Linux icons on desktop

8 Best Icon Themes for Ubuntu (2021 Edition)

Feast your eyes on the following set of exceptional icon themes that you can use on Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and pretty much every Linux distro out there.

Changing icon theme is a quick and easy way to give your desktop a bold new look, without needing to switch Linux distro or migrate to a new Linux desktop environment.

But with hundreds of epic Linux icon packs available it can be hard to know where to start – hence the need for a post like this one!

Below is our pick of the best icon themes currently available for Ubuntu and Linux Mint, with styles ranging from subtle, flat, and 2D to those heavy on gloss, gradient, and detail.

Better yet, we keep this list of icon themes up to date. This means you don’t have to worry about any links being broken or any of the packs being outdated. What you see, you can use!

Ready to revamp your desktop? Then read on!

Best Icon Themes for Ubuntu

1. Papirus Icon Theme

We start with a classic: the Papirus icon theme is hugely popular with Ubuntu users and it’s not hard to see why.

Colourful, inventive, and shapely: Papirus weaves a deft visual cohesiveness throughout its glyph set, despite the breadth of its coverage. Designers who work on the icon set are also incredibly receptive to feedback through GitHub, meaning if you use an app that has no Papirus icon you can request one to be added.

The best way to install Papirus icon theme on Ubuntu is to add the official Papirus Team PPA to your list of software sources. This ensures you are always using the latest pack (updates are released often) as new versions get installed alongside your other software updates.

Open a new Terminal window and copy/paste this command, hitting the enter or return key after:

Once the PPA is added run this command to install the Paprius icon theme on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and above:

Finally, switch icon theme using your preferred tweak tool.

2. Numix Circle

Lusting after a circular icon theme with lashings of color? Look no further than Numix Circle.

Setting every app icon inside of the same shape can feel over the top and extreme (it makes apps which don’t conform stand out even more) but thankfully that’s not the case with the Numix Circle icon theme thanks to its exhaustive app coverage.

Numix Circle now spans several thousand application icons, including venerable faves like Firefox, Blender, and GIMP, to newer apps and those in early stages of development.

You can install the Numix Circle icon theme on Ubuntu in a couple of ways but to get the very latest version of the icon set (which I recommend) you need to the official Numix PPA (supports Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and above) to your list of software sources via the command line:

Next, install the most recent version of the set with:

Finally, switch icon theme using your preferred tweak tool.

3. Qogir Icon Theme

The Qogir icon theme is designed to compliment the Qogir GTK theme, but don’t be put off if you don’t use it as it’s a fine icon set in its own right too.

Based on combination of the Arc, Faba and Tela icon sets, Qogir is billed by its author as a “flat colorful design icon theme for Linux desktops”.

But it’s not flat flat.

The decision to use simple 2D glyphs with minimal layering and stick to a set of consistent shapes and shades, Qogir icons maintains the balance between soft and inviting and serious and professional. Iconsin this set don’t look over designed or too cartoony.

To install Qogir icon theme on Ubuntu download the latest release from the link above. When the download is complete extract the archive and move the top level folder inside to the hidden

/.icons folder in your Home directory. If this directory doesn’t exist, create it.

4. WhiteSur

Desktop Linux operating systems differ from their closed-source counterparts in many many ways. But the sheer amount of control you have over the way things look is perhaps the most prominent.

So if you want to make Ubuntu look like a Mac — you may like the look of the OS, but not its limitations — then an icon set like WhiteSur is an easy way to do that.

While WhiteSur is an icon pack inspired by the look of macOS Big Sur and its new app icons it is not a verbatim copy. Instead, the authors translate the overall motifs and concepts behind the new icon style to an (arguably) softer yet superior set to the real deal.

To install this icon theme on Ubuntu first download the latest release from the link above. When the download is complete extract the archive. Then move the extracted folder to the hidden

/.icons folder in your Home directory. If this directory doesn’t exist, create it.

5. Vimix

Vimix icons is based on (but now very different to) the Paper icon theme popular a few years ago. While that theme started out as a material design one, it’s since evolved a look of its own.

Like Qogir, Vimix is designed to be used with the same-name GTK theme, but that’s not a concrete requirement. You can use it with any GTK theme you like.

The icon pack is distributed in a number of different colour variants, including red (‘ruby’), black, and purple (‘amethyst’). These can be downloaded and installed individually, or you can use the included command-line script (do read over its contents first) to automate the process.

6. we10x

Microsoft is introducing a new design language for the Windows operating system and the accompanying app and services ecosystems. The new look has found fans beyond Redmond’s active user base, with many Linux users eager to use the colourful glyphs on their desktops too.

However, We10X icon set is not a 1:1 port of Windows icons for Linux. It’s not a clone. It is heavily inspired by Windows’ “fluent” aesthetic, but it interprets it independently, making allowances and deviations from the icons Microsoft’s designed, where necessary.

Having a more familiar set of icons can, for some users, make it easier to use their system. Regardless of you reasons for wanting to use a pack like this the beauty of using Linux is that you can — so go for it!

To install We10x icons on Ubuntu first download the latest version of the pack using the link above. When the download is complete extract the archive and move the top level folder to the hidden

/.icons folder in your Home directory. If this directory doesn’t exist, create it.

7. Obsidian

Do flat themes leave you feeling a little, well, flat? If so, definitely check out Obsidian.

Obsidian is a continuation of the Faenza icon theme that was insanely popular with Linux users a few years ago. Alas, Faenza itself is no longer updated.

Enter Obsidian. It reworks Faenza for 2020, packing in a stack of reworked and rewind icons for classic apps like Firefox, GIMP and LibreOffice, as well as support for newer software like Cawbird, Foliate, and GNOME Extensions.

There’s no fear of 3D elements here: Obsidian fully embraces gloss, lighting effects, drop shadows, and bevels. The result is icon pack with a pronounced and distinctive “tiled” look that is, in my opinion, rather unlike anything offered by any other Linux icon theme.

To install Obsidian icons on Ubuntu download the latest version of the pack from the link above. When the download is complete extract the tar.xz archive and move the top level folder to the hidden

/.icons folder in your Home directory. If this directory doesn’t exist, create it.

8. Newaita

Last, but by no means least on this list is Newaita. It’s the current icon pack du jour in that everyone is talking about it — and it’s easy to see why!

It reminds me of the Tango desktop project that tried to curate a consistent look for Linux apps across toolkits and desktops, albeit a touch more modern. App icons aren’t super realistic, but they aren’t entirely characterless. In fact, some of the icons are superbly drawn.

The use of a border outline on most of the icons provides a distinctive look, with glyphs having a slightly raised appearance in situ. The inclusion of an optional dark set is a nice touch.

In short, Newaita icons gives the Linux desktop a bold, confident look that fuses modern trends in colour design with an older, more intricately modelled style.

To install Newaita icons on Ubuntu first download the latest version of the pack, then extract the .zip archive when complete. Move both of the top level folders to the hidden

/.icons folder in your Home directory. If this directory doesn’t exist, create it.

Themes to keep an eye on

There you have it: 8 exceptionally well-made full icon themes for Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and other distros, perfect for getting started with — but design trends don’t stay still and new icon packs are developed all the time.

While I chose to limit this list to just 8 (for now) there are scores of striking icons sets out there. If you’re a fan of soft look with pastel colours then there’s deft appeal in the Boston, Tela and Zafiro packs. Those after a circular set may want to sample Tela Circle.

If you’re using Ubuntu 18.04 LTS or above you may want to try out the new, improved upstream GNOME icons. The glyphs have a very distinct vibe of its own these days. Just install it from the Ubuntu Software app.

Finally, if you really dig the Yaru icons Ubuntu ships with, but wished the set covered more apps, then check out Yaru++. This provides a flood of additional Yaru style icons for a glut of additional apps.

How to Install Icon themes on Ubuntu

Some of the icon packs we’ve picked require you to manually install them — but don’t let this put you off as it’s not as hard or as complicated as you might think.

First download the latest version of your chosen pack using the link(s) provided. Depending on the packaging this may come as a zip file or a .tar.gz — but it doesn’t matter.

When the download completes you need to extract the archive, i.e. right-click on it in the file manager and select ‘extract here’.

Finally, move the top level folder inside the extracted folder to the hidden

/.icons folder in your Home directory. If this directory doesn’t exist, create it.

Now you’re all set. You can change icon theme similar to how you change Ubuntu theme: using the GNOME Tweaks app (see, there’s a reason I make getting it one of the top things to do after installing Ubuntu 😉) or the Linux Mint appearance tool.

Theme changes take effect instantly and can be “undone” quickly. This means you can confidently experiment with different sets to find the set-up that works the best (not to mention looks best) for you.

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25 Best Icon Themes For Ubuntu and Other Linux

Last updated January 1, 2020 By Abhishek Prakash 69 Comments

Bored with the same old look of Ubuntu? Why not try one of the best Ubuntu themes listed here?

Icon themes are the best and perhaps the easiest way to change the looks of your Ubuntu desktop. It literally transforms the entire look of your desktop. If you don’t know where to begin, don’t worry. In this article, I’ll show you the best icon sets for Ubuntu and how to use them.

I have written this article keeping Ubuntu/Pop!_OS in mind but almost all the icon themes should work for other Linux distributions and desktop environments as well.

How to install new icon theme in Ubuntu

Before we see our list of best icon themes for Ubuntu, let’s first see how to change the icons in Ubuntu.

I have already written in detail about how to change themes in Ubuntu 18.04. The steps are same here. There are basically two ways you can install icon themes in Ubuntu:

Downloading the theme manually and extracting them in

/.icons (you need to enable hidden files to access it, if it’s still not there, create a .icons folder in the /home directory)

Installing the themes via a PPA (run some commands, we’ll see it later)

Once you have installed the icons, you can use Unity Tweak Tool in Ubuntu 16.04 and GNOME Tweaks in Ubuntu 18.04 to change the icons.

Ubuntu 18.04/19.10 users can refer to this video to see how to change icons and themes:

Best icon themes for Ubuntu and other Linux distributions

Okay! Enough talks. Let’s see the list of best icon themes for Ubuntu.

25. Candy Icon Theme

This is a really attractive icon set with colorful icons. You should find it good enough for dark mode themes.

If you do not prefer colorful icons, you might may not like it at all. But, it’s one of the best icon themes out there!

24. Avidity Icon Theme

A perfect icon pack to blend in with dark mode themes – you have a couple of different color shades available when trying to download the files.

Simply extract the archive to the hidden .icons folder to get it installed.

23. Tela Icon Theme

Yet another impressive icon pack – this should blend in with both dark/light GTK themes you have installed (in case). The flat color designs for the icons do make your distro look good.

Simply extract the archive you downloaded and move it to the hidden .icons folder to install it.

22. Marwaita Icon Theme

A color icon set that goes well with both the dark mode and light mode as well. You should find more icons for all your essential applications on Linux. Try it out!

21. Simple Circles Icons

A lot of color choices with this icon set. As the name suggests, it’s just circle outlines for all your icons in your Linux distro.

So, if you’re a fan of circle-shaped simple icons, do give this a try.

20. Newaita

This may not be my personal favorite – but if you’re going for a decent looking icon set, which isn’t much flashy, you can give this a try.

It’s pleasant to the eyes and not so colorful – so if you want that, you’re in for a treat.

19. Aurora Nuevo Icons

If you’re a fan of simplicity but just want different colors to your icon set, this is worth taking a look.

Aurora Icon Themes

You may notice that the icon pack does not include a lot of icons for new applications.

18. Oranchelo icon theme

Flat and fresh. Oranchelo is a colorful theme with support for a number of icons. It has some variants as well that provide different color accents to the Nautilus folder icons.

In Ubuntu based distributions, you can use the official PPA to install this theme:

17. Vibrancy Colors icon theme

Vibrancy Colors is a modern and clean icon theme. It is composed of beautifully rounded icons with flat touch. There are a number of variants of this icon theme that give you more option in customizing the looks of your system.

You can install Vibrancy Colors icon theme using its official PPA:

16. Masalla icon theme

Masalla icon theme is flat themes with vivid colors. Take a look at this beautiful icon theme.

15. Obsidian icon theme

Obsidian is based on once hugely popular Faenza icon theme. But it’s been years since Faenza has not been updated. And thus comes Obsidian in the picture to continue the legacy of Faenza icon theme. It also has an accompanying GTK theme.

You can easily install the Obsidian icon theme using this PPA:

14. Evolvere icon theme

If you like vibrant colors, Evolvere is the icon theme for you. This icon theme comes in several variants to give you more icons in beautifying your Linux desktop.

You can download it from the link below:

Once downloaded, extract it to

13. Compass

The beautiful Compass icon is developed for Nitrux Linux. But you don’t have to install Nitrux Linux just for using this theme.

You can get it from its GitHub repository:

Once downloaded, extract the downloaded file. If you are using Unity or GNOME, you should copy the Compass folder to

/.icons. If you are using KDE, copy the Compass-KDE folder to

12. Shadow icon theme

Shadow icon theme is next on our list. The current trend of flat icons with a little shadow has beautifully captured in Shadow icon theme.

11. La Capitane

This one is for macOS fans. La Capitane icons are inspired by macOS El Capitan icons. The icons look beautiful, no doubt about it. You can download La Capitane theme from its GitHub directory.

You can download La Capitane theme from the link below:

You should extract the download file to

/.icons directory in order to be able to use it.

10. Vivacious Colors icon theme

Colorful, vivid and beautiful. Vivacious Colors definitely deserves to be on our list of best icon themes.

You can install it using the following commands:

9. Square 2.0 Icon pack

Square and flat. Square 2.0 is another beauty that you can try.

Use the commands below to install it:

8. Xenlism Wildfire icon theme

Minimalist? Honestly, Xenlism is more vivid and colorful than minimal. Don’t you think the same?

Use the commands below to install it:

7. Dalisha icon theme

Delicious Dalisha icon theme is full of vibrant color. It may even be a bit of cheeky depending on your test.

Use the commands below to install it:

6. Uniform icon theme

The next position is taken by the flat and fabulous icon theme, Uniform. Don’t go by the name Uniform. These icons are hardly uniform.

You can use the commands below to install it:

5. Moka

Now, we are moving ahead to the top five positions. At number five, we have Moka. Sam Hewitt‘s theme Moka is a gem. You would agree when you look at the screenshot below:

You can use the commands below to install Moka icon themes in Ubuntu:

4. Numix

The next in our list of best icon themes for Ubuntu is Numix. You can guess the popularity of Numix theme suite from the fact that it is the default theme in several Linux distributions including Antergos and Korora Linux.

You can install Numix icon theme in Ubuntu using the commands below:

3. Paper

Number three spot has been taken by Paper icon theme.

Paper theme suite is developed by Sam Hewitt, the developer of Moka theme. It is inspired by Google’s material design. This flat icon theme will remind you of Android.

You can use the commands below to install Paper icon themes in Ubuntu:

2. Papirus icon theme

Papirus is based on the material theme inspired Paper icons. It is more polished and refined, bringing out the best of Paper icons.

You can install this icon theme using the official PPA:

1. Pop icon theme

This is my favorite icon theme and this is why it took the top spot here. It is developed by System76 for its own Linux distribution Pop!_OS.

Combine it with its GTK theme and it gives your Linux desktop an astonishing look.

You can install it using its official PPA:

Your choice?

What do you think of this list of best icon themes for Ubuntu 19.10 or 18.04? Which one is your favorite icon pack on Linux?

Like what you read? Please share it with others.

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