{"id":9928,"date":"2021-12-11T07:48:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-11T05:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raspberrytips.com\/?p=9928"},"modified":"2025-07-29T00:24:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T22:24:13","slug":"best-desktop-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raspberrytips.com\/best-desktop-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Desktop Environment on Raspberry Pi (Tests & Pictures)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Raspberry Pi OS is the default operating system we use in almost every project. It comes with the PiXeL desktop environment, which is a modified version of LXDE. But did you know it’s not the only GUI you can use? I installed the most popular ones on my Raspberry Pi, and will share my impressions with you in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To install a fresh desktop environment, start with Raspberry Pi OS Lite and install the DE’s meta-package with APT. These will provide the vanilla appearance and default apps. You can always improve the look of the interface<\/a> with settings or install apps to make your life easier<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But my goal in this post is to give you a general idea of what you can expect by default. Keep reading if you’re looking for your next desktop environment as I tested them all, provide screenshots, and list the pros and cons of each one. I’m starting with PiXeL as a reference, and then the other ones are basically my favorites in order.<\/p>\n\n\n

If you\u2019re looking for inspiration for your next Raspberry Pi project, I\u2019ve put together a list of 75+ ideas<\/a> with full descriptions, difficulty ratings, and links to tutorials. Whether you\u2019re a beginner or more advanced, there\u2019s something here for you. Grab the list for free here<\/b><\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n

PiXeL<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The default desktop for Raspberry Pi OS<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You already know everything about it, even with the new Raspberry Pi OS version there are not many changes in the interface overall. So, I will keep this part short, but it’s important to start from there to explain the limits of it, and why I’m looking for another desktop environment in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interface<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How to say it well? Minimalist? Yes, maybe. PiXeL doesn’t have a fancy interface at all, and that’s not the goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It always comes down to the goal of the Raspberry Pi Foundation<\/a>. They are not looking to create the best desktop experience or the most beautiful system. Their goal is to help young students to learn how to code. So, the interface needs to be simple to use, with easy access to the basic settings and that’s all.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the main menu is simple. Basic design, apps sorted by category, nothing fancy or complicated:<\/p>\n\n\n

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And when you look at the login screen, it’s even more obvious. Login and password, it’s as minimalist as it can be. You’ll see with other options that the login screen is often a beautiful page, with options. With PiXeL, however, it’s just log in and password:<\/p>\n\n\n

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As I was saying in the introduction, it’s always possible to use themes to improve the default look (I have a tutorial about this here<\/a>). But if you are looking for the most beautiful interface, you should probably try something else (more on that later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Settings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For each desktop environment, I’ll also show you how they handle their settings. With modern operating systems, there are more and more options, and developers try to make your life easier with an intuitive interface (think about Windows 10 settings, or even Ubuntu \/ MacOS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Raspberry Pi OS with PiXeL, most of the options will be found in the “Raspberry Pi Configuration” tool:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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Password, time zone, keyboard layout, etc. everything is here. But what is misleading is that there are other tools that you’ll also need to use for the system configuration. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to change the screen resolution? That’s another tool. Change your wallpaper? Another place again. Raspi-config (the command line configuration tool) also has options that are not available via the interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t really understand why they haven’t simplified this. I suppose there is a logic behind it, but I don’t get it. It isn’t the end of the world anyway, you’ll quickly find the important settings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, you’ll see that other desktop environments have better interfaces to adjust the system configuration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I haven’t done any benchmarks for the desktop environments, but I’ll give you my first impression for each of them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performances will vary a lot depending on your Raspberry Pi model, settings and interface tweaks.<\/strong> So, I don’t think it will be your main choice. It can play a role if you are using your Pi as a desktop computer<\/a>, working with it all day, but for most people, waiting 2s or 4s for the web browser to open won’t make a significant difference in their life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, PiXeL has been developed with the Raspberry Pi in mind (the whole series), so you won’t experience any performance issues, or at least not directly due to the desktop environment. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Installation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The easiest way to get PiXeL installed on your Raspberry Pi is to use Raspberry Pi Imager and to selection one of the two options: Raspberry Pi Desktop or Raspberry Pi Desktop with recommended software.<\/strong> PiXeL will be installed for you.<\/p>\n\n\n

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If you need further assistance with this, you can read my article on how to install Raspberry Pi OS<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s also possible to install it on Raspberry Pi Lite. If you started with a Lite version and want to install a desktop environment on it, you can follow this tutorial<\/a>. That’s exactly what I have done for all the other environments listed in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros & Cons of PiXeL<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To make it easier to skim through the content packed in this list, I will sum up my impressions with a pros & cons table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For PiXeL, you already know the verdict: simple interface optimized for the Raspberry Pi, but not the best-looking one.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n