuring extended Xinerama support, usage of libxcb instead of xlib and several improvements over wmii.
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i3 Features
1. Lightweighti3 consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Tiling Window Manager
Tiling
Tabbed interface
X server
Built-in bar/panel
Highly costomizable
Mod Keys