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 Fences+, 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 Mac, Windows + Free, Linux, Free, Desktop Customization 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. 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.

    20 Portals: Desktop Organization alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
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    2
  2. Tokri icon
     20 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.

    19 Tokri alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flatpak
     
  3. Desktop Fences+ icon
     14 likes

    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.

    16 Desktop Fences+ 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.

    26 Nimi Places alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
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    7
  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.

    29 iTop Easy Desktop alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
    |
    4
  6. Sideslide icon
     18 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.

    26 Sideslide alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
    |
    4
  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.

    14 ICU - Icon Configuration Utility alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
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    1
  8. Aicono icon
     2 likes

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

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
    |
    1
  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.

    55 XLaunchpad alternatives

    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 20 Fences alternatives