Its main differentiation from Ubuntu is that it uses the MATE desktop environment as its default user interface (based on GNOME 2), instead of the GNOME 3 desktop environment that is the default user interface for Ubuntu.

In April 2015, Ubuntu MATE announced a partnership with British computer reseller Entroware, enabling Entroware customers to purchase laptop and desktop computers with Ubuntu MATE preinstalled with full support.

[12] In a May 2016 review Jesse Smith of DistroWatch concluded, "despite my initial problems getting Ubuntu MATE installed and running smoothly, I came away with a positive view of the distribution.

The project is providing a very friendly desktop experience that requires few hardware resources by modern standards.

[51] Starting with the 22.04 LTS release, Ubuntu MATE included AI-generated wallpapers.