Kubuntu vs Ubuntu

Overview

Ubuntu

Stacks80.4K

Followers59.1K

Votes468

Kubuntu

Stacks44

Followers64

Votes22

Kubuntu vs Ubuntu: What are the differences?

Desktop Environment: The key difference between Kubuntu and Ubuntu lies in their default desktop environments. Kubuntu uses the KDE Plasma desktop environment, known for its customizable and feature-rich interface, while Ubuntu uses the GNOME desktop environment, which is more streamlined and user-friendly for beginners.
Pre-installed applications: Another significant difference is the set of pre-installed applications. Kubuntu comes with software like KMail, KDE Connect, and Okular, tailored to the KDE environment, whereas Ubuntu includes applications like Rhythmbox, Shotwell, and LibreOffice, designed for the GNOME environment.
System requirements: Kubuntu and Ubuntu have slightly different system requirements due to their respective desktop environments. Kubuntu may require more system resources to run smoothly due to the resource-heavy nature of KDE Plasma, while Ubuntu tends to be more lightweight and can run on older or lower-powered hardware more efficiently.
Package Management: Kubuntu and Ubuntu use different package management systems. Kubuntu uses the Muon Package Manager and Discover software center, focusing more on graphical tools, while Ubuntu uses the GNOME Software Center and terminal-based tools like apt-get for package management.
Community Support: The community support and user base for Kubuntu and Ubuntu also vary. Ubuntu, being the flagship distribution of the Ubuntu project, generally has a larger and more active community, providing more resources and assistance to users. Kubuntu, while still well-supported, may have a smaller community and fewer resources available.
Default Theme and Appearance: The default look and feel of Kubuntu and Ubuntu are distinct. Kubuntu typically features a blue-themed interface with KDE Plasma's signature widgets and effects, while Ubuntu showcases the brown-orange Ambiance theme with the GNOME Shell layout, giving each distribution a unique visual identity.

In Summary, Kubuntu and Ubuntu differ in desktop environments, pre-installed applications, system requirements, package management, community support, and default theme and appearance.

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Advice on Ubuntu, Kubuntu

Jerome/Zen

Software Engineer

Aug 2, 2020

Decided

Global familiarity, free, widely used, and as a debian distro feels more comfortable when rapidly switching between local macOS and remote command lines.

CentOS does boast quite a few security/stability improvements, however as a RHEL-based distro, differs quite significantly in the command line and suffers from slightly less frequent package updates. (Could be a good or bad thing depending on your use-case and if it is public facing)

271k views271k

Comments

Simon

Developer Advocate at k6 / Load Impact

Mar 7, 2020

Decided

At the moment of the decision, my desktop was the primary place I did work. Due to this, I can't have it blow up on me while I work. While Arch is interesting and powerful, Ubuntu offers (at least for me) a lot more stability and lets me focus on other things than maintaining my own OS installation.

299k views299k

Comments

Govind

Aug 5, 2020

Decided

Ubuntu is much more faster over Windows and helps to get software and other utilities easier and within a short span of time compared to Windows.

Ubuntu helps to get robustness and resiliency over Windows. Ubuntu runs faster than Windows on every computer that I have ever tested. LibreOffice (Ubuntu's default office suite) runs much faster than Microsoft Office on every computer that I have ever tested.

270k views270k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Ubuntu	Kubuntu
Ubuntu is an ancient African word meaning ‘humanity to others’. It also means ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’. The Ubuntu operating system brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the world of computers.	It is a free, complete, and open-source alternative to Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X which contains everything you need to work, play, or share. It unites Ubuntu with KDE and the fabulous Plasma desktop, bringing you a full set of applications. The installation includes productivity, office, email, graphics, photography, and music applications ready to use at startup.
-	Productivity suite; Chat right from the desktop with your friends Multimedia made easy; Complete and professional office suite
Statistics
Stacks 80.4K	Stacks 44
Followers 59.1K	Followers 64
Votes 468	Votes 22
Pros & Cons
Pros 230 Free to use 96 Easy setup for testing discord bot 57 Gateway Linux Distro 54 Simple interface 9 Don't need driver installation in most cases Cons 5 Demanding system requirements 4 Adds overhead and unnecessary complexity over Debian 2 Snapd installed by default 1 Systemd	Pros 5 Large community 5 Highly customizable 4 Good for beginners 4 Very Stable 4 Lightweight Cons 2 Unstable
Integrations
No integrations available	Linux Firefox Debian

What are some alternatives to Ubuntu, Kubuntu?

Debian

Debian systems currently use the Linux kernel or the FreeBSD kernel. Linux is a piece of software started by Linus Torvalds and supported by thousands of programmers worldwide. FreeBSD is an operating system including a kernel and other software.

Arch Linux

A lightweight and flexible Linux distribution that tries to Keep It Simple.

Fedora

Fedora is a Linux-based operating system that provides users with access to the latest free and open source software, in a stable, secure and easy to manage form. Fedora is the largest of many free software creations of the Fedora Project. Because of its predominance, the word "Fedora" is often used interchangeably to mean both the Fedora Project and the Fedora operating system.

Linux Mint

The purpose of Linux Mint is to produce a modern, elegant and comfortable operating system which is both powerful and easy to use.

CentOS

The CentOS Project is a community-driven free software effort focused on delivering a robust open source ecosystem. For users, we offer a consistent manageable platform that suits a wide variety of deployments. For open source communities, we offer a solid, predictable base to build upon, along with extensive resources to build, test, release, and maintain their code.

Linux

A clone of the operating system Unix, written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX and Single UNIX Specification compliance.

CoreOS

It is designed for security, consistency, and reliability. Instead of installing packages via yum or apt, it uses Linux containers to manage your services at a higher level of abstraction. A single service's code and all dependencies are packaged within a container that can be run on one or many machines.

Gentoo Linux

It is a free operating system based on either Linux or FreeBSD that can be automatically optimized and customized for just about any application or need.

Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux is a security-oriented, lightweight Linux distribution based on musl libc and busybox.

Manjaro

It is an accessible, friendly, open-source Linux distribution and community. Based on Arch Linux, it provides all the benefits of cutting-edge software combined with a focus on getting started quickly, automated tools to require less manual intervention, and help readily available when needed.

Related Comparisons

Kubuntu vs Ubuntu: What are the differences?

Desktop Environment: The key difference between Kubuntu and Ubuntu lies in their default desktop environments. Kubuntu uses the KDE Plasma desktop environment, known for its customizable and feature-rich interface, while Ubuntu uses the GNOME desktop environment, which is more streamlined and user-friendly for beginners.
Pre-installed applications: Another significant difference is the set of pre-installed applications. Kubuntu comes with software like KMail, KDE Connect, and Okular, tailored to the KDE environment, whereas Ubuntu includes applications like Rhythmbox, Shotwell, and LibreOffice, designed for the GNOME environment.
System requirements: Kubuntu and Ubuntu have slightly different system requirements due to their respective desktop environments. Kubuntu may require more system resources to run smoothly due to the resource-heavy nature of KDE Plasma, while Ubuntu tends to be more lightweight and can run on older or lower-powered hardware more efficiently.
Package Management: Kubuntu and Ubuntu use different package management systems. Kubuntu uses the Muon Package Manager and Discover software center, focusing more on graphical tools, while Ubuntu uses the GNOME Software Center and terminal-based tools like apt-get for package management.
Community Support: The community support and user base for Kubuntu and Ubuntu also vary. Ubuntu, being the flagship distribution of the Ubuntu project, generally has a larger and more active community, providing more resources and assistance to users. Kubuntu, while still well-supported, may have a smaller community and fewer resources available.
Default Theme and Appearance: The default look and feel of Kubuntu and Ubuntu are distinct. Kubuntu typically features a blue-themed interface with KDE Plasma's signature widgets and effects, while Ubuntu showcases the brown-orange Ambiance theme with the GNOME Shell layout, giving each distribution a unique visual identity.

In Summary, Kubuntu and Ubuntu differ in desktop environments, pre-installed applications, system requirements, package management, community support, and default theme and appearance.

Kubuntu vs Ubuntu

Overview