# Xubuntu 28 Hacker News commenters recommended Xubuntu and 7 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 14 years (9 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** People recommend Xubuntu as a free, lightweight Ubuntu desktop that runs well on old hardware and feels simple. Critics say it can be slow and hard for average users. ## Why people recommend it - Runs well on old hardware (5 comments): "I remember running Xubuntu (XFCE) and Lubuntu (LXDE, before LXQt) on a laptop with 4 GB of RAM and it was a pretty pleasant experience!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47649880)) "XFCE and LXDE are saviors for old machines. I frequently install Xubuntu and Lubuntu on old Chromebooks" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46595280)) "anything that comes prepackaged with XFCE is perfect for an older PC" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50038238)) - Reliable for years of use (4 comments): "have run that ever since with no performance issues whatsoever" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48698825)) "I was running xubuntu as my main desktop since 2010 at least" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47910772)) "I have used xubuntu (xfce Ubuntu distro) for many years" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46584956)) - Handles everyday tasks well (3 comments): "it works like Windows, showed them how to check email, browse the web, play solitare, and shut down" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46480087)) "i was able to get the office printer working on ubuntu that i could never print to on windows" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46800852)) "it's perfect for video conferencing and web surfing" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48059142)) - Easy switch from Windows (2 comments): "I switched to Xubuntu and it was about 5 minutes." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46189667)) "then I switched to Xubuntu and was happy again." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585631)) ## What people warn about - Slow and heavy on resources (2 comments): "Xubuntu 22.04 took nearly 10 GB of disk and half a gig of RAM." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46203967)) "I have booted Xubuntu and it's still slow." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46201816)) - Not user-friendly for everyone (2 comments): "Linux is working ok for me, I can see why people complain about its not being user-friendly" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46799740)) "I wouldn't recommend Xubuntu for the average user." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46460321)) - Display flickering and HiDPI issues (2 comments): "At the moment, I can't even use the desktop without annoying flickering & hard to diagnose / fix bugs." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48125829)) "I had to migrate away from Xubuntu (xfce) due to the poor HiDPI support" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47888526)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Ubuntu](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ubuntu.md): 560 recommend - [Debian](https://hackerapproved.com/p/debian.md): 552 recommend - [Fedora Linux](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fedora.md): 437 recommend - [Arch Linux](https://hackerapproved.com/p/arch-linux.md): 362 recommend - [Linux Mint](https://hackerapproved.com/p/linux-mint.md): 277 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Xubuntu", https://hackerapproved.com/p/xubuntu/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).