Windows 11 has been trying to sell a widget board that opens over the desktop for four years, and it still boils down to a floating pane of news the reader did not ask for. KDE Plasma took a different route much earlier. Widgets (plasmoids, in KDE terminology) drop directly onto the panel or the desktop. They live where the eye already goes, they refresh independently, and the whole system was built for them from the start.
The KDE Store has thousands of plasmoids. Most are experiments. These seven are the ones we actually keep on our own panels, ranked by how often we look at them.
What to look for in a Plasma widget
Four things separate a plasmoid that earns panel space from one that clutters it:
- Passive readability. A widget worth having says its piece without needing a click.
- Configurable behavior. Fixed-behavior widgets age badly. Every pick below has real settings.
- Native feel. Widgets that fight Plasma’s theme system look wrong next to the rest of the panel.
- Reasonable resource use. A single plasmoid should not eat measurable CPU.
Every pick below clears all four.
Quick comparison
| Widget | Best for | Placement | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event Calendar | Replace the default clock | Panel | Native calendar with source syncing |
| Simple Menu | Replace the app launcher | Panel | Full-screen launcher, keyboard-first |
| Plasma Panel Colorizer | Making the panel look right | Panel | Per-widget theming and blur |
| Weather Widget | Glanceable forecast | Panel or desktop | Live temperature and animated icon |
| Better Inline Clock | Better default clock | Panel | Configurable date and weather inline |
| Netspeed Widget | Bandwidth at a glance | Panel | Live up/down speed per interface |
| Command Output | Show any shell one-liner | Panel or desktop | Turn a script into a live widget |
The widgets
1. Event Calendar — The right default clock
Event Calendar replaces the built-in Plasma clock and calendar with a stronger version. It reads iCal, Google Calendar, and system calendars into one panel-level view, so a click on the clock shows the actual next few things on your schedule. The event list is filterable, the notification integration is respectful, and the styling matches Plasma’s global theme.
Where it falls short: Initial setup for cloud calendars takes a couple of minutes. The docs are readable but not friendly.
Pricing: Free, open source.
Platforms: KDE Plasma 5 and 6.
Download: KDE Store: Event Calendar plasmoid
Bottom line: The first widget to install on a new Plasma system.
2. Simple Menu — Best launcher replacement
Simple Menu is a full-screen application launcher that replaces the default kickoff menu. It responds to keyboard the moment it opens, indexes fast, and has a category grid for mouse users. If you have used a Windows launcher app like Flow Launcher, Simple Menu is what Plasma feels like once you stop tolerating the default menu.
Where it falls short: Fullscreen may be jarring for users who prefer a compact menu. There is a compact mode, but the fullscreen experience is where it shines.
Pricing: Free, open source.
Platforms: KDE Plasma 5 and 6.
Download: KDE Store: Simple Menu plasmoid
Bottom line: The one plasmoid that changes how you launch everything else.
3. Plasma Panel Colorizer — The panel-styling widget
Plasma Panel Colorizer is not itself a widget in the traditional sense. It is a panel-level tool that lets each plasmoid on your panel take its own background color, blur, and shape. The result is that other widgets on this list can be individually themed to match your setup instead of blending into a single opaque panel.
Where it falls short: With great power comes great overengineering. It is possible to build a truly ugly panel with this. Restraint required.
Pricing: Free, open source.
Platforms: KDE Plasma 6.
Download: KDE Store: Plasma Panel Colorizer
Bottom line: The reason everyone’s screenshots on r/unixporn look like that.
4. Weather Widget — Glanceable forecast
Weather Widget puts your current conditions on the panel with an animated icon and a compact temperature reading. Hover for a five-day forecast, click for a detailed panel. It supports multiple weather providers (Bureau of Meteorology, weatherapi.com, OpenWeatherMap) which matters if you live somewhere the default provider misses.
Where it falls short: No radar view. If you want live precipitation maps, you still need a browser tab.
Pricing: Free, open source.
Platforms: KDE Plasma 5 and 6.
Download: KDE Store: Weather Widget
Bottom line: Replaces the reflex to search “weather” every morning.
5. Better Inline Clock — A more useful clock
Better Inline Clock enhances the built-in clock with configurable text lines: date, day, secondary time zone, next calendar event, or current weather, all inline in the panel. If you like the built-in clock’s minimalism but want more from it without a full replacement, this is the middle ground.
Where it falls short: The line layout takes a couple of tries to look right.
Pricing: Free, open source.
Platforms: KDE Plasma 5 and 6.
Download: KDE Store: Better Inline Clock
Bottom line: For users who want the default clock, just better.
6. Netspeed Widget — Live bandwidth
Netspeed Widget shows the up and down speeds of your active network interface in real time on the panel. Two small numbers, one glance, and you know whether that background sync is done. On systems where multiple interfaces are common (VPN, Ethernet, WiFi), it can show the active interface as well.
Where it falls short: Nothing serious. This is a small, honest widget.
Pricing: Free, open source.
Platforms: KDE Plasma 5 and 6.
Download: KDE Store: NetSpeed Widget
Bottom line: For anyone who runs backups, torrents, or dev servers.
7. Command Output — The extensibility widget
Command Output runs any shell command you give it on a schedule and shows the last line (or whole output) as a live panel widget. This is the extensibility escape hatch. Want your battery percentage? Point it at acpi -b. Want the current git branch of a specific repo? A one-liner. Want temperature of a specific sensor? Same.
Where it falls short: You have to write the command. This is a builder tool, not a consumer widget.
Pricing: Free, open source.
Platforms: KDE Plasma 5 and 6.
Download: KDE Store: Command Output
Bottom line: For readers who want a widget for something no one has written yet.
How to pick the right ones
- If you install two things, install Event Calendar and Simple Menu. Those two turn the panel from a taskbar into a control surface.
- If you install a third, install Plasma Panel Colorizer. The others look better with it.
- Add Weather Widget for a habitual reading.
- Add Netspeed Widget if you push a lot of data around.
- Add Command Output if you have any shell one-liner you look at more than once a day.
- Better Inline Clock stays as a lighter alternative to Event Calendar for users who prefer the default clock behavior.
FAQ
What is a plasmoid?
A plasmoid is the KDE-specific name for a Plasma widget. It runs inside the Plasma shell (which manages the panel and desktop) and can live on the panel, the desktop, or inside a systemtray. Plasmoids are typically written in QML plus a small amount of Python or JavaScript for logic.
Are KDE Plasma widgets safe to install?
The KDE Store lets any user publish plasmoids and does not review code before publishing. That means treating them like any other third-party install: pick well-known widgets, read the code if it does anything unusual, and prefer plasmoids that come from KDE itself or established authors. Every pick above meets that bar.
Do KDE Plasma widgets work on Wayland?
Yes. All widgets on this list work under Wayland on Plasma 6. Some older widgets from the Plasma 5 era may still show glitches under Wayland, but the picks above are current.
Can I write my own plasmoid?
Yes. The KDE developer docs cover the QML-based plasmoid API, and Command Output is a good starting point if you want a shell-driven widget without writing a whole plasmoid.
Do these work on other Linux desktops like GNOME?
No. Plasmoids are specific to KDE Plasma. GNOME’s extension system is separate, and XFCE, Cinnamon, and MATE have their own panel plugin systems.
