Whats the difference between MATE, KDE Plasma, LXDE, Cinnamon?
Whats the difference between MATE, KDE Plasma, LXDE, Cinnamon?
That's normal as you're starting out. In Windows you only have one pair of jeans and everybody's wearing it. Makes it easy, no choice, just go with the flow, less neuron activity. Later, when you'll start to get the hang of it, you won't see it as confusion anymore, you will see it as choice and feel free because you can do it YOUR WAY. Freedom is confusing when you get out of prison.
Pick your Linux style first, not the look-and-feel of the interface. As a beginner, focus on how easy it is to use, which programs you need, how reliable it is, and the community that helps you. Make sure your hardware matches what you need—buy what you require rather than expecting it to fit. For instance, Mint set a high standard by bundling codecs and smooth functionality right out of the box, with a modern installer that lets you sort by function or category (though it no longer sticks to its old CD-based approach). This is why it has kept improving and now leads in rankings on popular sites like Distrowatch.
If you want to bring back older gear, consider PepperMint and Bodhi. Slitaz (80MB) and Porteus (300MB) use very little memory, but aren’t as straightforward as the first two. If your system is more powerful, Mint is a strong choice—Ubuntu with better choices than Canonical’s past decisions. It’s a solid upgrade from the original XFCE, which was efficient but outdated compared to newer alternatives like OpenBox or Fluxbox.
MATÉ is lighter than XFCE and still offers a clean interface. MATÉ takes up about half the space of XFCE, making it a better pick if you value size. Cinnammon (and KDE) are best suited for cutting-edge hardware, but they can be complex and less stable. KDE remains popular among long-time users, while Cinnammon is an improved Gnome3 option that’s still developing.
LXDE is decent but only saves a few megabytes. Unless you need specific apps, it’s not worth the effort. PepperMint6 (not 7) and Bodhi 4.1 are solid picks—Mint for beginners, Bodhi for ease and efficiency. Slitaz and Porteus are compact but less intuitive.
When choosing a window manager, remember that it mainly affects usability, not performance. You don’t need to stress over every detail unless you’re deeply technical. Most modern distros offer good options, and picking the right one depends on your needs and hardware.
Maybe you were considering Unity running on Ubuntu. It's been revealed that Unity is being phased out, because not everyone was completely willing to give up on Ubuntu at any expense. Regarding the placement of taskbars, shelves, or panels—no matter the name they use—you can adjust their position and appearance in most window managers. Usually you just right-click in the taskbar or panel and modify settings. In other cases, you might right-click on the desktop or open the menu to access system preferences. Just try it out; you won't face any issues. Initially, KDE was the main player. Then they tried licensing KDE and charged a premium for it. Eventually, people responded by creating different alternatives, each with its own approach and goals. Some focused on using modern programming languages that made things faster but produced more code, while others prioritized simplicity and efficiency, even if it meant extra effort. This reflects a common choice: picking a philosophy or priority from many options.
Previously yes, but KDE Plasma 5 performs well in terms of speed and memory consumption and has become increasingly popular since the launch of KDE Neon. Recent development has been fast. It varies by application. KDE Frameworks 5 offers a more modular design, meaning programs relying on specific components require less integration. Additionally, even with many installed dependencies, your system won't necessarily slow down; it may simply consume more disk space. When you launch Chromium or Firefox, the memory differences between desktop environments tend to diminish. This chart lacks labeled axes. The question about size refers to RAM consumption versus disk usage—currently, KDE Plasma, Gnome 3, Cinnamon, and Unity use similar amounts of RAM, though KDE Plasma might utilize more disk space overall.
Update on the Graphic, LXDE, Cinnamon and related notes: Regarding the graphics, that is the memory consumption of each window manager a few years ago when this comparison was made. Today things are a bit different but still quite similar. LXDE has some feedback suggesting it should be included. I regret not providing more thorough coverage. It remains a solid option, though the popular distros that use it and have been tested didn’t reach the final stage—I’d like to note that my memory is still functioning well enough for those earlier versions. Among them, PepperMint blends aspects of LXDE and XFCE (I think it uses LXDE’s UI and some XFCE features), making it a very stable release with lower system needs than typical Mint distributions. Those in the same line of thought as Mint were dropped—such as WattOS, LXLE, LinuxLite—but naming all hundreds of alternatives didn’t make sense. The mentioned PepperMint incorporates elements from both LXDE and XFCE, and it’s a well-rounded distro with fewer requirements than average Mint releases. There are other “flavors” of Mint to consider: XFCE, KDE, MATÉ. Pick one that suits you now. KDE is the heaviest but offers a wide range of top software thanks to its older base. It’s ideal for modern hardware that easily meets current demands. If you dislike clutter or want something lighter, XFCE is a solid pick for compatibility and continuity with lightweight systems. MATÉ is another option if you prefer minimalism. XFCE isn’t obsolete; developers behind Mepis and AntiX (a lightweight distro for beginners) released MX-16 and MX-17, which rely on XFCE. Experienced users praise these updates. Here, XFCE stands out—not just as a side note, but as a core part of its design. Bodhi 4.2 with its modified e17 environment could have been a top choice for user-friendly, straightforward distros… except for one minor issue: the menu behavior when launched near the screen’s edge. It doesn’t flow to the other side automatically; instead, it shifts after reaching the last column of pixels on the border, requiring manual adjustment each time you open another menu level. This small quirk can be frustrating. When evaluating a distro, the team behind it matters. If they grow larger and more inclusive, we might reconsider Bodhi and give it the recognition it deserves.
With this thread back online, here are the latest memory usage figures that provide a better understanding of how different distributions and desktop environments perform. The comparison covers around 20 distros across various flavors. As shown, lighter distributions like Debian tend to use similar amounts of RAM regardless of the DE chosen. Even when looking at Xubuntu versus Kubuntu, the difference is minimal—less than 100MB. The data doesn’t include CPU or GPU metrics, so if your processor is underpowered, you might still want a lightweight DE. For modern CPUs from the past five to seven years, options like KDE, GNOME, Cinnamon, Budgie, or Pantheon should work well.