MATE AlternativesDesktop Environments and other similar apps like MATE

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 apps. The best MATE alternative is KDE Plasma, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like MATE are GNOME, Xfce, Cinnamon and COSMIC.

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

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MATE alternatives page was last updated May 8, 2025
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  1. KDE Plasma icon

    KDE Plasma

     435 likes
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    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.

    26 KDE Plasma alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • postmarketOS
    A typical Plasma desktop looks like this

    Properties

    1.  Customizable
    2.  Lightweight
    3.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Desktop Environment
    2.  Themes
    3.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    4.  Transparency
    5.  Blurry transparency
    6.  Dark Mode
    7.  No Tracking
    8.  Ad-free
    9.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    10.  Full-Text Search
    11.  No registration required
    12.  Support for scripting

    KDE Plasma VS MATE

     

    • Almost everyone thinks KDE Plasma is a great MATE alternative.

    • KDE Plasma is the most popular Linux alternative to MATE.

    • KDE Plasma is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to MATE.

    • KDE Plasma is Free and Open SourceMATE is also Free and Open Source
    • KDE Plasma is Customizable, Lightweight and Privacy focusedMATE is not according to our users
  2. GNOME icon

    GNOME

     490 likes
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    An easy and elegant way to use your computer, GNOME is designed to help you have the best possible computing experience.

    30 GNOME alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    GNOME 40

    Properties

    1.  Clean design
    2.  Optimal performance
    3.  Privacy focused
    4.  Lightweight
    5.  User friendly

    Features

    1.  Desktop Environment
    2.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  No Tracking
    7.  No registration required
    8.  Rolling Release
    9.  Themes

    GNOME VS MATE

     
  4. Xfce icon

    Xfce

     372 likes
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    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.

    26 Xfce alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    Xfce 4.14

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Customizable
    3.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Desktop Environment
    2.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    3.  Modular System
    4.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    5.  Works Offline
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  No registration required
    8.  Dark Mode
    9.  No Tracking

    Xfce VS MATE

     
    Comments about Xfce as an Alternative to MATE
    John Fastman
    Positive •Dec 31, 2016
    2

    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.

    MATE Icon
    Xfce icon
    • Xfce is Free and Open SourceMATE is also Free and Open Source
    • Xfce is Lightweight, Customizable and Privacy focusedMATE is not according to our users
  5. Cinnamon icon

    Cinnamon

     192 likes
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    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.

    24 Cinnamon alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • IE flagIreland
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    Cinnamon 4.2

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Lightweight
    3.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Dark Mode
    2.  High-dpi support
    3.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    4.  No Tracking
    5.  Ad-free

    Cinnamon VS MATE

     
  6. COSMIC icon

    COSMIC

     18 likes
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    COSMIC is the name for the main shell components in Pop_Shell.

    33 COSMIC alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Linux
    COSMIC screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  Dark Mode
    3.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    4.  Dock
    5.  No registration required
    6.  No Tracking

    COSMIC VS MATE

     
  7. LXDE icon

    LXDE

     120 likes
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    The "Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment" is an extremely fast-performing and energy-saving desktop environment.

    27 LXDE alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • TW flagTaiwan

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    Screenshot of the LXDE desktop. It's simple, lightweight, fast, modern, internationalized, and standard-compliant.

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  X server

    LXDE VS MATE

     
  9. LXQt icon

    LXQt

     49 likes
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    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 .

    25 LXQt alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • TW flagTaiwan

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    LXQt screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Desktop Environment
    2.  QT Based
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  No registration required
    5.  No Tracking
    6.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    7.  Dark Mode
    8.  X server

    LXQt VS MATE

     
  10. Budgie icon

    Budgie

     44 likes
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    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.

    25 Budgie alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • International

    Platforms

    • Linux
    A screenshot of the Budgie desktop running on Solus Linux. The Budgie settings manager is on the right, made specifically to customize the desktop. The rest of the settings are handled by the Gnome settings manager.

    Properties

    1.  Support for Themes
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  No registration required
    2.  Works Offline
    3.  No Tracking
    4.  Dark Mode
    5.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts

    Budgie VS MATE

     
    Comments about Budgie as an Alternative to MATE
    John Fastman
    Negative •Dec 31, 2016
    1

    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.

    MATE Icon
    Budgie icon
    • Budgie is Free and Open SourceMATE is also Free and Open Source
    • Budgie is Privacy focusedMATE is not according to our users
  11. Kera Desktop icon

    Kera Desktop

     8 likes
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    An easy, pleasant, speedy, and exciting way to use your favorite OS.

    34 Kera Desktop alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    Kera Desktop screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  No Tracking
    2.  Portable
    3.  Separated workspaces
    4.  Workspaces

    Kera Desktop VS MATE

     

    • Kera Desktop is the most popular Windows & Mac alternative to MATE.

    • Kera Desktop is Free and Open SourceMATE is also Free and Open Source
    • Kera Desktop is Lightweight and Privacy focusedMATE is not according to our users
  12. Enlightenment icon

    Enlightenment

     51 likes
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    Enlightenment is a Window Manager, Compositor and Minimal Desktop for Linux (the primary platform), BSD and any other compatible UNIX system.

    25 Enlightenment alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Enlightenment screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Wayland Support
    2.  X server

    Enlightenment VS MATE

     
  13. DDE icon

    DDE

     4 likes
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    DDE (Deepin Desktop Environment) is a Desktop Environment (DE) written in Qt for Deepin

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • CN flagChina

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Ubuntu
    • Deepin
    DDE screenshot 1

    DDE VS MATE

     
  14. Maui Shell icon

    Maui Shell

     3 likes
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    Maui Shell is a convergent shell for desktops, tablets, and phones.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • CR flagCosta Rica

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Maui Shell screenshot 1

    Maui Shell Features

    1.  Dark Mode
    2.  No registration required
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  Wayland Support
    5.  X server

    Maui Shell VS MATE

     
12 of 23 MATE alternatives