Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Sway VS KDE Plasma Desktop

Compare Sway VS KDE Plasma Desktop and see what are their differences

Sway logo Sway

Sway is a drop-in replacement for the i3 window manager, but for Wayland instead of X11.

KDE Plasma Desktop logo KDE Plasma Desktop

Plasma Workspaces is the umbrella term for all graphical environments provided by KDE.
  • Sway Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-20
  • KDE Plasma Desktop Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-06

Sway videos

Sway beats Powerpoint for these 4 reasons (Microsoft Office 365).

More videos:

  • Review - VOD REVIEW: IS FAZE SWAY BEING COACHED 🎮 BY FAZE BIZZLE WORTH IT? (Full Game)
  • Review - Microsoft Sway Hands On Review!
  • Review - Sway by Mitchell Bubble
  • Tutorial - SWAY HOUSE TOUR FORTNITE

KDE Plasma Desktop videos

KDE Plasma Workspaces

More videos:

  • Review - KDE Plasma 5 Deep Dive (Late 2019) | Linux Desktop Reviews
  • Review - Trying Out KDE Plasma 5.15
  • Review - Kubuntu 18.04 Review: KDE Plasma at its Best

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Sway and KDE Plasma Desktop)
Health And Fitness
100 100%
0% 0
Linux
20 20%
80% 80
Meditation
100 100%
0% 0
Operating Systems
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Sway and KDE Plasma Desktop. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Sway and KDE Plasma Desktop

Sway Reviews

Top 13 Best Tiling Window Managers For Linux In 2022
Sway is a tiling Wayland i3-compatible window manager that dynamically arranges app windows to rationally maximise desktop space. It is free, open-source, and lightweight. By default, it arranges windows in a grid and supports practically all of the i3 commands.
Source: www.hubtech.org
13 Best Tiling Window Managers for Linux
Sway is a free, open-source, and lightweight tiling Wayland i3-compatible window manager that automatically arranges app windows to logically maximize desktop space. It arranges windows into a grid by default and supports almost all the commands included in i3.
Source: www.tecmint.com

KDE Plasma Desktop Reviews

9 Best Linux Desktop Environments to Use in 2023
After GNOME, the most widely used Linux desktop environment is KDE Plasma. This KDE Plasma desktop environment comes with various tools and services to fulfill almost any demand. It includes applications like Dolphin, the default and most powerful file system manager, and KGeoTag, a photo Photo geotagging program. It features Oxygen icons by default, which have a pleasing...
Source: geekflare.com
The 8 Best Ubuntu Desktop Environments (22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux)
KDE Plasma desktop is a widget-based environment which makes it very adaptable. You can move, add or remove anything you like to make it suit your style as well as possible. Plasma is fast and efficient. It uses only few resources and is full of well designed features.
Source: linuxconfig.org

Social recommendations and mentions

KDE Plasma Desktop might be a bit more popular than Sway. We know about 66 links to it since March 2021 and only 52 links to Sway. 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.

Sway mentions (52)

  • "We understand" ;)
    This is partially why I use tools like i3 (/ sway). I like the tool; it works extremely well for me; the design has stayed the same for 20 years; there's no profit motive to come along and fuck everything up. It just works. It is boring in the best way possible. Source: 6 months ago
  • Framework 13 with AMD Ryzen 7040 Series Makes for a Great Linux Laptop
    I've tested using i3 but never fully got into it. But my plan for the F13 is to try out Hyprland[0] and perhaps Sway[1]. [0] https://hyprland.org/ [1] https://swaywm.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • Rethinking Window Management in Gnome
    Sway does all those things very well: https://swaywm.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Just ran Sway on openSUSE. Complete noob. I need help.
    Read the manual on https://swaywm.org/. There are tons of youtube videos showcasing basic configuration and usage. This is extremely basic stuff you need to do yourself. Source: 12 months ago
  • Thinking about doing distro hop after half a year any recommendations?
    While both the Pop Shell and Material shell extensions offer very easy access to window tiling on GNOME, they're not as powerful as the likes of Sway or Hyprland. Source: 12 months ago
View more

KDE Plasma Desktop mentions (66)

  • Unlocking the Cutting Edge: Exploring Plasma 6 Beta, Secure Knowledge Management, and the Latest Tools for Linux Enthusiasts
    Plasma 6 - Beta 1 is the latest iteration of the KDE desktop environment, known for its flexibility and customization options. Beta releases are crucial for ironing out bugs and streamlining new features before the final release. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Apps cannot read files from Google Drive on KDE Neon
    Recently I installed KDE Plasma. I was pleased to see the KDE-KIO integration for Google Drive. Source: 11 months ago
  • Should i switch?
    I'm glad to hear that you use Krita (and I may assume you use Blender for animations). Both are free and open source software that is available on Linux (even better, Krita is made by the KDE project, makers of all sorts of open source projects, including Plasma, one of the most complete user interfaces for Linux out there). Source: 12 months ago
  • Gamer migrating to Linux
    Because of this, I recommend using Fedora (either the default edition, which uses the GNOME desktop, or Fedora KDE, which uses the KDE Plasma desktop, like the Steam Deck). It ships up-to-date software, and it's very polished. (Note that, due to the US software patents, support/hardware acceleration for some media codecs isn't included by default. You should add the RPMFusion repo and set up the codecs after... Source: 12 months ago
  • Questions I have about Linux, from someone who wants to switch from Windows 10
    KDE Plasma is developed by KDE, another international group of developers that make all sorts of cool software for Linux, macOS, Windows, and mobile platforms. Plasma is their flagship project. Their motto is "simple by default, powerful when needed". At first glance it may seem a copy of Windows, with a bottom panel sporting a start menu on the left and a system tray with a clock on the right, but don't get... Source: 12 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Sway and KDE Plasma Desktop, you can also consider the following products

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

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.

Pacifica - Stress and anxiety relief through beautiful CBT tools

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

awesome - A dynamic window manager for the X Window System developed in the C and Lua programming languages.

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?