Linux Cinnamon vs. Linux MATE

Choose the Linux desktop that’s right for you

By
Jonathan Terrasi
Jonathan Terrasi
Writer
  • Northwestern University
Jonathan Terrasi is a former Lifewire writer who specializes in security and digital privacy, Linux, and consumer technologies.
lifewire's editorial guidelines
Updated on May 4, 2021
Reviewed by
Chris Selph
Chris Selph headshot
Reviewed by Chris Selph
Chris Selph is a CompTIA-certified technology and vocational IT teacher. He also serves as network & server administrator and performs computer maintenance and repair for numerous clients.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

Linux Mint supports several well-designed desktop environments, including Cinnamon and MATE. We looked at both to help you choose the best Linux desktop for your needs.

A desktop environment is the graphical look and layout of a system, plus a default set of utilities, applications, and settings options. The Linux ecosystem supports more than a dozen commonly used DEs.

Cinnamon vs MATE

Overall Findings

Cinnamon

  • Developed by the Linux Mint team.

  • Derived from the GNOME desktop standard.

  • Works with most Linux distributions.

  • Clean design aesthetic.

  • Coordinated design aesthetic limits UI tweaks.

  • Themes apply out of the box.

MATE

  • Originally managed by a developer from Argentina.

  • Derived from the GNOME desktop standard.

  • Compatible with most Linux distributions.

  • Look and feel isn't as polished.

  • Leaner and less hardware-intensive.

  • Simple utilities never fail.

MATE is a continuation of the discontinued version 2.x of the GNOME desktop. It retains the conventional desktop schema of a bottom panel with a simple application menu and list of running apps, as well as a home screen where files may be stored. MATE is incredibly customizable.

Cinnamon is an alternate-track fork of the Gnome 3.x project and has a standard desktop appearance. It incorporates advanced menu options, a cleaner minimal interface, and a curated selection of extensions for the status bar and other home screen elements. It aims to provide Linux users a modern desktop that strikes a balance between functionality and elegance.

Aesthetics: Cinnamon Wins With Consistency

Cinnamon

  • Clean design aesthetic.

  • Simple widget and themes administration.

  • Extensible content store.

MATE

  • Adherence to 2.x GNOME means individual items are fragmented.

  • Design templates don't overlay perfectly because of inconsistent design requirements.

Cinnamon is all about looking sleek and consistent while allowing users to choose the thematic inflection they want. Themes, along with other graphical elements such as desklet widgets and applet widgets for the status bar, install from the Cinnamon Themes menu. An online extension store customizes Cinnamon while keeping the panel from getting out of control and cluttered.

Speed: MATE Stays Lean

Cinnamon

  • As with KDE, the resource overhead for the glossy sheen isn't trivial.

MATE

  • A component-level plug-and-play design approach limits global resource overhead.

Overall, MATE is leaner and less hardware-intensive than Cinnamon, which makes it generally faster. The less-flashy look of MATE means it doesn't have to devote as much memory and processing to visual effects, making everything run smoothly. The default utility set for MATE also swaps out a few Cinnamon utilities for smaller, simpler alternatives that cut down on loading lag time for app startup.

Customization: MATE Supports Different Engines

Cinnamon

  • Coordinated design aesthetic limits the full range of UI tweaks.

  • Customizations, being hooked into the window manager, operate globally.

MATE

  • Choose from several window managers/compositors and customize outside the constraints of a global environment.

  • Customize things however you like.

While Cinnamon places the customization menus front and center, it presents a restrictive array of choices. MATE lets you make whatever tweaks you can imagine. MATE lets you switch things up more piecemeal. Instead of applying a single theme to all UI elements the way Cinnamon encourages users to do, MATE lets you go in different directions for the look of menus, window bars, and icons. For example, it's straightforward to configure the MATE panel differently from the rest of the menu UI, whereas Cinnamon discourages this.

You can also customize the window manager, the program at the heart of a desktop environment that dictates how windows are drawn and positioned, in MATE more than in Cinnamon. Cinnamon only provides one option, while MATE supports several window managers and more than one compositor. One combined window manager-compositor that stands out is Compiz, which lets you delve deep into the graphical effects for moving windows, switching workspaces, and related features.

Stability: MATE Is Built on a Solid Foundation

Cinnamon

  • Some bells-and-whistles haven't been fine-tuned. You'll see more glitches and inconsistencies the more you stray from standard off-the-shelf systems.

MATE

  • Based on robust, if old, frameworks, promoting stability.

With simple applications, a no-frills interface, and tried-and-true GTK+ 2 libraries, MATE is rock-solid. By not trying to do too much, and doing everything well, MATE rarely crashes. Things work, and if you want them to look nicer and still work, you can do that too.

Usability: Cinnamon Is Locked and Loaded

Cinnamon

  • Themes apply out-of-the-box and adjust with a few clicks.

MATE

  • Takes time to configure everything.

The unified look and full-featured utilities of Cinnamon make it ideal for a modern computing experience. Every customization portal has a consistent app-store-like interface, whether it's an app store or a theming menu, that is common on modern desktop and laptop computers. Every utility, such as the image or document viewer, is rich, full-featured, and doesn't cut down on menu options for the sake of efficient processing, as MATE sometimes does.

Utilities: Depends on How Fancy You Want Apps

Cinnamon

  • Tends to offer tools that have remained current with Gnome 3.x pathways.

MATE

  • Great for older utilities that update slowly, or haven't left the Gnome 2.x universe.

Utilities access and manipulate files of all types, administer the system, and make the desktop useful. If you're looking for simple utilities that never fail, MATE is the best bet. If you want a modern, unabridged set of features and a sleek finish, check out Cinnamon.

Final Verdict

Cinnamon has a modern design that doesn't require much component-level tweaking. It has higher resource overheads but a snazzier visual appeal. MATE is robust, but not as polished. Fine-tuning requires some time and knowledge of how things work under-the-hood, but it is highly customizable.

MATE offers a well-tested, highly configurable interface that's still rocking the Windows XP motifs. Cinnamon aims to be modern, and in so doing, it delivers more polish with less efficiency and customization.

Was this page helpful?