Of FreeBSD GUI users, around 1 in 4 prefer Xfce and 1 in 5 use KDE Plasma. However, 1 in 3 don't feel the need for a full-blown desktop environment (DE), and stick to a plain window manager (WM). These were the findings of a poll on the FreeBSD Forums in 2022, and they've just been replicated almost exactly in a new poll on r/freebsd_desktop.

The two main other DEs were GNOME and MATE, back at about 1 in 10 users apiece. Lesser spotted DEs included Lumina, LXQT and Cinnamon. Comments also revealed a more nuanced picture, with some users having both a preferred DE and WM depending on the task at hand, or using different DEs on different machines.

The continued lead of Xfce and KDE comes as the community is preparing for the release of FreeBSD 15 later this year. The new installer is expected to have an option for automatic KDE Plasma installation, a step users were previously expected to perform manually for the DE or WM of their choice. [https://www.reddit.com/r/freebsd/comments/1m6xdal/freebsd\_150\_aims\_to\_have\_a\_kde\_desktop\_install/](https://www.reddit.com/r/freebsd/comments/1m6xdal/freebsd_150_aims_to_have_a_kde_desktop_install/)

Although you'd expect a different crowd on Reddit in 2025 compared to the FreeBSD Forums in 2022, the results of the polls were statistically indistinguishable (chi-squared = 3.446 on 5 degrees of freedom, p-value = 0.6315). Obviously both samples are self-selected with no guarantees of being representative of FreeBSD's wider userbase, so take all exact figures with a grain of salt, but the consistency is striking.

Raw percentages:

    source                        GNOME KDE Plasma MATE Xfce Other DE WM only
    FreeBSD Forums 2022           6.7       18.3  9.9 25.4      4.0    35.7
    FreeBSD_desktop Reddit 2025  10.0       21.1  6.7 24.4      6.7    31.1

For raw numbers consult the data sources (including 1 person who couldn't interact with the poll but "voted" in the comments!) or see the balloon plot on the next image: [https://www.reddit.com/r/freebsd\_desktop/comments/1l9mtr6/what\_desktop\_environment\_do\_you\_use\_on\_freebsd/](https://www.reddit.com/r/freebsd_desktop/comments/1l9mtr6/what_desktop_environment_do_you_use_on_freebsd/) and [https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/preferred-de-of-the-freebsd-users.83906/](https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/preferred-de-of-the-freebsd-users.83906/)

Xfce and KDE retain lead among FreeBSD desktop users as the OS gears up for official KDE support - but many still prefer plain WM