Alternatives to Open-Shell
The continuation of Classic Shell, bringing a classic Start menu and Explorer toolbar back to Windows 7 through 11. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Open-Shell
The continuation of Classic Shell, bringing a classic Start menu and Explorer toolbar back to Windows 7 through 11.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Open-Shell.
StartAllBack
Customize the Windows 11 Start menu, taskbar and Explorer interface.
StartAllBack also customizes the Windows 11 Start menu, taskbar and Explorer, but it is paid, closed-source software rather than Open-Shell's free MIT-licensed project.
Start11
Replace the Windows Start menu with customizable layouts and organization.
Start11 offers several Start-menu designs plus organization and taskbar customization, but it needs a paid license after the trial and is not open source.
ExplorerPatcher
Brings the Windows 10 taskbar, Start menu and Alt+Tab back to Windows 11, along with a lot of other interface options.
ExplorerPatcher restores the Windows 10 Start menu, taskbar and Alt+Tab on Windows 11 under GPL-2.0, instead of a classic hierarchical menu, and patches Explorer, so major updates can break it.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Seelen UI
Customize the Windows desktop with replacement interface components.
7+ Taskbar Tweaker
Change grouping, clicking and other behavior of the classic Windows taskbar.
TranslucentTB
Makes the Windows taskbar transparent, blurred or tinted, and changes it depending on what is on screen.
SmartTaskbar
Hide the Windows taskbar automatically when it overlaps a window.
SecureUxTheme
Load custom Windows visual styles with an in-memory theme patcher.
