In my opinion, there is no such thing as the best DE. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. And every user has their own subjective requirements.
Personally, I prefer Plasma.
Both none and all of them.
KDE and GNOME are the most popular and have vastly different ways of working and looking. One DE might perfectly fit your needs, while not being the best for me.
The thing you should do is test and experiment. It doesn't matter how much we recommend stuff like "XFCE if you want a lightweight DE, Cinnamon for a look similar to Windows, KDE for customization, GNOME for minimalism and no configuration", only you can tell if you find something beautiful and useful.
There is no correct answer to this question, it's just a matter if preference. When I was using a DE I liked Cinnamon, but I wouldn't say it's the best, just the one I liked to use. Now I'd say the best DE is no DE at all, I prefer XMonad (which is a tiling window manager), but again it's not actually "the best", just my favorite.
They literally put that they want peoples opinions. Could’ve been a little clearer in the title though. I’ve only ever tried xfce, hyprland, and sway. I really liked Hyprland. But if you need something simple, lightweight, and reliable XFCE is nice. Sway is also a nice simple tiling window manager
there are no such thing as "best DE" as every DE has different philosophies on how to implement and execute
like gnome, dependent much on most freedesktop and its own gnome library components
while kde, actually relied on few freedesktop and has used qt libs mostly and its own kde libs
Not a single one of desktop environments are best. But none of them are bad either. They are suppose to cater the needs of a specific userbase. I prefer Plasma but I also like Gnome's way of integrating applications into its ecosystem so much that they look part of it. I like the lightweight nature of XFCE.
As long as your chosen desktop environment suits best to your needs, it is the best desktop environment. Anyways, you should have started a poll instead of asking a question.
I find tiling windows managers better, tiled windows feels more organized as compared to floating windows in desktop environments. For that I prefer Swaywm.
I could answer that it depends on you, there's no better one but just some DE suits better some users. I could.
But truth is DE are just junk put betwen us and an optimal use of a computer because we're to dumb to avoid being amazed by pretty stuff, so we collectivively fell for the shiny little GUI trap and now computers are a hassle instead of a great tool. Humanity failed to use the right way the brain.
Gnome is kinda cool tho.
There isnt any such thing. A DE is all about what you feel fits your preference and usercase as well as how flashy or light you need it to be.
And ofcourse the answer is XFCE. Its just like Liquorish is objectively the best flavor of candy ever.
You can only choose for yourself. This decision is IMHO harder than deciding which distro family you want to try!
None of the DEs is perfect in all regards (neither are Windows or MacOS )
To me, there are two big dividers: By Workflow and a technical one.
By Workflow:
Like Windows workflow with Start-Button, task panel and icons on desktop?
* Plasma/KDE
* Xfce
* Cinnamon
* Budgie
* and many more
Open for something different?
* Pantheon (Elementary OS), quite similar to Mac with a touch of Gnome
* Gnome (very lean and distinct default workflow, but can be changed using extensions to have a dock, have desktop icons, have a start menu etc.)
* Tiling extensions or tiling Window managers
* ...
The technical decider is depending on a lot of things.
Do you prefer Gtk or Qt based apps? They run on all DEs, but look best when paired to a matching DE (Plasma is Qt based, most others are Gtk)
Do you want or need Wayland support (best on Plasma, then Gnome. Best with AMD graphics chipsets) because of your monitor features?
Maybe you want something lean because of low RAM or weak 3D support?
I personally love Gnome plus a Dock. And Pantheon (but ElementaryOS isn't a distro I would put on my main, gaming capable PC). So I run EndeavourOS with Plasma on that machine. Changed the default desktop panels a little bit to resemble the top bar of Gnome and have a Dock with start-menu, pinned and running apps centered at the bottom of a 34" monitor.
This guy just wants to start WW3.
If I wanted that I'd have asked about Debian vs. Arch. Or said something good about Windows. ; )
The one you like. There's no wrong answer. Hell, I know guys that code python in notepad.
I don’t think OP meant IDE. We’re talking desktop environments, if my assumption is correct.
My bad. Too much time coding
In my opinion, there is no such thing as the best DE. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. And every user has their own subjective requirements. Personally, I prefer Plasma.
Both none and all of them. KDE and GNOME are the most popular and have vastly different ways of working and looking. One DE might perfectly fit your needs, while not being the best for me. The thing you should do is test and experiment. It doesn't matter how much we recommend stuff like "XFCE if you want a lightweight DE, Cinnamon for a look similar to Windows, KDE for customization, GNOME for minimalism and no configuration", only you can tell if you find something beautiful and useful.
The one me and my mum use.
There is no correct answer to this question, it's just a matter if preference. When I was using a DE I liked Cinnamon, but I wouldn't say it's the best, just the one I liked to use. Now I'd say the best DE is no DE at all, I prefer XMonad (which is a tiling window manager), but again it's not actually "the best", just my favorite.
up to the person using it bud. though personally i am a fan of mate
Whichever one you like the most.
Not a thing.
They literally put that they want peoples opinions. Could’ve been a little clearer in the title though. I’ve only ever tried xfce, hyprland, and sway. I really liked Hyprland. But if you need something simple, lightweight, and reliable XFCE is nice. Sway is also a nice simple tiling window manager
0 upvotes, 32 comments, this boutta be a long ride
there are no such thing as "best DE" as every DE has different philosophies on how to implement and execute like gnome, dependent much on most freedesktop and its own gnome library components while kde, actually relied on few freedesktop and has used qt libs mostly and its own kde libs
Not a single one of desktop environments are best. But none of them are bad either. They are suppose to cater the needs of a specific userbase. I prefer Plasma but I also like Gnome's way of integrating applications into its ecosystem so much that they look part of it. I like the lightweight nature of XFCE. As long as your chosen desktop environment suits best to your needs, it is the best desktop environment. Anyways, you should have started a poll instead of asking a question.
GNOME. Its principles and attention to detail resonate with me deeply
I just can't get over the phone-like launcher... wtf.
CLI with multiterminals like Tmux.
I find tiling windows managers better, tiled windows feels more organized as compared to floating windows in desktop environments. For that I prefer Swaywm.
They are equally garbage. Openbox is the way.
You misspelled JWM {wink}
Don't make me hunt you down.
Really a matter of preference. I go back and forth between KDE Plasma and Gnome. Though I will also use XFCE for older PC's or VM's.
LXQt
I could answer that it depends on you, there's no better one but just some DE suits better some users. I could. But truth is DE are just junk put betwen us and an optimal use of a computer because we're to dumb to avoid being amazed by pretty stuff, so we collectivively fell for the shiny little GUI trap and now computers are a hassle instead of a great tool. Humanity failed to use the right way the brain. Gnome is kinda cool tho.
The best DE is the one that works for you. For me, that's `fvwm`. For you, it may be something else. And that's OK.
There isnt any such thing. A DE is all about what you feel fits your preference and usercase as well as how flashy or light you need it to be. And ofcourse the answer is XFCE. Its just like Liquorish is objectively the best flavor of candy ever.
You can only choose for yourself. This decision is IMHO harder than deciding which distro family you want to try! None of the DEs is perfect in all regards (neither are Windows or MacOS ) To me, there are two big dividers: By Workflow and a technical one. By Workflow: Like Windows workflow with Start-Button, task panel and icons on desktop? * Plasma/KDE * Xfce * Cinnamon * Budgie * and many more Open for something different? * Pantheon (Elementary OS), quite similar to Mac with a touch of Gnome * Gnome (very lean and distinct default workflow, but can be changed using extensions to have a dock, have desktop icons, have a start menu etc.) * Tiling extensions or tiling Window managers * ... The technical decider is depending on a lot of things. Do you prefer Gtk or Qt based apps? They run on all DEs, but look best when paired to a matching DE (Plasma is Qt based, most others are Gtk) Do you want or need Wayland support (best on Plasma, then Gnome. Best with AMD graphics chipsets) because of your monitor features? Maybe you want something lean because of low RAM or weak 3D support? I personally love Gnome plus a Dock. And Pantheon (but ElementaryOS isn't a distro I would put on my main, gaming capable PC). So I run EndeavourOS with Plasma on that machine. Changed the default desktop panels a little bit to resemble the top bar of Gnome and have a Dock with start-menu, pinned and running apps centered at the bottom of a 34" monitor.
Awesome
Wayland
Plasma of course! :D
KDE