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LXDE VS Xfce

Compare LXDE VS Xfce and see what are their differences

Contents:
  1. » Base Details
  2. » Videos
  3. » Reviews
  4. » Alternatives

LXDE logo LXDE

Why will you like it? Less resource needs. You can use it on your less-pricey embedded board or salvaged computer. Component-based design. Don't want something in LXDE, or you don't want to use LXDE but only part of it?

Xfce logo Xfce

Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment for UNIX-like operating systems. It aims to be fast and low on system resources, while still being visually appealing and user friendly.
  • LXDE Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-20
  • Xfce Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-04

LXDE features and specs

  • Lightweight
    LXDE is designed to be lightweight, making it ideal for older hardware and systems with limited resources.
  • Fast Performance
    Due to its low-resource usage, LXDE provides fast and responsive performance even on less powerful machines.
  • Customizable
    LXDE is highly customizable, allowing users to modify the interface and functionalities to suit their needs.
  • Low Memory Usage
    LXDE uses significantly less memory compared to more feature-rich desktop environments, maximizing available system RAM.
  • Modular Components
    LXDE consists of modular components that can be used independently or replaced, offering flexibility to users and developers.

Possible disadvantages of LXDE

  • Basic Appearance
    LXDE's default appearance is considered quite basic and lacks the visual polish seen in more modern desktop environments.
  • Fewer Features
    LXDE sacrifices some features and functionality to maintain its lightweight footprint, which may limit advanced user needs.
  • Inconsistent User Experience
    Due to its modularity and simplicity, there might be inconsistencies in user experience compared to more integrated environments.
  • Development Pace
    The development and updates of LXDE are slower compared to other desktop environments, potentially leading to a lack of new features and slower bug fixes.
  • Limited App Integration
    Some applications may not integrate as seamlessly with LXDE as they do with other desktop environments like GNOME or KDE.

Xfce features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Xfce is known for its minimal resource usage, making it an excellent choice for older machines and systems with limited resources.
  • Fast Performance
    Due to its lightweight nature, Xfce provides fast and responsive performance, even on less powerful hardware.
  • Highly Customizable
    Xfce offers a high degree of customization, allowing users to tweak the desktop environment to fit their preferences.
  • Stable and Reliable
    Xfce has a reputation for being stable and reliable, reducing the likelihood of crashes and other issues.
  • Active Development
    The project benefits from an active community of developers and regular updates, which helps keep the desktop environment secure and up-to-date.
  • Good Balance
    Xfce strikes a good balance between functionality and simplicity, providing essential features without becoming bloatware.
  • Low Learning Curve
    Thanks to its intuitive interface, Xfce is relatively easy for new users to pick up and understand quickly.

Possible disadvantages of Xfce

  • Limited Eye Candy
    Compared to more modern desktop environments like GNOME or KDE Plasma, Xfce may appear less visually appealing due to fewer graphical effects.
  • Less Out-of-the-box Functionality
    While customizable, Xfce might require additional configuration and setup to provide some of the advanced functionalities available in other desktop environments.
  • Limited Applications
    Xfce does not come with as many pre-installed applications as some other desktop environments, potentially requiring users to spend additional time installing needed software.
  • Less Innovation
    Being conservative in its design, Xfce tends to be slower in adopting cutting-edge features or trends compared to other, more dynamic environments.
  • Fragmented Ecosystem
    Some may find the ecosystem fragmented because different distributions may package Xfce differently, leading to inconsistencies across different Linux distributions.

LXDE videos

+ Add

Desktop December - LXDE Review

More videos:

  • Review - Lubuntu 18.04 LTS Review - Perhaps the last with LXDE

Xfce videos

+ Add

Fully functional? - Xfce 4.14 First Impressions

More videos:

  • Review - Debian 10 XFCE Review
  • Review - Xfce Desktop Overview

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to LXDE and Xfce)

LXDE

Xfce

Linux
31 31%
Linux
69% 69
Desktop Environments
41 41%
Desktop Environments
59% 59
Operating Systems
31 31%
Operating Systems
69% 69
Window Manager
36 36%
Window Manager
64% 64

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare LXDE and Xfce

LXDE Reviews

9 Best Linux Desktop Environments to Use in 2023
Another elegant and portable desktop environment is LXDE. LXDE stands for Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment. It uses minimal RAM compared to other desktop environments since it uses so few resources. LXDE is better suited to cloud workstations with older specifications, such as netbooks or outdated hardware.
Source: geekflare.com
Top 10 Best Desktop Environments in 2020
Lightweight and Low-resource can be considered the same, but in this case, there’s a difference. XFCE is a lightweight desktop environment even with a whole lot of built-in customizations and UI perks. LXDE, on the other hand, is a DE that is built to be as low-resource as possible. You certainly can add animations, but they need to be downloaded separately.
Source: www.journaldev.com
The 12 Best Linux Desktop Environments
LXDE is a user-friendly, energy-efficient, and lightweight Linux desktop environment. It is based on the GTK+, so LXDE can be a good alternative to Xfce if it runs slower on your system. It proves that LXDE is supported for all distros. Therefore it can be supported on older machines too.
Source: linuxhint.com

Xfce Reviews

9 Best Linux Desktop Environments to Use in 2023
XFCE is compatible with a wide range of Linux distros. Xfce does not offer sophisticated modifications, yet it is the most performance-oriented desktop environment. It’s a compact desktop environment with a comprehensive user interface. XFCE can be installed on a variety of UNIX systems. It has been reported to compile on Ubuntu, NetBSD, Solaris, Cygwin, OpenBSD, and macOS...
Source: geekflare.com
The 8 Best Ubuntu Desktop Environments (22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux)
Cinnamon desktop is another fork of the GNOME desktop. It has a rather conservative design and is similar to Xfce. It is uncomplicated to learn and from this reason might be a good choice for someone who is new to Linux.
Source: linuxconfig.org
Top 10 Best Desktop Environments in 2020
Lightweight and Low-resource can be considered the same, but in this case, there’s a difference. XFCE is a lightweight desktop environment even with a whole lot of built-in customizations and UI perks. LXDE, on the other hand, is a DE that is built to be as low-resource as possible. You certainly can add animations, but they need to be downloaded separately.
Source: www.journaldev.com
The 12 Best Linux Desktop Environments
At first look, Xfce looks a bit older and boring, but we assure you that your mindset will change after unpacking it because it is one of the best Linux lightweight desktop environments available. Xfce is becoming one of the most reliable choices, but it has a comparatively small team for development that results in late updates. Nowadays, many users think that Xfce is an...
Source: linuxhint.com
The Best Desktop Environments For Linux (We Tested Them So That You Don’t Have To)
Xfce is light on resources but proves to provide a feature-rich user experience. If you need a performance-centric desktop environment without needing advanced customizations, Xfce is a great choice to go with.
Source: itsfoss.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Xfce seems to be a lot more popular than LXDE. While we know about 19 links to Xfce, we've tracked only 1 mention of LXDE. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

LXDE mentions (1)

  • Touchpad Settings on Qtile with GUI App
    That said, you can look into lxinput https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Openbox#GUI_configuration https://lxde.org or... I don't know if kde-config-touchpad is still valid. Source: over 2 years ago

Xfce mentions (19)

  • distro hopping
    Pick up your Desktop Environment based on your computer's specs, NOT on your visual preferences. (HINT: XFCE consumes way less system resources than GNOME and KDE). Source: over 1 year ago
  • Lightweight dev tools.
    It’s a bit of an interesting challenge and has forced me to re-examine some of my tool usage. I started by a minimal install of Debian “bookworm” with the XFCE Desktop Environment which chews through much fewer resources than the default GNOME 43 based environment (although more than LXDE - but there still has to be room for aesthetics). - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • I Still Use Windows 95 (archived, 2008)
    Luckily you can get an efficient, clean Desktop Environment that works well and is actively developed: Xfce ( https://xfce.org/ ) I think you will like it. It has a very early-2000's feel IMO. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • best lightweight linux distro for old laptop and gaming
    Well, it depends. It was better experience than FreeBSD 7.2 that's for sure. :) It was running Xorg with https://i3wm.org, a web-server, XMPP-server, PostgreSQL, few bots and dovecot / postfix (e-mail server). It was doing fine routing internet for 2PCs and a WiFi router for 10 years until its HDD died. For gaming... erm... I was able to play something like Theme Hospital or Syndicate Wars in dosbox. You have to... Source: about 2 years ago
  • Only one of the four XFCE4's desktop/workspace got hung and now I can't use wallpaper
    Another resource for help might be xfce.org. It's a low traffic site, but responsive. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing LXDE and Xfce, you can also consider the following products

LXQt - The LXQt team is proud to announce the release of qtermwidget and qterminal, both in version 0. 8. 0. Read more..

KDE Plasma Desktop - Plasma Workspaces is the umbrella term for all graphical environments provided by KDE.

GNOME - An easy and elegant way to use your computer, GNOME is designed to put you in control and get things done.

i3 - A dynamic tiling window manager designed for X11, inspired by wmii, and written in C.

MATE - The MATE Desktop Environment is the continuation of GNOME 2. It provides an intuitive and attractive desktop environment using traditional metaphors for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems.

Ubuntu - Ubuntu is a Debian Linux-based open source operating system for desktop computers.

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