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MATE VS Xfce

Compare MATE VS Xfce and see what are their differences

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  3. » Reviews
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MATE logo 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.

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.
  • MATE Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-03-06
  • Xfce Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-04

MATE videos

+ Add

Mate Endurance PE Treatment - Two Month Review

More videos:

  • Review - Yerba Mate Review- The Next Drink Craze?
  • Review - Ubuntu MATE 20.04 Review: MATE Has Never Been This Better

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 MATE and Xfce)

MATE

Xfce

Linux
17 17%
Linux
83% 83
Desktop Environments
29 29%
Desktop Environments
71% 71
Operating Systems
21 21%
Operating Systems
79% 79
Window Manager
8 8%
Window Manager
92% 92

User comments

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Reviews

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

MATE Reviews

9 Best Linux Desktop Environments to Use in 2023
MATE is actively being developed in order to enable new technologies while maintaining a conventional desktop experience. Ubuntu MATE features low system requirements, making it appropriate for current workstations, single-board PCs, and older systems. The MATE desktop environment improves the performance & appearance of your machine.
Source: geekflare.com
The 8 Best Ubuntu Desktop Environments (22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux)
Development of Mate was started by Arch Linux as a fork and continuation of GNOME 2 in response to the negative reception of GNOME 3. Therefore, this desktop is the first choice for many users that liked GNOME 2.
Source: linuxconfig.org
Top 10 Best Desktop Environments in 2020
MATE was created as a response to the drop in user experience when Gnome 3.x was launched. Being a fork, it’s very similar to Gnome’s predecessor and adds more features along with additional community support. This desktop environment caught attention when Linux Mint used MATE instead of Gnome 3 for its user interface.
Source: www.journaldev.com
The 12 Best Linux Desktop Environments
The story behind Mate’s creation is that when the Gnome community decided to move forward from Gnome 2 to Gnome 3, then many developers of Gnome decided to use Gnome 2 existing codes and created Mate. Therefore Mate does not have different extensions like Gnome 3, but it is easy to use, faster and customizable. Developers of Mate have invested a good effort and time to...
Source: linuxhint.com
The Best Desktop Environments For Linux (We Tested Them So That You Don’t Have To)
Ubuntu MATE is one of the official flavors of Ubuntu that utilizes the MATE desktop. Some other popular Linux distributions like Linux Mint, Manjaro, etc, also offer MATE editions of their distributions.
Source: itsfoss.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 more popular. It has been mentiond 19 times since March 2021. 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.

MATE mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of MATE yet. Tracking of MATE recommendations started around Mar 2021.

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: 6 months 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 / 9 months 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 / 12 months 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 1 year 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 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

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

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?

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

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

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

KDE - The KDE® Community is a free software community dedicated to creating an open and user-friendly computing experience, offering an advanced graphical desktop, a wide variety of applications for communication, work, education and entertainment and …

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