Software (GNOME Software)
The app store built into Ubuntu, Fedora and most GNOME systems. Browse, install, remove and update.
Our verdict
Software is the app store you will find on the taskbar of Ubuntu, Fedora and most beginner-friendly Linux systems, and it is how you are meant to install things. You search, you press Install, and it is done. No download site, no setup wizard, no bundled toolbar.
It is not as polished as the Microsoft Store. Search results can be slow and a little odd, and you will sometimes see the same app listed twice because it is available from more than one source. Picking the Flathub version is usually the safe answer when you are unsure.
On KDE systems the equivalent is called Discover and works the same way. Either one replaces both the Microsoft Store and the habit of downloading installer files from websites.
What's good
- Already installed, so there is nothing to set up
- Apps have screenshots, descriptions and categories, like a phone app store
- Installs and removes apps without you touching a terminal
- Updates the whole system, apps included, from one screen
What to know first
- Searching is slower and less accurate than the Microsoft Store
- Flathub has to be switched on first on some systems before the full catalogue appears
- Occasionally shows two entries for the same app from different sources
- Can sit and think for a while on older machines
The details
- Cost
- Free
- Open source
- Yes (GPL-2.0)
- How you install it
- Built-in app store
Windows apps it can replace
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