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ZDNET's key takeaways
- If you want a beautiful desktop, Linux has you covered.
- These five distributions are either gorgeous or sugary cute.
- You'll find KDE Plasma, COSMIC, and Hyprland represented.
This topic always seems to come back around -- with good reason. Linux offers some of the most beautiful desktops on the market. I realize that aesthetics isn't everyone's cup of tea, but for those who do appreciate a beautiful desktop environment, Linux is filled with them.
Now, before I continue, I want to bring up a tangent, one that often appears in discussions about the best-looking Linux distribution: ricing. Ricing is the practice of configuring any Linux desktop to look exactly how you want it. Nearly every Linux desktop environment can be riced, which means you spend the time and turn that boring desktop into something magical.
What that says is two things: the sky's the limit, and you don't have to use one of the listed distributions to wind up with a gorgeous desktop.
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However, if you don't want to spend countless hours modifying your desktop, one of these distributions will impress you, your friends, your family, and just about anyone who glances at your display.
With that said, let's get to the distributions.
1. KDE Neon
KDE Neon is the flagship Plasma distribution, and it presents the desktop in gorgeous fashion. Neon's take on KDE Plasma is clean and elegant, and it only takes a few liberties with the desktop. Every time I log into KDE Neon, I'm reminded that sometimes a desktop environment doesn't always need a ton of tweaks to be beautiful.
KDE Neon presents one of the most flexible desktop environments, without distorting its essence. You know this is KDE Plasma, and you'll feel like nothing needs to be changed. To me, that is the mark of true elegance, and if any DE embodies elegance, it's KDE Plasma.
I will say this: as I've implied, KDE Neon isn't exactly the most "tricked out" distribution. This is, essentially, KDE Plasma presented as it should be. From my perspective, that makes it even more impressive that it can find its way onto this list.
2. EndeavorOS
EndeavorOS never fails to make me smile when I see it. Once again, we have another KDE Plasma desktop on this list, only this time it has been tweaked, and the space theme is fine by me. Normally, I'm not a fan of dark themes, but EndeavorOS has changed my mind.
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Every time I see the default configuration, I don't immediately think, "Must. Change. Dark. Theme." Instead, I leave it as it is and use the OS. EndeavorOS is essentially just an Arch-based Linux distribution that uses KDE Plasma, so why would it be on the same list as KDE Neon? One part of the reason is that KDE Plasma is always beautiful, no matter how you present it. But the EndeavorOS default theme highlights that fact in splendid fashion.
EndeavorOS makes a great case for a dark theme.
Of course, it's just a theme, right? Well, yeah, but that's kind of what most distributions do. They pick a desktop environment, add (or customize) a theme, and blamo… release. It just so happens that EndeavorOS hits all the right aesthetic marks, without going overboard.
3. Pop!_OS (with COSMIC)
I've been using Pop!_OS for a long time. In fact, I would say that I've used Pop!_OS longer than any other distribution. For years, Pop!_OS was based on GNOME and had a very GNOME-like feeling to it.
Over the past few years, System76 (the company behind Pop!_OS) has been hard at work, creating its own desktop environment. Written in Rust, COSMIC has a similar layout to the previous Pop!_OS desktop, but it's so much more flexible and configurable. With just a few tweaks, you can create a stunning desktop. Or, if you don't want to bother making changes, the default look and feel is just as beautiful.
Either way you go, Pop!_OS (with COSMIC) is truly one of the more beautiful desktops on the market.
4. ElysiaOS
If you're a fan of Linux and anime, ElysiaOS might be right up your alley. If the idea of an anime-themed desktop makes your stomach churn, this is certainly not for you. ElysiaOS takes the Hyperland tiling window managers, slaps it on top of Arch Linux, themes with as much kuwaii as possible, and calls it a day.
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The end result is adorable and colorful. I very much applaud what the distribution is attempting to do and wish that more distributions would add the levels of personality that ElysiaOS does. This distribution says, "This is what we are, and we're not going to change." I like it and want more of it.
If you want cute overload, ElysiaOS is the way to go.
Keep in mind, however, that you'll be working with a desktop environment that is quite different than anything you've ever used. Hyprland is fascinating and should be experienced by anyone who considers themselves a Linux fan. You may like it, or you may not. Either way, ElysiaOS is fun and beautiful.
I will warn you: ElysiaOS is cute overload, so if that sounds a bit much for you, I'd skip this one.
5. BigLinux
BIgLinux is based on Debian and (what do you know) uses the KDE Plasma desktop environment (which makes it the third on the list). BigLinux is beautiful, right out of the box, so you won't have to make a single tweak. Even the default wallpaper is beautiful.
Part of what makes BigLinux so beautiful is that it doesn't try too hard to be so. The beauty of this OS comes in its simplicity and its gorgeous theming.
During the installation of BigLinux, you can select the exact layout you want (similar to ZorinOS). You'll find options for MacOS, GNOME, KDE Plasma, Ubuntu, and other layouts.
BigLinux is simply gorgeous.
BigLinux is based on Manjaro (which is a user-friendly take on Arch Linux), so it's got a huge community to turn to. This distro also makes gaming on Linux a bit easier, with optimizations and Steam preinstalled.
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