XFCE vs LXQt - Lightweight Linux Desktop Environments

Comparison of the best lightweight Linux desktop environments. XFCE and LXDE/LXQt amazing environments and in the video, I will cover many of the differences from general appearance, specifications, to toolkits.

XFCE: 1ghz single-core processor, 512MB of ram
LXQt: 1ghz single-core processor, 256MB of ram

On the LXDE blog, they benchmarked XFCE and LXQt as well as a few other desktop environments. Their results showed that on average LXQt will use slightly less ram than XFCE. If you have a system with less than one or two gigabytes of ram these results may be a strong consideration for you. However, it is important to point out that these differences can vary widely depending on the distribution these are installed on.

Toolkits provide the overall system to look and feel. They provide the buttons, toolbars, sliders, and menus when you are using various applications. Developers use toolkits because instead of having to code all of these they let them take care of the work allowing them to focus on the core functionality of an application. We will deep dive more into toolkits in a future video, but for now, the most important thing you need to know is that most applications and desktop environments use GTK+.

In this video, I used two different variants of the Ubuntu Linux distribution. lubuntu for the LXQt environment and Xubuntu for the Xfce variant. Some of the best lightweight linux distros of 2020.

[biscuitrescue]

if youre comparing DEs, i think it would be better if you use the vanilla versions of them. it gives a better idea of how similar or different they are

[felipenery]

Such a nice comparison. I really enjoy XFCE, I think it's pretty cool DE and very customizable with less effort than LXQt or LXDE.

[TechHut]

Sorry for the re-uploaded. On the last video I made a mistake running a older version of lubuntu. Hope you all enjoy!

[akbarumar]

Very nice explanation dude, you compare those very well and comprehensive, keep up the good content

[tuxlector]

LXqt with Openbox is the snappiest thing that happened in Linux DE world. It in fact can use as much memory as lxde does, with some tweaking, and it outperforms lxde. It's not that lxde is bad, it's because of QT is excellent and much, much better fwk than GTK, and the LXQt developers are utilizing lxqt much, much better than fellas from kde/plasma for instance. I am using LXqt for two years and any other DE seems like overbloat right now to me. I am not counting in standalone wm desks, ofcourse.

[lucius]

LXDE is incredibly sleek. On my Raspi PI it uses 257 MB - and that is with GUI + teamviewer and webserver running. XFCE need about 580 MB idle.

[ertuncdelikaya]

8:20 Why didn't you just type "monitor" in the search bar at the bottom of the start menu?

[jwecr]

WHat about them and Wayland? I'm using Cinamon currently and that sadly is far away from Wayland and therefore still uses X11...

[torspedia]

While it wouldn't go on my main system, I'm rather interested in LXQt, of those two.

Also, lightweight desktop environments can also make high performance machines a lot more snappier...

[monomonster]

I prefer XFCE over LXQt. It has right balance with resources and customisation. On my desktop, I am running SparkyLinux GameOver edition and on an older Samsung Chromebook (dual-core and 4 gigs of mem) I have converted it to be able to use MX Linux. Both use XFCE and run great.

[letsplayonlinux]

I like both XFCE and LXQT, and also MATE.

[vfletes]

I'm not vey savy on any distro.. My daughter (7) plays around with Mint XFCE.. And not sure how but, she manage to move the wife icon to the center on the bar 😆 .. Now i can't figure out how to return it to the original place on the side... I right click on the icon but, i only get the network options...

[Doing_Time]

Never been a fan of xfce, but it looks like it has improved over the last couple of decades. lxde was a few gui tools away from the perfect DE and lxqt is a bit disappointing, but lxqt is what I mostly use (lubuntu) for now. TDE is the best I've used, but it's not well integrated in any full distro...I'd have a permanent home if someone came out with a Tubuntu

[KuruGDI]

Nice comparison! I always wanted to know the difference between XFCE and LXQt 😃

[checkpointerXL]

Starting from cli on Ubuntu server, how can i install lxqt without any useless other software?? Only DE

[gregzeng]

Some apps offer qt or gtk versions. Which to choose, and why?
Xfce always has Gunnar. Others offer Pcman in either of 2 or 3 versions. Which and why choose these?

[QuizmasterLaw]

I used ubuntu for about 6 months, peppermint for 2 or 3 years and now lubuntu
lubuntu seems fastest though perhaps its because my old HDD was old and full?

[BNkateko]

Where are you running these virtual machines and how does, one do thst.

[phonewithoutquestion]

I found, and still find, LXDE quite liberating.

[motoryzen]

xfce's whisker menu is more like windows 7, lxqt's is more like windows 95 or 98. Yeah..I prefer xfce's. Also at 8:21. Notice how lxqt's "monitor settings" didn't have a gui way to easily adjust the hz aka framerate of the display..where as in cinnamon, xfce, and mate all ( since guaranteed mint 20 cinnamon for example) have it.

Thus at least on LUBUNTU, you'll have to use xrandr or whatever alternative yet equally powerful terminal command line hz altering command to do it ( just like having to use xrander in mint 19 cinnamon and older cinnamon versions of Mint..which was a pita)...unless that Advanced tab/button housing that hz adjustment drop down menu..which this guy..DIDN'T show. Was hoping though...Guess I"ll have to try it out and see ( 144hz monitor here).

Thanks for the vid though.