Alternatives to Budgie
A free and open source Linux desktop environment with its own panel, application menu and window management. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Budgie
A free and open source Linux desktop environment with its own panel, application menu and window management.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Budgie.
GNOME
Use a Linux desktop organized around an activities overview and workspaces.
GNOME organizes the Linux desktop around an activities overview and workspaces instead of a traditional panel, and its shell extensions must match the installed version.
KDE Plasma
Use a full Linux desktop with configurable panels, widgets and window behavior.
KDE Plasma offers a full Linux desktop with extensive appearance settings, configurable panels and widgets, and integration with KDE applications.
Cinnamon
Use a Linux desktop with a traditional application menu, panel and system tray.
Cinnamon provides a traditional Linux desktop with application menu, panel and system tray, plus applets, desklets and extensions, under GPL-2.0.
Xfce
Use a modular desktop environment built around traditional panels and windows.
Xfce is a modular Linux desktop environment built around traditional panels and a settings manager, whose components distributions can combine as they choose.
MATE
A traditional desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like systems that continues the GNOME 2 design.
MATE continues the classic GNOME 2 desktop layout, is packaged in many distributions, but its full releases arrive only every few years.
LXQt
A lightweight, modular Qt-based desktop environment for Linux and BSD with X11 and Wayland sessions.
LXQt is a lightweight Qt-based desktop with lower resource use and X11 and Wayland sessions, but fewer integrated features than larger desktops.
COSMIC
Use System76's desktop environment with configurable workspaces and window tiling.
COSMIC is System76's desktop environment with configurable workspaces and both tiling and floating workflows, but it needs a distribution and graphics stack supporting its current release.
Enlightenment
A window manager, compositor and minimal desktop for Linux, BSD and other UNIX systems.
Enlightenment combines window manager, compositor and desktop shell on the EFL libraries, but its Wayland support is experimental and releases are source only.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Dash to Panel
Combine GNOME application shortcuts and the system tray in one panel.
Cairo-Dock
A customizable application dock and launcher for Linux desktops with applets and multiple docks.
BunsenLabs Linux
A Debian-based distribution with a preconfigured, lightweight Openbox desktop, continuing CrunchBang Linux.
Dash to Dock
Keep GNOME's application dash visible as a configurable dock.
Tint2
Lightweight panel and taskbar for Linux and BSD window managers.
xfce4-panel
Configurable panel for the Xfce desktop with plugins and applets.
