What Is Your Favorite DE/WM? (2025 Edition)

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

I'm posting this for 2025, as we're so close to it.

I was just wondering, what DE or WM do you use?

GNOME? KDE? On the other side, i3? Awesome?

If you use several for multiple applications, chose more than one!

If I left one out, let me know. These are a list of most common ones.

[PNWDweller]

KDE is my main Desktop of choice, the flexibility to customize it to the extremes makes it nice, but I just like the standard layout they provide. It's nice though have options!   

[Nick H. Supervisor]

KDE and KWin (which I think is missing from the options?)

As @PNWDwellerpointed out, the ease of customsation options just cannot be beat compared to others that I've tried.

[protocol7]

GNOME for me. Can't vote for it though because the poll requires a WM choice and I don't use one.

[Barney T. Administrators]

I use Xubuntu with XFCE-4. The distro is light-weight and is very responsive/stable. I also use KDE Neon Plasma 6.0 which is a very interesting and fast platform.

[devHead]

On 15/12/2024 at 03:03, protocol7 said:

GNOME for me. Can't vote for it though because the poll requires a WM choice and I don't use one.

Same here - I am a GNOME user.  I have used i3 in the past, though, and I liked it.  So I chose it.  But @Mindovermaster, you should make all the options in a single area so we don't have to select something from each. 

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

On 15/12/2024 at 02:59, Nick H. said:

KDE and KWin (which I think is missing from the options?)

Actually, Nick, KWin is a compositor, not a WM.

Edit: I added in an option to choose if you don't use any DM/WM

[devHead]

On 15/12/2024 at 09:58, Mindovermaster said:

Actually, Nick, KWin is a compositor, not a WM.

Edit: I added in an option to choose if you don't use any DM/WM

Thanks Mom!

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

On 15/12/2024 at 11:54, devHead said:

Thanks Mom!

Don't start that again..

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

KDE.

[devHead]

On 15/12/2024 at 11:18, Mindovermaster said:

Don't start that again..

Sorry, I didn't realize it was a thing in the past.  Never again, sir.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

On 15/12/2024 at 16:58, Mindovermaster said:

Actually, Nick, KWin is a compositor, not a WM.

Edit: I added in an option to choose if you don't use any DM/WM

Apologies for not understanding what I use all the way through.

But does that mean that KDE doesn't have a Windows Manager?

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

On 15/12/2024 at 15:19, devHead said:

Sorry, I didn't realize it was a thing in the past.  Never again, sir.

No problem. This happened YEARS ago. I don't remember where.

 

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

On 15/12/2024 at 16:12, Nick H. said:

Apologies for not understanding what I use all the way through.

But does that mean that KDE doesn't have a Windows Manager?

It is, but it isn't. It's only for KDE. I've seen is for LXQT, but nothing more.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

On 15/12/2024 at 22:19, Mindovermaster said:

It is, but it isn't. It's only for KDE. I've seen is for LXQT, but nothing more.

Well isn't this a shining moment for Linux. Your question can't be answered by those of us that use it(!)

I don't know what to tell you. I use KDE (Kubuntu). Customisation is king for me, I like switching things up now and again.

[i_was_here]

Hyperland is missing from the WM poll.

I alternate between Sway and Hyprland. Sometimes I like the additional eye candy and dynamic window tiling.

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

On 15/12/2024 at 17:51, i_was_here said:

Hyperland is missing from the WM poll.

I alternate between Sway and Hyprland. Sometimes I like the additional eye candy and dynamic window tiling.

🤯 Forgot about that one, thank you. Added.

[WITHOUT-ME]

pantheon only

[+Good Bot, Bad Bot Subscriber¹]

On 15/12/2024 at 05:03, protocol7 said:

GNOME for me. Can't vote for it though because the poll requires a WM choice and I don't use one.

 

On 15/12/2024 at 10:23, devHead said:

Same here - I am a GNOME user.  I have used i3 in the past, though, and I liked it.  So I chose it.  But @Mindovermaster, you should make all the options in a single area so we don't have to select something from each. 

The GNOME Window Manager is Mutter but is not a choice (yet KWin of KDE is).

 

 

On 15/12/2024 at 11:58, Mindovermaster said:

Actually, Nick, KWin is a compositor, not a WM.

Edit: I added in an option to choose if you don't use any DM/WM

 

On 15/12/2024 at 17:12, Nick H. said:

Apologies for not understanding what I use all the way through.

But does that mean that KDE doesn't have a Windows Manager?

Kwin is a Window Manager and a Wayland compositor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KWin

The problem is neither KWin nor Mutter are standalone Window Managers. This poll makes no sense as people who use full desktop environments don't care about the window manager (in most cases) while users that just use a WM it's because don't want to use a full DE. One shouldn't have to choose both.

BTW I use KDE myself.

Edited December 16, 2024 by Good Bot, Bad Bot

[Nick H. Supervisor]

Just read this, thought others might find it useful: https://www.howtogeek.com/what-is-a-tiling-window-manager/

[adrynalyne]

On 28/12/2024 at 09:45, Nick H. said:

Just read this, thought others might find it useful: https://www.howtogeek.com/what-is-a-tiling-window-manager/

You know I really like them until things get too narrow and tall, or too wide and short. I’m not patient enough to configure them to behave differently either. 

[Sandster]

On 15/12/2024 at 00:03, protocol7 said:

GNOME for me. Can't vote for it though because the poll requires a WM choice and I don't use one.

For "What WM do you use", just select the "Something else/nothing" option.

[inactive]

I use Mint 21.2-Xfce currently (as I plan on sticking with Mint and Xfce for the foreseeable future), so...

DE = Xfce

WM = 'Xfwm4 + Compositing' (which I think is the default)

I figure it's difficult to go wrong with Xfce as it's light, still looks okay enough (I switched it's main start menu to 'dark' because the default look is a bit out of place with the rest of Mint's default look where as dark fits it), and stays out of the way. between Mint's DE offerings of Cinnamon/MATE/Xfce I think Xfce is the best all-around choice across a wide range of hardware. I never cared for MATE as between Cinnamon and MATE I would go with Cinnamon, but I think Xfce is better than both as ultimately why I choose Xfce over Cinnamon is because there is a specific video playback issue on Cinnamon (and even MATE) through Celluloid+MPV (using hardware acceleration) that does not exist on Xfce on at least 2 out of the 3 computers I have etc.

p.s. currently I have nearly 494 days of system uptime as my primary use PC has been running non-stop since late Aug 2023.

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

On 28/12/2024 at 19:08, ThaCrip said:

I use Mint 21.2-Xfce currently (as I plan on sticking with Mint and Xfce for the foreseeable future), so...

DE = Xfce

WM = 'Xfwm4 + Compositing' (which I think is the default)

I figure it's difficult to go wrong with Xfce as it's light, still looks okay enough (I switched it's main start menu to 'dark' because the default look is a bit out of place with the rest of Mint's default look where as dark fits it), and stays out of the way. between Mint's DE offerings of Cinnamon/MATE/Xfce I think Xfce is the best all-around choice across a wide range of hardware. I never cared for MATE as between Cinnamon and MATE I would go with Cinnamon, but I think Xfce is better than both as ultimately why I choose Xfce over Cinnamon is because there is a specific video playback issue on Cinnamon (and even MATE) through Celluloid+MPV (using hardware acceleration) that does not exist on Xfce on at least 2 out of the 3 computers I have etc.

p.s. currently I have nearly 494 days of system uptime as my primary use PC has been running non-stop since late Aug 2023.

Well, Cinnamon and MATE are DE's based on GNOME, so.. Yeah, XFCE does sound better, in ways.

I never liked Cinnamon. I'm already into Linux so far, I don't need something that resembles Windows..

[Arceles]

Iḿ going to say Gnome... only because Gnome seems to have the best wayland implementation so far.