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 Windows + Free, Mac, Linux, 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.

More about Fences

Fences alternatives page was last updated Apr 7, 2026

Portals: Desktop Organization
73 likes
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
Desktop Customization
Origin
United States
Platforms
Windows
Is this a good alternative to Fences?

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2comments
Portals: Desktop Organization vs Fences Comments

Ross Patterson
Positive commentAug 24, 2021
0
It looks like windows native.
Guest
Positive commentJan 11, 2023
0
Free and beautiful. A must have.
Review by a new / low-activity user.
Portals: Desktop Organization is Free and ProprietaryFences is Paid and Proprietary
Portals: Desktop Organization is Lightweight and CustomizableFences is not according to our users
Nimi Places
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
Application types
Desktop Customization
Application Launcher
Origin
Portugal
EU
Platforms
Windows
Is Nimi Places a good alternative to Fences?

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7comments
Nimi Places vs Fences Comments

Top Positive Comment
Guest
Feb 7, 2018
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
Apr 25, 2018
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 commentMar 5, 2020
-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.
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
Sideslide
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.
Cost / License
Free
Proprietary
Application types
Application Launcher
Desktop Customization
Origin
Israel
Platforms
Windows
Is Sideslide a good alternative to Fences?

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4comments
Sideslide vs Fences Comments

Guest
Positive commentNov 25, 2022
0
Very full featured program with a steep learning curve, but it's worth it.
Review by a new / low-activity user.
Guest
Negative commentMay 11, 2020
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 commentApr 21, 2021
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.
3 of 4 comments
Sideslide is Free and ProprietaryFences is Paid and Proprietary
Folderview Screenlet
6 likes
Folderview Screenlet is a Linux alternative to Fences (which is for Windows).
Cost / License
Free
Proprietary
Application type
Desktop Customization
Origin
Portugal
EU
Alerts
Discontinued
Platforms
Linux
Screenlets
Is Folderview Screenlet a good alternative to Fences?
Coodesker
5 likes
Automatically organize your desktop shortcuts icons and running tasks.
18 Coodesker alternatives
Cost / License
Paid
Proprietary
Application types
Desktop Customization
Application Launcher
Platforms
Windows
+1
Is Coodesker a good alternative to Fences?

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3comments
Coodesker vs Fences Comments

phantasmrevolutionary
Positive commentJun 26, 2023
0
by far the best alternative to Stardock Fences, better even than Stardock Fences itself.
Guest
Positive commentSep 2, 2025
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.
AnomalousDoggo
Positive commentMar 11, 2026
0
It's really lightweight, fast and does what it supposed to. I've been looking to replace Fences for about a year or two now, on and off and I'm telling you, this should be at the top of this list.
Coodesker is Paid and ProprietaryFences is also Paid and Proprietary
Coodesker is Lightweight and Privacy focusedFences is not according to our users
xBar for Windows
1 like
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
Paid
Proprietary
Application type
Desktop Customization
Platforms
Windows
+1
Is xBar for Windows a good alternative to Fences?

6 of 6 Fences alternatives

Fences AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Shell Extensions

Alternatives list

Portals: Desktop Organization

Cost / License

Application type

Origin

Platforms

Portals: Desktop Organization vs Fences Comments

Nimi Places

Cost / License

Application types

Origin

Platforms

Nimi Places vs Fences Comments

Sideslide

Cost / License

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Platforms

Sideslide vs Fences Comments

Folderview Screenlet

Cost / License

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Origin

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Coodesker

Cost / License

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Coodesker vs Fences Comments

xBar for Windows

Cost / License

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