this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2026
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A question for GNOME/KDE users (piefed.world)
submitted 1 day ago by sando_en_shorts@piefed.world to c/linux@programming.dev
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For people who already tried both, what's the reason you're sticking with GNOME or KDE as your desktop environment?

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[–] spartanatreyu@programming.dev 2 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

Before:

  • Gnome 2 was great
  • Gnome 3 was terrible
  • KDE 4 was terrible

Today: KDE.

Why not Gnome:

  • It's missing basic features.
  • General new users startup is:
    • searching online to try and fix things
    • 50% chance of it working.
    • 50% chance of it not working because the fix doesn't work on your version of gnome and having to find another fix
  • Common recommendation for missing features (to use extensions) is a non-starter since the extensions break after every update, so every update you need to go back through the general new users startup steps above.

Why KDE:

  • It has all the basic features by default, and a bunch of extra stuff.
  • General new user process is:
    • looking through settings and changing the 2-3 they care about
    • looking through features, trying them out to see which ones you want to use, turning on/off the 2-3 you care about
    • Never needing to look through or remember the other settings, because your computer is already set up for you.

Future:

  • Gnome: more of the same, likely basic features missing until specific people are removed (could be 5-10 years, then another few years of catching up).
  • KDE: Will continue making updates and consolidating similar features where it makes sense.
  • Cosmic: Will continue sanding off rough edges and fill in last remaining missing features. Will probably surpass Gnome for 90% of user's needs in a year. Will probably be trading blows with KDE in 3 years and will surpass them if KDE ever makes any missteps.