MATE Alternatives

MATE is described as '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' and is a very popular desktop environment in the os & utilities category. There are more than 10 alternatives to MATE for a variety of platforms, including Linux, BSD, Windows, Mac and Linux Mobile. The best alternative is KDE Plasma, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like MATE are GNOME, Xfce, Cinnamon and LXDE.

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

This page was last updated

MATE

138

Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment

Linux
BSD
FreeBSD
OpenIndiana
GhostBSD

Many users of GNOME 2 dislike GNOME 3. MATE is a fork of the good old GNOME 2. It provides an intuitive...

Learn more about MATE

KDE Plasma
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Linux
BSD
postmarketOS
24 alternatives to KDE Plasma
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.
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. Full-Text SearchKDE Plasma lets you search for specific words or phrases from inside a document or database.
Customizable
Themes
Transparency
Blurry transparency
Optimized for Fastboot mode
GNOME
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Window Manager
Linux
BSD
28 alternatives to GNOME
GNOME 3 has been designed from the ground up to help you have the best possible computing experience. Learn about what it has to offer.
Suggest and vote on features
GNOME Features
1. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsGNOME can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
2. LightweightGNOME consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
3. Privacy focusedGNOME is considered a privacy friendly alternative.
4. Support for Multiple MonitorsGNOME supports the use of multiple displays.
Clean design
Optimal performance
Themes
Xfce
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Window Manager
Linux
BSD
24 alternatives to Xfce
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.
Suggest and vote on features
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
Xfce vs MATE opinions
pros, cons and recent comments
JohnFastman
XFCE and MATE follow a very similar design philosophy and both are similar in the way they feel to customize. Both use the GTK+ toolkit and both are relatively light on resources, making both good choices for lower-spec/older computers.
Positive comment•
1
Cinnamon
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Linux
BSD
24 alternatives to Cinnamon
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.
Suggest and vote on features
Cinnamon Features
1. Dark ModeCinnamon supports dark mode for comfortable usage in low light conditions.
2. LightweightCinnamon consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
3. No TrackingCinnamon will not track you or use your personal data.
4. Privacy focusedCinnamon is considered a privacy friendly alternative.
High-dpi support
Customizable
LXDE
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Linux
BSD
25 alternatives to LXDE
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
Budgie
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Window Manager
Linux
24 alternatives to Budgie
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!

Budgie vs MATE opinions
pros, cons and recent comments
JohnFastman
Budgie is a newcomer to the desktop game. It lies on top of Gnome to give an updated and more intuitive look-and-feel. It's not a good replacement for MATE yet (might be in the future), mainly because it runs considerably slower and has quite a few unresolved bugs as of the time of writing. Promising, though.
Negative comment•
1
LXQt
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Linux
BSD
24 alternatives to LXQt
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 .
Suggest and vote on features
LXQt Features
1. LightweightLXQt consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
QT Based
X server
Enlightenment
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Window Manager
Mac
Linux
BSD
23 alternatives to Enlightenment
Enlightenment is not just a window manager for Linux/X11 and others, but also a whole suite of libraries to help you create beautiful user interfaces with much less work than doing it the old fashioned way and fighting with traditional toolkits, not to mention a traditional...
Suggest and vote on features
Enlightenment Features
1. LightweightEnlightenment consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Phosh
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Linux
Linux Mobile
GNOME
27 alternatives to Phosh
Phosh is a pure Wayland shell for GNOME on mobile devices like the Purism Librem 5.
Suggest and vote on features
Phosh Features
Portable Linux
DDE
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Window Manager
Linux
Ubuntu
Deepin
22 alternatives to DDE
DDE (Deepin Desktop Environment) is a Desktop Environment (DE) written in Qt for Deepin

DDE has no features, suggest some!

Showing 10 of 23 alternatives

KDE Plasma Features

GNOME Features

Xfce Features

Xfce vs MATE opinions

Cinnamon Features

LXDE Features

Budgie vs MATE opinions

LXQt Features

Enlightenment Features

Phosh Features