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Enlightenment VS KDE Plasma Desktop

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

Enlightenment logo Enlightenment

Enlightenment is not just a window manager for Linux/X11 and others, but also a whole suite of...

KDE Plasma Desktop logo KDE Plasma Desktop

Plasma Workspaces is the umbrella term for all graphical environments provided by KDE.
  • Enlightenment Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-29
  • KDE Plasma Desktop Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-06

Enlightenment features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Enlightenment is known for being a lightweight window manager, which means it consumes fewer resources compared to other desktop environments, making it suitable for older or less powerful hardware.
  • Highly Customizable
    The environment offers extensive customization options, allowing users to tailor their user interface and experience according to their personal preferences.
  • Efficient
    Due to its focus on performance and efficiency, Enlightenment can be particularly fast and responsive, which enhances the user experience.
  • Aesthetic Design
    Enlightenment provides a modern and visually appealing design, giving users a unique and attractive desktop experience.

Possible disadvantages of Enlightenment

  • Limited Software Ecosystem
    Compared to more mainstream desktop environments, Enlightenment has a smaller ecosystem, which might result in less software being readily available or supported.
  • Learning Curve
    Due to its unique features and customization options, new users might face a steep learning curve when setting up and using Enlightenment.
  • Stability Concerns
    While generally stable, some users may encounter bugs or issues, particularly with certain configurations or updates.
  • Less Community Support
    As a less common desktop environment, Enlightenment may have a smaller community, which could impact the availability of tutorials, forums, and user support resources.

KDE Plasma Desktop features and specs

  • Customizability
    KDE Plasma Desktop offers an extensive range of customization options, allowing users to tweak almost every aspect of the user interface including widgets, themes, and layout.
  • Performance
    Despite its rich feature set, KDE Plasma is known for being lightweight and efficient, performing well even on older or less powerful hardware.
  • Feature-Rich
    Out of the box, KDE Plasma provides a wide array of built-in applications and tools, from productivity applications to utilities, catering to a variety of needs.
  • Active Community
    KDE has an active and supportive community that constantly contributes to its development, ensuring the desktop environment is continuously improved and updated.
  • Frequent Updates
    KDE Plasma receives regular updates, which bring not only security patches but also new features and improvements, keeping the desktop environment modern and secure.

Possible disadvantages of KDE Plasma Desktop

  • Complexity
    While the high level of customizability is a strength, it can be overwhelming for new or less tech-savvy users who might find the vast array of options difficult to navigate.
  • Resource Usage
    Although efficient, KDE Plasma might still consume more system resources compared to very minimalistic desktop environments, potentially posing an issue on extremely limited hardware.
  • Initial Stability
    Sometimes new updates or features can introduce stability issues or bugs, which might impact the user experience until they are patched in future updates.
  • Application UI Variability
    Depending on the application, user interface design can vary significantly, leading to an inconsistent look and feel across different applications.
  • Steeper Learning Curve
    The extensive feature set, while advantageous for power users, can lead to a steeper learning curve for beginners or those transitioning from simpler desktop environments.

Enlightenment videos

The Enlightenment [AP World History Review] Unit 5, Topic 1

More videos:

  • Review - APUSH Review: The Enlightenment
  • Review - Enlightenment Review
  • Demo - Enlightenment Desktop Environment Demo

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 Enlightenment and KDE Plasma Desktop)
Linux
18 18%
82% 82
Operating Systems
18 18%
82% 82
Window Manager
38 38%
62% 62
Desktop Environments
19 19%
81% 81

User comments

Share your experience with using Enlightenment and KDE Plasma Desktop. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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  1. User avatar
    David
    · about 1 year ago
    · Reply

    I hate that kde plasma with kwin cannot have independent virtual desktops in multi monitor setups the way enlightenment (and many other window managers) does. It is also very resource hungry

Reviews

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

Enlightenment Reviews

9 Best Linux Desktop Environments to Use in 2023
This Linux desktop environment acts as a rendering engine that can launch apps, manage the user interface, and even change system settings. The Enlightenment Foundation Libraries (EFL) are used to build an Enlightenment environment.
Source: geekflare.com
Top 10 Best Desktop Environments in 2020
Though you won’t see this desktop environment a lot, people who use it, don’t want to give it away for anything else. Enlightenment allows for very high configurability making it loved by the original Linux lovers.
The 12 Best Linux Desktop Environments
Enlightenment has grown so much, and now it includes a full desktop environment, wearable, TV, and mobile user interface platforms. This Linux desktop environment was started over a decade ago, and initially, it worked as a windows manager project for the x11 system. Enlightenment is not much reputed among Linux users. This Linux desktop environment’s art style is a little...
Source: linuxhint.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

Based on our record, KDE Plasma Desktop seems to be a lot more popular than Enlightenment. While we know about 66 links to KDE Plasma Desktop, we've tracked only 4 mentions of Enlightenment. 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.

Enlightenment mentions (4)

  • Enlightenment Desktop 0.25.0 released
    As for modern and sleek - isn't the default flat theme that's there now just that. It's what everyone wants? Flat? Sleek? Minimal shadows where needed for some borders/depth. Is the problem that it's dark? You can just select one of the light color palettes in the palette selector if that's what you want. Look at enlightenment.org and all the screenshots there now or just try the latest. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Enlightenment Desktop 0.25.0 released
    Don't give up too fast - it may be the thing you want exists and it just isn't where you expect it or there's a feature you just don't know is there. It may be it does something differently and it's odd at the start but then you get used to it and then suddenly you can't go back. This happened to people early in the E-0.17 rewrite where E would separate each screen and virtual desktops are switched separately per... Source: about 3 years ago
  • Enlightenment Desktop 0.25.0 released
    Hmmm... Not really. e uses about half the memory. I just updated the the about-enlightenment page on enlightenment.org with some numbers I took from an actual installed vm comparing e, xfce, gnome, kde, lxd, and lxqt. e is about 1/4 the mem of kde and even less than lxqt. You might find e is actually more customizable than kde if you dig into themes and how they work. They are sheer mountains of power if you want... Source: about 3 years ago
  • Follow-up to: I want Linux from Win as soon as I wake up, spent hours over the past days reading and watching videos about various Linux distros and have found 4 that might suit me. Also, I am afraid that my PC (Windows 10) might break down again, and I'd like to move to Linux before that happens.
    You could try Enlightenment, an old, forgotten gem. I use a distro designed for it (Elive Linux) but that's optional especially since the betas which are the only supported versions not using Debian Wheezy are using an "outdated-looking" (personally I like it) E16 desktop. Source: almost 4 years ago

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 / about 1 year 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: over 1 year 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: over 1 year 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: over 1 year 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: over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Enlightenment 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.

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

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?

IceWM - icewm home page . Bug Tracking. If you have a patch, a bug report or a feature request to submit, please do so at the icewm project page at SourceForge.

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