This is not, by any means a comprehensive look at the differences between KDE and Gnome, but it should give new users a small taste of their different strengths and weaknesses and their philosophical approaches to usability.

The focus is particularly on Ubuntu and Kubuntu, but aspects of this comparison can apply to other Linux distributions as well.

Default Look

When you look at the default setup of Gnome and KDE in Ubuntu, their differences are mainly cosmetic.

Gnome favors brown and orange, has two toolbars (one at the top, one at the bottom), and splits its menu into three submenus–Applications, Places, and System.

KDE, on the other hand, favors blue and silver, has one toolbar at the bottom of the screen, and has one main menu.

You should not select your desktop environment based on its default look. Gnome can just as easily favor blue, and KDE can be made to be orange. Both can be any color you want. Toolbars can be moved, added, deleted. The Gnome menus can be combined. New KDE menus can be added.

Both KDE and Gnome offer flexibility.

Complete Comparison

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