Updated April 19, 2023
Difference Between Lubuntu vs Xubuntu
The following article provides an outline for Lubuntu vs Xubuntu. Lubuntu is defined as a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu that is a Linux system with minimal desktop use and chooses only light apps which makes Lubuntu operating system faster and lighter and hence it is easy-to-use UI with low hardware requirements where it uses LDQt or LDXE as its desktop environment and it maintains new software and dependencies using the synaptic software package manager. Xubuntu is also a Linux distribution based on ubuntu but it works with the XFCE desktop environment which is considered a community derivative of Ubuntu which makes Xubuntu lighter, easy-to-use operating system, with minimal memory and less-capable hardware which means it works well on older computers with low-end hardware and hence Xubuntu is a combination of XFCE and ubuntu.
Head to Head Comparison Between Lubuntu vs Xubuntu (Infographics)
Below are the top 8 differences between Lubuntu vs Xubuntu:
Key Difference Between Lubuntu vs Xubuntu
Let us discuss some of the major key differences between Lubuntu vs Xubuntu:
- Desktop Environment: In Lubuntu it uses either LDXE or LXQt desktop environment instead of ubuntu’s GNOME which is mainly used on PCs with less RAM and it also chooses the applications that are light and hence Lubuntu is lighter and also can use minimal hardware requirements which helps to work on older hardware. Whereas Xubuntu has XFCE as a desktop environment which also provides low-end hardware use also helped to work with older machines and is a combination of XFCE and ubuntu.
- Leanness Achievement: Lubuntu achieves leanness for two different reasons one is it uses LXQt or LDXE as a desktop environment which makes a lot of compromises to make it an easy-to-use operating system which means it does not provides you all features of modern computers but is the barest backbone for older desktop and another reason which makes it lean is that it makes choices of applications and also with fewer software packages which in turn make it lighter also. Whereas Xubuntu cannot achieve leanness when compared to Lubuntu as Xubuntu cannot compromise with all features but still, it is lighter and as it uses XFCE as a desktop environment it is not that bare as LXQt. Therefore the memory or RAM used is less in Lubuntu (256 MB) when compared to Xubuntu RAM (512 MB).
- Most Lightweight System: Lubuntu is much lighter when compared to Xubuntu. Lubuntu uses very few system resources that mean it uses very few hardware requirements as it chooses the applications that need to be installed and hence it has the fewest applications installed and also uses less memory as in 256 MB. Whereas Xubuntu is not that light as it contains a wide variety of polished features than Lubuntu which makes it lighter than another desktop environment such as GNOME, unity, etc than LXQt in Lubuntu. But this LXQt in Lubuntu does not give modern look when compared to Xubuntu which the Lubuntu looks outdated in front of Xubuntu.
Lubuntu vs Xubuntu Comparison Table
Let’s discuss the top comparison between Lubuntu vs Xubuntu:
| Sr. No | Lubuntu | Xubuntu |
| 1 | Lubuntu is defined as Linux distribution for lightweight, easy-to-use, and fast operating system as it selects fewer apps which makes it lighter, and mainly it uses LDXE or LXQt desktop environment. | Xubuntu is also defined as a flavor of Ubuntu based on Linux distribution which is also an easy-to-use, a lightweight operating system with XFCE has a desktop environment. |
| 2 | Lubuntu provides a lean desktop as it compromises with a lot to make it easy-to-use and another reason is it makes choices of limited applications and software packages which mean LXQt is the barest of bones of the desktop. | Xubuntu is not that lean as compared to Lubuntu though this is also lighter than GNOME, unity, etc as it uses XFCE as a desktop environment which does not make it as bare as LXQt. |
| 3 | Lubuntu comes with software packed such as Gnumeric and Abiword which provides some default applications instead of LibreOffice when compared to Xubuntu. | Xubuntu comes with LibreOffice and not with any other alternatives when compared to Lubuntu and Xubuntu does not skimp software. |
| 4 | Lubuntu does not provide any more features when compared to Xubuntu and hence Lubuntu is bare which only allows very minimal customizations which make it look outdated. | Xubuntu provides more features when compared to Lubuntu which makes it more elegant and user friendly to use as it provides very polished customizations which makes it look good. |
| 5 | In Lubuntu, the LXQt developers use the Qt programming toolkit which is also used to create a Plasma interface. | In Xubuntu, XFCE developers use the GTK toolkit as it is based on the GTK toolkit, but it is not GNOME fork. |
| 6 | Lubuntu is the latest version of ubuntu for working with an older computer which traditionally uses LDXE interface but LXQt is much modern than LDXE. | Xubuntu is a go-to version of ubuntu for working with older computers with more features and good looking interface than Lubuntu. |
| 7 | Lubuntu is generally ubuntu flavor that uses a desktop environment such as either LDXE or LXQt instead of Ubuntu’s GNOME. Lubuntu provides stability and security as of Ubuntu. | Xubuntu is also a Ubuntu’s flavor with XFCE as a desktop environment which also provides security and stability of Ubuntu. |
| 8 | Lubuntu runs perfectly even on computers with less RAM i.e 265 MB. | Xubuntu also runs perfectly on computers with less RAM as 512 MB. |
Conclusion
In this article, we conclude that there is no much difference between Lubuntu and Xubuntu as both are ubuntu flavors with Linux based distributions which use the different desktop environment. Where rest all the features are almost similar because LXQt in Lubuntu makes it use less memory and leaner compared to Xubuntu. These Ubuntu flavors are both known for lighter versions but when we need lighter the Lubuntu is best than Xubuntu but we cannot use more features and good look for the interface as it is obtained in Xubuntu. Therefore the developer or users who are working on these two must select them according to the requirements provided in any of these distributions.
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