Free Fences Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to Fences for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best free Windows alternative is Portals: Desktop Organization. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Fences and many of them are free and available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free Windows alternatives to Fences are Tokri, Desktop Frames +, Nimi Places and iTop Easy Desktop.

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Fences alternatives are mainly Desktop Customization Tools, but if you're looking for Application Launchers or File Managers you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Windows + Free, Linux, Mac, Windows, Desktop Customization and Free. 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. 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.

    25 Portals: Desktop Organization alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
    |
    2
    Portals: Desktop Organization vs Fences Comments
    Ross Patterson
    Positive
    0

    It looks like windows native.

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Free and beautiful. A must have.

    • 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. Tokri icon
     21 likes

    Desktop basket utility for collecting text, files, images, and URLs with drag and drop. Supports moving or copying between apps via keyboard shortcuts. Works on Mac, Windows, Linux, and Flatpak. Minimalist, open-source, local temporary file management solution.

    25 Tokri alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flatpak
     
  3. Organizes desktop icons into virtual fences with customizable design options, enhanced visual effects, and right-click interactions. Works on Windows, portable via USB, lightweight, supports multiple monitors, runs offline, and requires no registration for core features.

    23 Desktop Frames + alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  4. Nimi Places icon
     56 likes

    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.

    29 Nimi Places alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
    |
    7
    Nimi Places vs Fences Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    3

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

    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.

    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.

    3 of 7 comments
    • Nimi Places is Free Personal and ProprietaryFences is Paid and Proprietary
    • Nimi Places is LightweightFences is not according to our users
  5. Automates desktop organization for Windows by grouping files, apps, and folders into customizable boxes, supporting appearance adjustments, instant hotkey access, multi-page desktops, double-click hiding, Folder Portal, and fast search functionality.

    34 iTop Easy Desktop alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
    |
    4
    iTop Easy Desktop vs Fences Comments
    bitoolean
    Positive
    0

    It automatically manages new icons added to the desktop by installers repetitively every time that software gets updated by remembering which container they are assigned to and thus avoiding having to manage duplicates manually.

    phantasmrevolutionary
    Positive
    1

    CoodeDesker, StarDock Fences and iTop Easy Desktop are the only softwares for desktop (professional-looking specifically) organization via containers that are worth trying. iTop Easy Desktop might be the worst of those 3, but it's the one that has a free option.

    heartily
    Positive
    0

    Best free alternative to Fences.

    3 of 4 comments
    • iTop Easy Desktop is Freemium and ProprietaryFences is Paid and Proprietary
    • iTop Easy Desktop is CustomizableFences is not according to our users
  6. Sideslide icon
     17 likes

    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.

    28 Sideslide alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
    |
    4
    Sideslide vs Fences Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    0

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

    Guest
    Negative
    1

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

    Guest
    Positive
    0

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

    3 of 4 comments
    • Sideslide is Free and ProprietaryFences is Paid and Proprietary
    • Sideslide is an Application Launchers Fences is a Desktop Customization Tool
  7. Restore your desktop when the icons get “rearranged”.

    Melba23 and I found we were working on very similar ideas to restore the Desktop icons to their normal place if they became “rearranged”. Vista seems to like this doing on occasion just for fun – but we all know some applicat.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
    |
    1
    Discontinued

    The latest version is from September 2018.

    ICU - Icon Configuration Utility vs Fences Comments
    Guest
    Negative
    0

    It only keeps the icons arranged, don't let you make fences which I think is the best feature of it.

    • ICU - Icon Configuration Utility is Free and Open SourceFences is Paid and Proprietary
  8. Aicono icon
     2 likes

    Say goodbye to desktop chaos – Aicono uses cutting-edge AI to automatically group and arrange your icons!

    18 Aicono alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
    |
    1
    Aicono vs Fences Comments
    Tetramatrix
    Positive
    1

    I like Aicono because it runs locally, is completely free, and uses the latest AI to automatically group and arrange icons. It’s highly customizable, offers a manual fallback, lets you fine-tune the layout with a real-time WYSIWYG interface, and integrates smoothly with local Llama, Ollama, and any OpenAI-compatible local server.

    • Aicono is Free and ProprietaryFences is Paid and Proprietary
    • Aicono is LightweightFences is not according to our users
  9. XLaunchpad icon
     34 likes

    XLaunchpad gives you instant access to all your shortcuts. Arrange apps in XLaunchpad any way you like by dragging icons to different locations or by grouping apps in folders. Simply drag one icon over another to create a folder.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Warning

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  10. WorkTop icon
     Like

    Multi-desktop manager for Windows with separate files, icon layouts, and wallpapers per desktop. Not just virtual workspaces.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  11. ToolBox icon
     8 likes

    ToolBox is an application launcher for Windows operating systems with many amazing features. Easy to install, you can get going in minutes. Its drag & drop interface creates shortcuts to almost anything; applications, drives, folders, even simple files.

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Proprietary

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
12 of 22 Fences alternatives