--- title: I stopped recommending most Linux desktops, and here's... description: After years of recommending various Linux desktop environments, the author has narrowed their advice to just two: KDE Plasma and GNOME. Both are backed by... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-recommending-most-linux-desktops-and-here-s-what-i-tell-people-to-use-instead-lhdrbramf twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I stopped recommending most Linux desktops, and here's what I tell people to use instead | daily.dev og:description: After years of recommending various Linux desktop environments, the author has narrowed their advice to just two: KDE Plasma and GNOME. Both are backed by... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-recommending-most-linux-desktops-and-here-s-what-i-tell-people-to-use-instead-lhdrbramf og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/LhdRbrAmF.png og:image:alt: I stopped recommending most Linux desktops, and here's what I tell people to use instead og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # I stopped recommending most Linux desktops, and here's what I tell people to use instead **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 3 min read · 12 upvotes · 8 comments ## Summary After years of recommending various Linux desktop environments, the author has narrowed their advice to just two: KDE Plasma and GNOME. Both are backed by large development teams and corporate funding, giving them advantages in Wayland support, HDR, hardware compatibility, and predictable release cycles. Alternatives like Cinnamon, LXQt, MATE, and Budgie are acknowledged but not recommended due to slower development, small contributor bases, or tight coupling to a single distro. The author also suggests newcomers choose their desktop environment first, then pick a compatible distro — KDE users to Fedora KDE spin or Kubuntu, GNOME users to Ubuntu. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@calvadosaeronautics** · 2 upvotes > I'm using xfce since ages and I will never change ! **@dominuszeikyu** · 1 upvotes > L take, next question **@oleasteo** · 1 upvotes > > Both desktops are no-brainers because they're supported by large development teams that allow them to maintain a consistent structure and release cycle. > > Okay. Stop recommending anything to anyone anymore. If that's your main argument, just stop. > > > Yes, you can tell newcomers to Linux to just try out one or the other bc it's not necessarily a permanent decision. It's good to get them started with any desktop in the first place (maybe except for the horrific experience of GNOME), instead of having decision fatigue so early on. But don't _recommend_ one or the other based on "large team" or... **@code\_chimp** · 0 upvotes > Used KDE Neon or Kubuntu for years before switching to Omarchy - I think KDE is a good desktop for a fresh Windows defector without feeling too foreign. **@spamcatcher** · 0 upvotes > icewm or gtfo ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [KDE Plasma became the best Linux desktop, but it's terrifying for new users](https://daily.dev/posts/kde-plasma-became-the-best-linux-desktop-but-it-s-terrifying-for-new-users-35qz4obug) · XDA Developers · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Picking a Linux distro is the wrong first question — here's what you should ask instead](https://daily.dev/posts/picking-a-linux-distro-is-the-wrong-first-question-here-s-what-you-should-ask-instead-hdbmaitvs) · XDA Developers · 1 upvotes · 1 comments --- Tags: [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-recommending-most-linux-desktops-and-here-s-what-i-tell-people-to-use-instead-lhdrbramf) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"I stopped recommending most Linux desktops, and here's what I tell people to use instead","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-recommending-most-linux-desktops-and-here-s-what-i-tell-people-to-use-instead-lhdrbramf","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-recommending-most-linux-desktops-and-here-s-what-i-tell-people-to-use-instead-lhdrbramf"},"datePublished":"2026-04-20T16:32:39.702Z","dateModified":"2026-04-20T16:33:06.324Z","description":"After years of recommending various Linux desktop environments, the author has narrowed their advice to just two: KDE Plasma and GNOME. Both are backed by...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/2fcdb5867934b33245278a5dcd822754?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/2fcdb5867934b33245278a5dcd822754?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":8,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-recommending-most-linux-desktops-and-here-s-what-i-tell-people-to-use-instead-lhdrbramf","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":12},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":8}],"keywords":"linux","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"I stopped recommending most Linux desktops, and here's what I tell people to use instead"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-recommending-most-linux-desktops-and-here-s-what-i-tell-people-to-use-instead-lhdrbramf","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","text":"I’m using xfce since ages and I will never change !","datePublished":"2026-04-23T14:22:00.773Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/LhdRbrAmF#c-0jyen15PF","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Calvados Aeronautics","url":"https://daily.dev/calvadosaeronautics","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocIo-dHs9itnroIPhdca4Pz2K0InmIeFgKFMDvQzZZGjAJT-oJs=s96-c"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":2}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"L take, next question","datePublished":"2026-04-26T21:41:24.769Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/LhdRbrAmF#c-AwXju7AHC","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Dominus Zeikyu","url":"https://daily.dev/dominuszeikyu","image":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/31802953?v=4"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"Both desktops are no-brainers because they’re supported by large development teams that allow them to maintain a consistent structure and release cycle.\n\nOkay. Stop recommending anything to anyone anymore. If that’s your main argument, just stop.\nYes, you can tell newcomers to Linux to just try out one or the other bc it’s not necessarily a permanent decision. It’s good to get them started with any desktop in the first place (maybe except for the horrific experience of GNOME), instead of having decision fatigue so early on. But don’t recommend one or the other based on “large team” or “release cycle”. Sure, stability could play a role, but that’s not a given by any of your points. And personally, I’ve never had serious stability issues with any desktop I tried, except for GNOME.\nKDE is a solid first desktop to lower the barrier of entry. That’s different from recommending it, though.","datePublished":"2026-04-25T16:41:31.074Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/LhdRbrAmF#c-BNzBqQHQt","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Ole Asteo","url":"https://daily.dev/oleasteo","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--JdWo69z5--/f_auto/v1717727496/avatars/avatar_F0Xy9hFix9xesVAvIxSfO"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"Used KDE Neon or Kubuntu for years before switching to Omarchy - I think KDE is a good desktop for a fresh Windows defector without feeling too foreign.","datePublished":"2026-04-24T18:13:09.783Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/LhdRbrAmF#c-73Hh8yGSw","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Tim Goshinski","url":"https://daily.dev/code_chimp","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--_5X3OG7c--/f_auto/v1726237311/avatars/avatar_WhpHe2ngWJ9QbTYmApeA3"}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"icewm or gtfo","datePublished":"2026-04-23T13:28:28.862Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/LhdRbrAmF#c-BJ4ivlXYW","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Spam Catcher","url":"https://daily.dev/spamcatcher","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--4C0NYj4f--/f_auto/v1775221074/avatars/avatar_GkdzrXXZUWj7ZNJJbc5oL?_a=BAMAMiWQ0"}}]} ```