The 7 Best Ubuntu Icon Themes of 2021

Icon themes can change the entire character of your desktop. They can easily transform a dull utilitarian PC desktop into something vibrant, colorful, and lively. On Linux systems like Ubuntu, there are plenty of fantastic icon themes that are a breeze to install and bring new life to your desktop. These are among the best.

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Papirus: Bright Paper-Like Icons for Nearly Everything

What We Like

Large icon library
Very colorful
Packages available

What We Don't Like

Nothing. Seriously, nothing.

Papirus is a colorful flat icon theme that provides a whole set of icons for nearly every application you can imagine on Linux. While Papirus doesn’t stray far from original application icons, it does have a style uniquely its own. If you’re not a fan of overly stylized icons, this one is a fantastic option. All of your apps will be easily recognizable.

Papirus also has an advantage when it comes to the size of its icon library. It’s absolutely massive. There are literally thousands of icons available through Papirus, covering applications, actions, and the icons in your panel. There’s no need to worry about mixed fallback icon sets

Download Papirus for Ubuntu

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Numix: A Linux Classic That Holds Up

What We Like

Large selection of icons
Packages
Two great variants

What We Don't Like

Colors can be muted in the light variant

Numix has been around for a long time, and for good reason. It was one of the first truly artistic icon themes for Linux systems. Currently, Numix offers two different icon variants, circle and square.

Both Numix icon themes are flat and fairly colorful, although their colors are somewhat muted. Because the Numix sets are mostly flat, they’ll fit in with bot material and flat themes very well. As you’d expect with a project that’s been around as long as Numix has, it features a substantial library of icons for a ton of different applications that you’d typically find on Linux.

Download Numix for Ubuntu

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Xenlism Wildfire: Unique and Vivid Icons

What We Like

Unique icons
Bright and vivid

What We Don't Like

Not everything's covered

Xenlism Wildfire isn’t talked about nearly as frequently as some of the other entries on this list. That’s mostly because it’s a relatively new arrival. It’s more than deserving of its place, though. This theme really stands out.

If you’re looking for something that’s seriously bold with saturated colors and unique icons, you should seriously give Xenlism Wildfire a shot. It features a fairly extensive library of icons that are both visually impressive and minimal. Xenlism Wildfire does have a fairly extensive library of icons, but it needs a few more. You might find a few things that aren’t covered just yet.

Download Xenlism Wildfire for Ubuntu

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Oranchelo: High Contrast Icons With Visual Depth

Oranchelo Icon Theme — Oranchelo Project

What We Like

High contrast
Shadows create depth

What We Don't Like

Icons aren't always recognizable

Oranchelo is an interesting mix of flat and 3D that uses shadows to create a surprising degree of depth in otherwise entirely flat icons. The result is something that can quite literally create a new dimension in your flat or material desktop theme.

Oranchelo icons feature a high degree of contrast and a vibrant color palette. Interestingly, Oranchelo was originally designed for the XFCE desktop, but you can absolutely pair it with GNOME, Cinnamon, or any other major desktop, although it tends to look better with a Material Design theme.

Download Oranchelo for Ubuntu

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Shadow: Icons That Stand out by Casting a Shadow

What We Like

Shadows create unique look
Easily identifiable icons

What We Don't Like

More limited icon library

It should be pretty clear what the primary feature of the Shadow icon theme is. This theme creates a surprising degree of depth in icons highly saturated, vivid icons. These are almost all inspired by each application’s default, making them easily identifiable and somewhat more striking.

These shadowy icons probably aren’t best for a flat or minimal desktop, but if you’re looking for something that really stands out, they’re unbeatable.

Download Shadow for Ubuntu

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Lüv: Material Design Colors and Simple Icons

What We Like

Material colors
Easily recognizable icons

What We Don't Like

Still not complete

Lüv is a relatively new theme that provides material-like icons for just about any style of desktop. Lüv’s icons use the Material color scheme, but not the full guidelines. Even still, they’ll fit in well with a Material theme.

This theme uses easily recognizable icons with a twist all its own. One of the aims of Lüv is to have its icons, even for document types, identifiable at a glance. The Material colors that Lüv uses stand out, and provide a decent degree of contrast.

Download Lüv for Ubuntu

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Paper: Flat Construction Paper Icons

What We Like

Bright colors
Simple design

What We Don't Like

Some icons are lacking

The Paper icon theme has been around for a while. In fact, it’s the original inspiration behind Papirus. Like Papirus, Paper features somewhat simplistic icons with vibrant colors. They’re similar to many of the defautl icons, and have a Material feel about them.

Paper’s icons look a bit like actual paper, cut out and glued into creative shapes. They’re super recognizable, and there are plenty of them. Paper has a substantial library.

Download Paper for Ubuntu

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