Summary
As a long-time Linux user, I’ve dabbled with various desktop environments. While GNOME is the most popular, I believe KDE offers a superior experience in customization, functionality, and performance. Here’s why I like KDE more than GNOME and why you might too.
Why GNOME Is More Popular Than KDE
From preference to performance and everything in between, there are many factors contributing toGNOME’s increased popularity overKDE. However, if I had to pick the most important ones, it would be these:
In contrast, KDE’s first desktop environment—K Desktop Environment 1—was released in 1998, before GNOME, and was expected to dominate the desktop scene. However, it facedcontroversy for using the Qt toolkit as its base—which wasn’t fully open-source at the time.
As a result, more developers embraced GNOME because it was a true open-source alternative. Granted, Qt was later released under the GPL license in 2000, but by then, GNOME had already gained significant momentum.
My Problems With GNOME
My issues with GNOME can be attributed to the very reason behind its popularity—simplicity. While simplicity can be an advantage for new users, I find GNOME overly simplistic. For instance, this is how GNOME looks like without any modifications or skins.
There are no apps, folders, or files, and you get a thin top bar that only shows the time and date, the quick settings, and the Activities button. That’s it! You are basically sacrificing functionality for simplicity, which can take a toll on overall productivity.
Also, despite GNOME’s minimal approach, it’s actually one of the bulkiest desktop environments. Right after a fresh boot, GNOME running on Fedora 40 consumes 2.5GB RAM. It might seem less when compared to Windows, but in the Linux world, this is huge!
Now, to be fair, you canuse GNOME Extensionsto enable desktop icons and also have a dock or panel to quickly access pinned and currently running apps. Unfortunately, each time GNOME releases a new update, a few of theextensions break. This means your custom set-ups with your favorite extensions and themes have a high likelihood of not working after upgrading to a newer GNOME version.
Why I Love KDE Over GNOME
I have used GNOME and I have used KDE, and if all other factors remain the same—like the distro and software availability—I’ll pick KDE again and again. So what is it about KDE Plasma that I love so much, and why do I think it’s better than GNOME?
KDE Offers a Familiar and Functional User Interface
By default, KDE Plasma has always looked similar to Windows, with current iterations looking like a modern version of Windows 7. You have a panel at the bottom functioning as the taskbar, with a start menu in the left corner, followed by a tray of icons where you can pin your favorite apps and view currently running programs.
In the right corner, you have the system tray for quick settings and time and date. you may have app icons, folders, files, and widgets on the desktop to maximize its utility and your efficiency.
KDE Is One of the Most Customizable Desktop Environments
While KDE Plasma’s default look resembles Windows, you can easily customize it to look like a Mac or something totally fresh and unique out of your imagination. For example, here’s Garuda Linux running KDE Plasma with a UI that resembles macOS.
Also, did you know that the Steam Deck’s operating system—SteamOS, uses KDE Plasmaas its desktop environment? This just goes to show how customizable and flexible it is.
Desktop customization on KDE is only limited by your imagination. You can make KDE look ultra-minimal, highly functional, or mimic a different operating system. It gives you access to all the necessary settings and tools to take control of the desktop and build something that fits your taste and requirements.
KDE Has Tons of Advanced Features for Power Users
KDE Plasma provides tons of advanced features to maximize your efficiency while using the desktop environment. Here’s a quick look at some of its most powerful features that I use every day to maximize my productivity:
KDE Is Resource-Efficient and Optimized for Performance
Despite having a modern and polished look, with access to numerous settings, and powerful features, KDE Plasma is incredibly resource-efficient. A fresh install of KDE Neon running KDE Plasma, following a fresh boot, consumes less than 1.5GB RAM.
This means you can run KDE-based Linux distributions on less powerful hardware. Also, on high-end systems, KDE’s small footprint ensures that most of your hardware resources are available for your applications.
A Massive Library of Apps Based on the Qt Toolkit
KDE Plasma uses theQt toolkit, while GNOME uses theGTK toolkit. As a result, sometimes Qt apps don’t take on the GNOME styling, and vice versa.
Fortunately,Qt is used by tons of popular applications, including DaVinci Resolve, OBS, VLC, VirtualBox, WPS Office, and many more. As a result, almost all the apps I use look great on my Plasma desktop and adhere to the set theming.
What’s more,KDE also has a large library of appsbased on Qt for almost all basic use cases—which, by the way, are really good. This means you can also stick to KDE’s first-party offerings and maintain a consistent look and feel across your desktop environment.
GNOME is more popular and accessible because it’s the default desktop environment with Ubuntu (which ships a modified version of GNOME) and Fedora, but that doesn’t make it the best or the right choice for you. After reading this, I hope you can see how KDE Plasma offers a more customizable, functional, and powerful Linux desktop environment. If you’re looking for these features, definitely consider givingKDE Plasma a try.
