20 Best Themes For Ubuntu In 2023

Do you feel like tweaking your Ubuntu desktop? I got you covered. Sometimes you need to mix things up on your desktop to remove the old, boring and get things looking quite fresh, new and exciting.

Best Ubuntu Themes In 2023

Ubuntu allows you to install new themes and apply them in order to alt your desktop’s appearance and outlook. Though the unity is not active for people using older versions including ubuntu 16.04 themes, even 18.04, this article is helpful for you all. All you need is to install the Unity Tweak tool (or Gnome Tweak Tool for Ubuntu 18.04) to get going. Join me let us take a look at 20 themes for Ubuntu in 2023.

1. Windows 10 Theme

Feels quite strange that I am starting with a Windows 10 theme for your Ubuntu but I believe it’s worth it. If you admire the appearance of Redmond’s latest operating system, you can mimic the theme on your Ubuntu desktop. If you are looking for something really transforming and prevent unwanted attention, the Windows 10 unity themes might just be the one.

Check out the installation instructions and download link from this link.

windows 10 theme for ubuntu

2. Macbuntu

Straight from Redmond and to Cupertino. Apple’s MacOS has always been quite stunning and if you want your Ubuntu desktop looking like that, there is a theme available. The Macbuntu theme allows you to set up your desktop with wallpapers, shells, icons, and fonts that will have you spotting a Mac on “not a Mac”.

Check out our previous post on Macbuntu Transformation.

macbuntu theme for ubuntu

WhiteSur GTK theme

This is an update to the article. Since Canonical replaced Unity with GNOME, we can use McMojave to transform Ubuntu into Mac. McMojave is a GTK3/4 theme available on gnome-look.org.

WhiteSur
WhiteSur

3. Numix theme

Numix is quite popular when it comes to theming on Linux. They provide a few unity themes, wallpapers, and icons set to transform your Linux desktop and even Android. Numix offers a combination of light and dark elements.

Get your favorite Numix theme and icon set from here.

numix theme for ubuntu themes

Ant Themes

Ant themes is a great alternative to Numix themes. If you’re using Ubuntu 23.04 “Lunar Lobster”, you can install Ant themes without issues.

4. Arc Theme

Now coming home, let us look at Arc theme. Arc theme provides some pretty awesome transparent elements to transform your Ubuntu desktop. Arc theme is available in 3 different variants; Arc, Arc Dark, and Arc Darker.

Check out this link for installation instructions.

arc theme for ubuntu linux

Sweet Blue theme

Sweet Blue is a popular GTK theme for Linux desktop environments that features a blue color palette with rounded elements and a flat design. The theme is designed to be easy on the eyes and offers a clean and modern look. The theme is available for various desktop environments, including GNOME, Xfce, and Cinnamon.

Sweet blue theme
Sweet blue theme

5. Ultra-Flat 2.0 theme

Ultra-flat theme is a modification of the very popular Numix theme. It introduces flat rounded window buttons and grey selection color. It also comes with a modified version of Flattr icon theme to complete it.

Get Ultra-flat theme from here.

ultra flat 2.0 ubuntu theme

6. Aurora Theme

Another awesome unity theme available for your Ubuntu desktop is the Aurora theme. Aurora brings a sweet blend of grey and dark colors to your desktop. It also comes with clean bluish colored icons to complete the color blend.

aurora theme for ubuntu linux

Juno Theme

Sweet Blue is a popular GTK theme for Linux desktop environments that features a blue color palette with rounded elements and a flat design. The theme is designed to be easy on the eyes and offers a clean and modern look. The theme is available for desktop environments, including GNOME, Xfce, and Cinnamon. Sweet Blue also supports a range of popular applications, including Firefox, Chrome, and LibreOffice.

Juno GTK theme
Juno GTK theme

7. Vimix

Vimix is a flat Material Design theme for GTK 3 and GT2 based desktop environments including Unity and Gnome. Vimix comes with darker variants alongside some very flat and colorful icon sets including blue, red and dark colors. Get installation instructions from here.

Download and install Vimix

Here are few requirements for GTK 2 to install this theme –

sudo apt-get install gtk2-engines-murrine gtk2-engines-pixbuf

Now, unzip the theme folder you downloaded above. Open the terminal and cd into the theme directory. Now install theme using the following command –  

./Vimix-installer

If you want to update the theme, then use the following command from the theme directory –  

./update-vimix-online

You may need to install the following package if you get any error executing the update command –  

sudo apt install libxml2-utils
vimix ubuntu theme

8. Libra

Libra is a very transforming theme for your Ubuntu desktop. It is available in Light and Dark variants. It looks so modern and will bring a very different appeal to your desktop. Get Libra form here.

Download and install Libra

Download  

GTK2 Engine Requirement  

sudo apt-get install gtk2-engines-murrine gtk2-engines-pixbuf

Now extract the zip you downloaded above. Move the content in /usr/share/themes. Now open tweak tool or Settings manager to change the theme.

sudo mv libra-lnu.tar.gz /usr/share/themes/
libra ubuntu linux theme

Fluent Round GTK theme

Fluent Round GTK theme is a modern and attractive theme for Linux desktop environments based on Microsoft’s Fluent design language. It features a clean, polished look with round edges and smooth gradients, creating a cohesive and sleek user interface.

Fluent round gtk theme
Fluent round gtk theme

The theme has a light and a dark version, and it comes with several color schemes to choose from, allowing users to customize the theme to their liking. The Fluent Round GTK theme supports various GTK-based desktop environments, including GNOME, Cinnamon, Xfce, and Budgie.

9. Vivacious Colors Gtk Theme Suite

Vivacious is another modern theme for your Ubuntu desktop. It is clean and comes with 4 different styles (Light, Dark, Blackout, and Fusion). There are also 13 different vibrant colors to go along with each of the styles.

vivacious colors gtk theme suite

Download and install Vivacious colors theme

Installing Vivacious colors theme is really easy. Download the .deb file from the link below.

10. Yosembiance

Yosembiance adds a gentle touch of smoothness and flatness to the typical Ambiance theme that ships with Ubuntu. So if you want a theme very much Ubuntu with just a touch of MacOS, Yosembiance is just the one. Yosembiance comes in Atomic, Kraken, and Ubuntu all with options in Blue and Orange.

Download and install Yosembiance themeDownload theme using the link below. After that extract the theme and move it in /usr/share/themes. You can use your tweak tool or settings manager to activate that theme.   Download

yosembiance linux theme

11. Paper

Paper is another sweet theme that builds on the Material design. It is available for multiple desktop environments including Ubuntu Unity. It comes along with its own icon set based on bold colors and simple geometric shapes.​I have already written an article on how to install paper theme. Here is that article.

paper theme for ubuntu

12. Candra OS Theme

This is the default theme that ships with Candra OS and available for your Ubuntu desktop. Candra offers a flat and minimalistic theme available in dark and light versions.

Install Candra OS Theme

For Unity desktop –

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:noobslab/themes
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install candra-unity-themes

For Gnome desktop –

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:noobslab/themes
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install candra-gs-themes
candra os theme for ubuntu

13. Delorean

Delorean is highly polished glass and metal theme showcased within dramatic contrasts. It is designed to be sleek and less complicated than its previous incarnation. Its unfocused state resembles a pencil sketch, while it is focused on state sports multi-toned metallic surfaces.It comes in two versions Light and Dark.

delorean ubuntu theme

14. Ceti theme

Ceti is a dark theme with the white and blue combination based on Vertex theme which makes the desktop more elegant. Get Ceti theme from here.

ceti ubuntu theme

15. Flatabulous Theme

Flatabolous is a very colorful theme for your Ubuntu desktop based on the Ultra-Flat theme. Get Flataboulous theme from here.

Flatabulous Theme

16. Moka & Orchis Gtk Themes With Moka & Faba Icons

Moka & Orchis Gtk Themes

17. Vertex

Vertex is a theme for GTK 3, GTK 2, Gnome-Shell and Cinnamon based desktop environments. Themes for the Browsers Chrome/Chromium and Firefox are included, too. The theme comes with three variants to choose from. The default variant with dark header-bars, a light variant, and a dark variant. Get Vertex from here.

vertex theme for ubuntu

18. Zutikwo

Another beautiful and colorful theme for your Ubuntu desktop. Get Zukitwo from here. There is also Zukitre and Zukiwi themes available with minor differences.

zutikwo theme for ubuntu

19. xperia-dark

Xperia-dark is a simple Ambiance based theme for Ubuntu. It comes with pleasing colors that let you explore beautifully. It has an ideal combination of beauty and simplicity. Get it from here.

xperia-dark theme

20. Ferret

This theme is based on “Orchis gtk theme”. Just admire the beauty and simplicity. Get it from here.

ferret theme for ubuntu

Conclusion

This carefully selected themes (Ubuntu themes) will transform your desktop this new year. There are tons of awesome themes available for Ubuntu online. I am sure you have hundreds of your own ones so share your favorite themes with us in the comments.

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6 Comments Text
    • Me too.

      I’ve recently migrated to Linux – partly because each Microsoft OS went flatter and more minimalist ….
      …. which IMO makes navigation harder …
      (i.e. without distinctive features like gradients, borders, shadows, colour etc it like navigating in a featureless landscape).

      I was told that Linux is highly customisable – only to find the Ubuntu 19 is ultra flat, minimalist and with (mostly) gaudy, flat, monotone, immature icons …..
      …..only customisable with add-ons … often at the Command Line.

      So I’d take ANYTHING skeuomorphic (probably) – and the older Steampunk themes seem ideal.

  • There are far better icon themes out there. I made my system look like TRON. I hate the Linux appearance. One of the reasons I never liked to use it. But then I figured out how to completely customize icon and desktop layout. It looks almost nothing like the default appearance or Linux at all.
    Also, no terminal required to do all of that and you can safe your themes to use them on other machines with this method(s).

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