Fences AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Shell Extensions

The best Shell Extension alternative to Fences is Portals: Desktop Organization, which is free. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Fences and six of them are Shell Extensions so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Shell Extension alternatives to Fences are Nimi Places, Sideslide, Folderview Screenlet and Coodesker.

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Fences alternatives are mainly Desktop Customization Tools, but if you're looking for Application Launchers or Shell Extensions you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Mac, Windows + Free, Desktop Customization, Linux, Free and Windows. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Fences.
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Alternatives list

  1. Portals: Desktop Organization icon

    Portals: Desktop Organization

     69 likes
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    Create containers (aka Portals) on your desktop which show the contents of a specified folder. Divide your desktop into folders then use Portals to display the contents of the folders in an organized fashion - you can even hide the folders away somewhere else.

    19 Portals: Desktop Organization alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Portals: Desktop Organization screenshot 1
     
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    13
    Comments about Portals: Desktop Organization as an Alternative to Fences
    Ross Patterson
    Positive
    0

    It looks like windows native.

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Free and beautiful. A must have.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Fences Icon
    Portals: Desktop Organization icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Portals: Desktop Organization is a great Fences alternative.

    • Portals: Desktop Organization is the most popular Windows alternative to Fences.

    • Portals: Desktop Organization is the most popular free alternative to Fences.

    • Portals: Desktop Organization is Free and ProprietaryFences is Paid and Proprietary
    • Portals: Desktop Organization is Lightweight and CustomizableFences is not according to our users
  2. Nimi Places icon

    Nimi Places

     55 likes
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    Organizes desktop into customizable containers showing folder contents as icons/thumbnails on a scrollable surface. Has lots of management features: e.g. labelling; sort by category; time & location based settings. Thumbnails are displayed for supported Open Documents, PSD images & PDFs.

    23 Nimi Places alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Nimi Places screenshot 1
     
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    7
    79
    Comments about Nimi Places as an Alternative to Fences
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    3

    Free, and it works almost the same. Just has a little more setup than Fences does.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    6

    This performs ONE of Fences' secondary functions: displaying the contents of directories OTHER THAN the Desktop as virtual containers on the Desktop. IT IS NOT for organizing Desktop icons/files or setting up automatic rules for categorization of new Desktop icons/files.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    -2

    Nimi Places is not an exact replica of Fences, but(!) it will give you the look and feel. Instead of everything being on your desktop, it links it a folder. I am just going to change my behavior a tad and just know that my files, when placed in the fence, are not stored on the actual desktop. I still have easy access to move the files between the desktop to fence and vice versa, which is most important to me.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
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    3 of 7 comments
    Fences Icon
    Nimi Places icon

    • Some users think Nimi Places is a great Fences alternative, some don't.

    • Nimi Places is Free Personal and ProprietaryFences is Paid and Proprietary
    • Nimi Places is LightweightFences is not according to our users
  4. Sideslide icon

    Sideslide

     17 likes
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    SideSlide is an advanced, portable, unobtrusive, dockable, skinnable, instantly accessible, highly configurable Desktop Extension on Steroids! Clean desktop clutter and make your computer friendlier and faster than ever before.

    24 Sideslide alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Sideslide screenshot 1
     
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    4
    11
    Comments about Sideslide as an Alternative to Fences
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Very full featured program with a steep learning curve, but it's worth it.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    1

    Because it's not similar and easy to use like Fences that is a very intuitive application

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    It's a very comprehensive program with lots of features that can change the way you work with Windows.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
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    3 of 4 comments
    Fences Icon
    Sideslide icon

    • Some users think Sideslide is a great Fences alternative, some don't.

    • Sideslide is Free and ProprietaryFences is Paid and Proprietary
  5. Folderview Screenlet icon

    Folderview Screenlet

     6 likes
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    Folderview Screenlet is a Linux alternative to Fences (which is for Windows).

    13 Folderview Screenlet alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Screenlets
    Folderview Screenlet screenshot 1
     
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    20

    • Almost everyone thinks Folderview Screenlet is a great Fences alternative.

    • Folderview Screenlet is the most popular Linux alternative to Fences.

    • Folderview Screenlet is Free and ProprietaryFences is Paid and Proprietary
  6. Coodesker icon

    Coodesker

     3 likes
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    Automatically organize your desktop shortcuts icons and running tasks.

    17 Coodesker alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Coodesker screenshot 1
     
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    2
    Comments about Coodesker as an Alternative to Fences
    phantasmrevolutionary
    Positive
    0

    by far the best alternative to Stardock Fences, better even than Stardock Fences itself.

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Very easy to use and customize, it's lightweight, cheap, available on Steam or their website for a one time purchase, and pretty much does everything Fences does but better.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Fences Icon
    Coodesker icon
    • Coodesker is Paid and ProprietaryFences is also Paid and Proprietary
    • Coodesker is LightweightFences is not according to our users
  7. xBar for Windows icon

    xBar for Windows

     1 like
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    A Central Hub for User-Categorized Shortcuts to Apps, Files & Folders, Quick Access to Drives & System Folders with PC Info & Resource Monitoring Dashboards and One-Click Access to Common Windows Operations.

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    xBar for Windows with Black Theme and Docked on the Right, Showcasing 15% Transparency
     
6 of 6 Fences alternatives