You can install KDE Plasma on any distro. Instead of looking for the flashy flashy look for what is under the hood. Strongly suggest Mint. It is super easy to use, has a lot of support through the Debian/Ubuntu communities.
I'd recommend Kubuntu, for no other reason than it's the one I like and am comfortable with. If you prefer a RHEL based distro then Fedora has a version with KDE plasma.
😂😂😂😂😂
(just bc you will get a billion different responses)
i’m fond of mint. they made some nice decisions in their setting, it’s easy to roll out. i’m not 100% sure about kde plasma bc i’ve never used that, though
if you like pain, use Arch. If not, i recommend nobara for anything with nvidia, but honestly nobara is good for all sorts of things :v has creator tools build in already
The great thing is there are many viable choices, free to try out and compare. (I have Debian 12 running KDE plasma and it's great on my i7 Thinkpad T490 but it's not the only possibility!)
Mint was fine as a starting point for me, but I wanted something KDE-based that also had newer packages whilst also being stable for my laptop.
I still recommend Mint to people who are just starting out and don't want to deal with most Linux-isms, but the question explicitly requested a KDE distro.
Arch is a great option if you're comfortable with putting some elbow grease into getting your system all working. RebornOS is an option I've been meaning to try. Technically there's Manjaro, but... Iykyk.
I've been using the Fedora KDE Spin for several months now and I've felt it had the least paper cuts compared to the others I tried to use as a general workstation (OpenSUSE Tumbleweed, Arch, Kubuntu). Debian is always a solid choice too if you're okay with the very old but stable software choices.
I switched my gaming laptop from Windows to EndeavourOS for a bit (I like Arch and KDE Plasma) before switching to Bazzite for easy Nvidia driver setup.
If it's just a regular laptop, EndeavourOS is pretty good.
openSUSE has treated me fairly well and it has decent software support from the linux distros I have used. Id probably look into it to see if it works for u though, I am kind of an idiot after all
I use Tumbleweed personally, but I have Leap 15.6 on a VM, and I think they're both good for different reasons. Leap is more stable, cause it's iterative updates, and tumbleweed is rolling release. Honestly, just depends on if you want software to always be up-to-date or more stable.
I'm a big fan of the out-of-the-box eye candy that Garuda Linux provides. But based on your replies to other comments, Kubuntu seems to be the most suitable for you.
And people are so passionate about their preferred distro. Some even get super aggressive if one doesn’t agree with them. So yeah, this question 🥲🥲🥲 i stay out of it 🤣
My personal setup is Arch with KDE Plasma but I know Arch isn't practical for everyone, so Fedora KDE would probably be what I'd recommend since I've never had good experiences with Ubuntu-based distros in the past.
I’d advise against anything from Redhat. Debian is great as a stable server OS, but too far behind for an up to date (versions) desktop. Arch is bleeding edge but lovely and quick. Ubuntu can be problematic.
Spin up a VM and try each one you like the sound of first. 😉
Also would just like to add the reason I ultimately stuck with Arch is because I use VMware Workstation a lot and just being able to install it from the AUR and basically have it work is an absolute godsend
Arch: You don't mind configuring / troubleshooting
Aurora or Bazzite (Fedora KDE Atomic w/ AV Codecs + HW Enablement): Automatic updates and ability to rollback system
Fedora (KDE Spin): Don't mind installing codecs/RPM-Fusion manually + more flexibility
Kubuntu: greatest 3rd party support
I'm a shill for Aurora/Bazzite and things mostly just work straight out the box with no drama and are solid, but outside of Flatpak/containers there's a bit more learning to be had there with package management on a system like that
There's cool stuff with customizing images but that's not typical.
Fedora Atomic (Aurora/Bazzite are just customized Fedora Atomic images) is really solid, but you deal with your system a little bit beyond what is considered "normal" compared to legacy Linux distros.
Nothing you can't do with effort, but probably won't be the first google result.
I like Debian, it's what Ubuntu and all derivatives are based on. Skip installing the 'Desktop Environment' because of the unnecessary apps. Just base OS utilities, the desktop of choice, and an SSH server.
You might also take a look at EndeavourOS. It's arch based instead of Debian based like the other suggestions, so you get a much faster package manager, and access to the AUR for community packages, without the headache of actually installing arch.
Yes, I'm jumping straight back into Linux. Thinking Fedora as well like other commenters here. I'm sick of this billionaire fascist bullshit infecting everything I own. I'm too competent to put up with this nonsense lmao
Bit late, but can recommend Fedora with KDE
It's what I use and it's a perfect balance between being able to tinker and customize it to perfection and "it just works"
What is your main usecase on your laptop? I would say you are fine with Fedora 41 KDE tbh. But if you game or have any specific use cases that might change opinions?
Since they said "good laptop" I'm guessing it means a new laptop, so it might be more beneficial for them to go with a distro that has more current kernels & packages, like Fedora.
For example, a few years ago, the Linux kernel got AMD P-state support for my Laptop's CPU, improving battery life.
Ah, alright then, all the (kernel) optimizations & efficiency gains there are for Ryzen 3000 are very likely present in all the popular distros already. So in that regard, any distro would serve you fine.
Be careful of semantics: perhaps you meant "best KDE distro" rather than "best distro *for* KDE"? Because technically speaking, the best distro for KDE is KDE Neon / KDE Linux. But you wouldn't want to daily-drive it. https://community.kde.org/KDE_Linux
The general consensus for the best KDE experience is Fedora right now, and it brings stability and easy of use. CachyOS and EndeaverOS are solid as well, but are a bit more bleeding edge. Ubuntu is nice, but uses an older version of KDE, but is stable and easy.
I've been running Debian Stable for a few years - granted, with Gnome. Rock-solid, and my only updates seem to be from Jellyfin and a couple of Flatpaks.
Been happily using manjaro for a little over a year now. I somehow always manage to have weird issues with anything ubuntu based so I try to stay away from those personally.
kubuntu i'd suggest if you're more familiar with debian-based linux, or fedora kde possibly if you're familiar with redhat/suSe, etc. https://fedoraproject.org/spins/kde
Fedora or Kubuntu are probably your best bets if that's what you're already familiar with. I use Debian on my home server and Arch (BTW :D) on my laptop.
I like kubuntu and usually stick with it. If you don't need the bleeding edge updates for KDE and can wait till the bi-annual updates for KDS its a solid choice.
I've used Fedora, and have been using EndeavorOS the longest. Endeavor's worked the best for me for my use case, which is primarily gaming, media consumption, and digital art in Krita.
I'm happy with Kubuntu 24.10 on my work laptop myself (not much of a desktop Linux kinda guy). However it's been acting up on other hardware so maybe 24.04 would be best unless you reaaaally want KDE Plasma 6
I just installed Debian 12 on one system NixOS on another and trying to see which I like more. Nix is great but is requiring more configuring than I would like.
Manjaro was fun to test drive. Access to AUR is nice if you’re into that. I’ve heard (and experienced) a fair bit of stink over the nvidia driver support though.
I like Fedora (used to use KDE but have been using Gnome+ extentions recently on my laptop) and was just reading how the new Fedora KDE is awesome. I'm considering installing it as a dual boot on my gaming pc
Having jumped around many distros, I finally landed on this one
Only quirk is it uses SysVinit instead of Systemd, I had some stuff break because of that, but somewhere within the docs there's an instruction on how to switch over
If its a newer laptop I would reccomend something that updates somewhat frequently but is stable like Fedora, as driver support is focused there. if its older probaby ubuntu or one of its offshoots would be easiest, and if its REALLY old hit up good ole puppy linux
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Failing that, Linux Mint is a good’un.
I use scientific software and also play using steam.
(just bc you will get a billion different responses)
i’m fond of mint. they made some nice decisions in their setting, it’s easy to roll out. i’m not 100% sure about kde plasma bc i’ve never used that, though
My desktop runs arch (also with KDE), but I know that's not for everyone.
I'd just like to point out that you shouldn't evaluate a distro based on what DE it comes with, you can install or remove any DE after the fact :)
Personally I'd recommend Fedora. Very well rounded, quick to adopt new technologies (E.g. wayland, pipewire, etc.).
I personally use NixOS
Don't ask people.
Check the Distros yourself first on Youtube to get a sense of what you are getting.
People online have a tendency to be somewhat... Biased.
And may not have your best interest at heart.
Only problem is that they don't ship proprietary packages in the repositories but you'll probably be using flatpaks for most stuff anyway.
I still recommend Mint to people who are just starting out and don't want to deal with most Linux-isms, but the question explicitly requested a KDE distro.
Ubuntu LTS base, but maintained by the KDE team with a more current version of KDE than is available for Kubuntu LTS.
Depending on the hardware there may be issues with direct fan control, but in my experience that is generally a vendor issue and not distro-specific.
so am I!
If it's just a regular laptop, EndeavourOS is pretty good.
Spin up a VM and try each one you like the sound of first. 😉
Aurora or Bazzite (Fedora KDE Atomic w/ AV Codecs + HW Enablement): Automatic updates and ability to rollback system
Fedora (KDE Spin): Don't mind installing codecs/RPM-Fusion manually + more flexibility
Kubuntu: greatest 3rd party support
There's cool stuff with customizing images but that's not typical.
Nothing you can't do with effort, but probably won't be the first google result.
*walks away with a nice $20 bill* heheh nice, thanks microsoft
It's what I use and it's a perfect balance between being able to tinker and customize it to perfection and "it just works"
https://fedoraproject.org/spins/kde/
All these other Debian based OS were just trying to do that.
I'm still quite salty about Red hat killing off centos, I won't touch Red hat or Fedora again.
For example, a few years ago, the Linux kernel got AMD P-state support for my Laptop's CPU, improving battery life.
You're right
CachyOS is IMHO the best way to use Arch, as its already tunes for better performance.
kubuntu i'd suggest if you're more familiar with debian-based linux, or fedora kde possibly if you're familiar with redhat/suSe, etc. https://fedoraproject.org/spins/kde
But there might be other easy distros.
Having jumped around many distros, I finally landed on this one
Only quirk is it uses SysVinit instead of Systemd, I had some stuff break because of that, but somewhere within the docs there's an instruction on how to switch over
Most up to date version of KDE Plasma - Arch or Fedora