GNOME AlternativesOnly apps from the EU

The best alternative to GNOME is KDE Plasma, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to GNOME and five of them are so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting alternatives to GNOME are Xfce, Cinnamon, Lomiri and Bluetile.

filter to find the best alternatives

GNOME alternatives are mainly Desktop Environments, but if you're looking for Window Managers or Application Launchers you can filter on that. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to GNOME.
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Alternatives list

  1. KDE Plasma icon

    KDE Plasma

     480 likes

    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.

    30 KDE Plasma alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • postmarketOS
    • openSUSE
    • Arch Linux
    • Fedora
    • FreeBSD
    • SteamOS
    • Wayland
    A typical Plasma desktop looks like this
     
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    9
    KDE Plasma vs GNOME Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Paul
    1

    As stable and lightweight as GNOME, but way more customizable, which is why I prefer KDE over GNOME.

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    It actually cares about it's users

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    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.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 9 comments
    • KDE Plasma is Free and Open SourceGNOME is also Free and Open Source
    • KDE Plasma is CustomizableGNOME is not according to our users
  2. Xfce icon

    Xfce

     380 likes

    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.

    29 Xfce alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    Xfce 4.14
     
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    3
    Xfce vs GNOME Comments
    Daltro Auguso Campanher de Souza
    2

    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.

    Guest
    Positive
    2

    Lightweight, nice and fast

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Roman Rokon
    Positive
    3

    Low resource usage & very stable

    • Xfce is Free and Open SourceGNOME is also Free and Open Source
    • Xfce is Lightweight and CustomizableGNOME is not according to our users
  4. Cinnamon icon

    Cinnamon

     201 likes

    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.

    26 Cinnamon alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    Cinnamon 4.2
     
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    2
    Cinnamon vs GNOME Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    Very handy, working well, great applets and themes. Little too high on resources though. This is my personal favourite.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    -2

    Very customizable. Resource friendly. Very responsive.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • Cinnamon is Free and Open SourceGNOME is also Free and Open Source
    • Cinnamon is Customizable and LightweightGNOME is not according to our users
  5. Lomiri icon

    Lomiri

     2 likes

    Lomiri is the open source mobile and desktop environment that adapts to you computing needs. Supported on all kinds devices.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Linux Mobile
    • Ubuntu Touch
    Lomiri screenshot 1
     
  6. Bluetile icon

    Bluetile

     8 likes

    Bluetile is a tiling window manager for Linux, designed to integrate with the GNOME desktop environment. It provides both a traditional, stacking layout mode as well as tiling layouts where windows are arranged to use the entire screen without overlapping.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Bluetile screenshot 1
     
5 of 5 GNOME alternatives