Comparison of desktop environments

See Desktop environment for the main article.

See also Wikipedia:Comparison of X Window System desktop environments.

Overview of desktop environments

Desktop environment	Widget toolkit	Window manager	Taskbar	Terminal emulator	File manager	Calculator	Text editor	Image viewer	Media player	Document viewer	Web browser	Display manager
Budgie	gtk3	budgie-desktop	budgie-desktop	gnome-terminal	nautilus	gnome-calculator	gedit	eog	totem	evince	epiphany	gdm
Cinnamon	gtk3	muffin	cinnamon	gnome-terminal	nemo	gnome-calculator	gedit	eog	totem	evince	Firefox	lightdm-gtk-greeter
Deepin	gtk2 gtk3 qt5-base	deepin-wm	deepin-dock	deepin-terminal	deepin-file-manager	deepin-calculator	deepin-editor	deepin-image-viewer	deepin-movie	evince	Chromium	deepin-session-ui
EDE	fltk	pekwm	edeAUR	xterm	fluffAUR	zalcAUR	fltk-editorAUR	edeAUR	flmusicAUR	flaxpdf-gitAUR	dillo	xorg-xdm
Enlightenment	efl	enlightenment	enlightenment	terminology	enlightenment	equate-gitAUR	ecrire-gitAUR	ephoto-gitAUR	rageAUR	eevee	links	xorg-xdm
GNOME	gtk3	mutter	gnome-shell	gnome-terminal	nautilus	gnome-calculator	gedit	eog	totem	evince	epiphany	gdm
GNOME Flashback	gtk3	metacity	gnome-panel	gnome-terminal	nautilus	gnome-calculator	gedit	eog	totem	evince	epiphany	gdm
KDE Plasma	qt5-base	kwin	plasma-desktop	konsole	dolphin	kcalc	kwrite kate	gwenview	dragon	okular	konqueror	sddm
Liri	qt5-base	greenislandAUR	liri-shell-gitAUR	liri-terminal	liri-files	liri-calculator	liri-text	eyesightAUR	liri-player	qpdfview	liri-browser-gitAUR	sddm
LXDE GTK+ 2	gtk2	Openbox	lxpanel	lxterminal	pcmanfm	galculator-gtk2	leafpad	gpicview	lxmusic	epdfview	midori	lxdm
LXDE GTK+ 3	gtk3	Openbox	lxpanel-gtk3	lxterminal	pcmanfm-gtk3	galculator	l3afpad	gpicview-gtk3	lxmusic-gtk3	atril	midori	lxdm-gtk3
LXQt	qt5-base	Openbox	lxqt-panel	qterminal	pcmanfm-qt	speedcrunch	notepadqq	lximage-qt	smplayer	qpdfview	falkon	sddm
MATE	gtk3	marco	mate-panel	mate-terminal	caja	mate-calc	pluma	eom	parole	atril	midori	lightdm-gtk-greeter
Pantheon	gtk3	gala-gitAUR	plank wingpanelAUR	pantheon-terminal	pantheon-files	pantheon-calculatorAUR	pantheon-code	pantheon-photos	pantheon-videos	evince	epiphany	lightdm-pantheon-greeterAUR
Sugar	gtk3	metacity	sugar	sugar-activity-terminal	sugar	sugar-activity-calculate	sugar-activity-write	sugar-activity-imageviewer	sugar-activity-jukebox	sugar-activity-read	sugar-activity-browse	lightdm-gtk-greeter
theShell	qt5-base	kwin	theshellAUR	theterminalAUR	thefileAUR	thecalculatorAUR	kwrite kate	gwenview	themediaAUR	okular	konqueror	lightdm-webkit-theme-contemporaryAUR
Trinity	TQt	TWin	Kicker	Konsole	Konqueror	KCalc	Kwrite Kate	Kuickshow	Kaffeine	KPDF	Konqueror	TDM
Xfce	gtk2 gtk3	xfwm4	xfce4-panel	xfce4-terminal	thunar	galculator	mousepad	ristretto	parole	epdfview	midori	lightdm-gtk-greeter

Resource use

In terms of system resources, GNOME and KDE are expensive desktop environments. Not only do complete installations consume more disk space than lightweight alternatives (LXDE, LXQt and Xfce) but also more CPU and memory resources while in use. This is because GNOME and KDE are relatively full-featured: they provide the most complete and well-integrated environments.

LXDE, LXQt and Xfce, on the other hand, are lightweight desktop environments. They are designed to work well on older or lower-power hardware and generally consume fewer system resources while in use. This is achieved by cutting back on extra features (which some would term bloat).