The Linux desktop landscape has been quietly consolidating.

XDA Developers

After years of recommending various Linux desktop environments, the author has narrowed their advice to just two: KDE Plasma and GNOME. Both are backed by large development teams and corporate funding, giving them advantages in Wayland support, HDR, hardware compatibility, and predictable release cycles. Alternatives like Cinnamon, LXQt, MATE, and Budgie are acknowledged but not recommended due to slower development, small contributor bases, or tight coupling to a single distro. The author also suggests newcomers choose their desktop environment first, then pick a compatible distro — KDE users to Fedora KDE spin or Kubuntu, GNOME users to Ubuntu.

I stopped recommending most Linux desktops, and here's what I tell people to use instead

KDE and GNOME are the only two worth recommending

I’m using xfce since ages and I will never change !

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Both desktops are no-brainers because they’re supported by large development teams that allow them to maintain a consistent structure and release cycle.
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Okay. Stop recommending anything to anyone anymore. If that’s your main argument, just stop.
Yes, you can tell newcomers to Linux to just try out one or the other bc it’s not necessarily a permanent decision. It’s good to get them started with any desktop in the first place (maybe except for the horrific experience of GNOME), instead of having decision fatigue so early on. But don’t recommend one or the other based on “large team” or “release cycle”. Sure, stability could play a role, but that’s not a given by any of your points. And personally, I’ve never had serious stability issues with any desktop I tried, except for GNOME.
KDE is a solid first desktop to lower the barrier of entry. That’s different from recommending it, though.

Used KDE Neon or Kubuntu for years before switching to Omarchy - I think KDE is a good desktop for a fresh Windows defector without feeling too foreign.