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Whisker Menu vs ArcMenu: catalog facts
Whisker Menu	ArcMenu
Best for: Xfce desktop users who want a searchable start menu	Best for: GNOME users who want a classic application menu instead of the activities overview
Free Free and distributed as an Xfce panel plugin.	Free Free and open source under the GPL version 2 or later.
Linux	Linux
Search starts as soon as the menu opens and also matches descriptions Favorites, recently used and category browsing in one menu All 3 strengths for Whisker Menu Search starts as soon as the menu opens and also matches descriptions Favorites, recently used and category browsing in one menu Drag and drop to reorder favorites	Brings a traditional searchable start menu to GNOME Customizable menu layout All 3 strengths for ArcMenu Brings a traditional searchable start menu to GNOME Customizable menu layout Open source and published as releases on GitLab
Only works as a plugin for the Xfce panel	Only works inside GNOME Shell GNOME extensions can need updates after major GNOME releases
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Not open source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-2.0-or-later
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Whisker Menu docs.xfce.org/panel-plugins/xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin/start Catalog checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for ArcMenu gitlab.com/arcmenu/ArcMenu Catalog checked October 2, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.