# Fences

> Windows desktop organizer that groups icons into shaded areas

Fences is a Windows desktop organizer from Stardock. It places desktop icons, files and folders in shaded areas called fences, which can be sorted automatically by rules, stacked as tabs or rolled up out of sight. Folder Portals mirror any folder onto the desktop, and Peek brings the fences on top of open windows with a shortcut. Fences 6 is sold as a one-year subscription or as a permanent license for that version, and is also part of the Object Desktop suite.

- **Category:** Desktop Utilities
- **Made by:** Stardock (since 1991)
- **Website:** https://www.stardock.com/products/fences/
- **Runs on:** Windows
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 9, 2026

## Pricing

Fences is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $9.99 per year (Single, 1 Year Subscription).

- **Pricing model:** Free trial
- **Free plan:** None.
- **Free trial:** 30-day free trial download.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Single | $9.99 per year (US dollar price in the page's metadata) | A 1 Year Subscription for one device, kept on the latest version. Read from India, the page showed ₹1,025.22 with ₹1,206.00 crossed out. |
| Multi-Device | ₹2,411.00 per year, as shown to a visitor in India | A 1 Year Subscription with one key and 5 simultaneous activations. The US dollar price could not be read. |
| Fences 6 on Steam | $29.99 one-time purchase (US Steam store) | A permanent license for Fences 6 with a 1 PC activation limit. It gets 6.x updates but not later major versions. A Multi-Device Upgrade add-on is $19.99. |
| Object Desktop | ₹4,820.82 per year, as shown to a visitor in India | Stardock's suite of more than a dozen apps including Fences, with up to 5 active installs. Shown with ₹6,026.00 crossed out. |
| Fences 6 for Business | Custom | Priced in an order builder by number of licenses, with volume discounts, single or per-machine keys and a year of maintenance and premium support. |

Read from https://www.stardock.com/products/fences/ on Oct 9, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Fences before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Upgrade pricing for owners of earlier versions** (Other savings): Owners of Fences 3, 4 or 5 can check their eligibility on the product page for a discounted upgrade to Fences 6. The amount is shown after the check. Source: https://www.stardock.com/products/fences/

## Key features

- **Fence groups:** Desktop icons, files and folders sit in shaded areas whose size, color, transparency and sorting can be changed. A fence can be rolled up to keep its contents out of sight until needed.
- **Automatic sorting rules:** Rules place new desktop items into fences by file type, name, time or target location, for example collecting every screenshot in one fence.
- **Folder Portals:** Mirror any folder, including cloud and network folders, onto the desktop as a fence, so its contents can be reached without opening File Explorer.
- **Peek:** Pressing the Windows key and Space brings your fences on top of all open windows for quick access to files, folders and applications.
- **Tabs, Icon Tint and Chameleon:** Fences 6 stacks several fences together as tabs, applies a uniform color tint to desktop icons, and can fade icons into the background to reduce visual noise.
- **Business deployment:** Fences 6 for Business adds tooling to deploy configurations from network drives, content locking, single-key activation and centralized activation management.

## Good for

- Windows users whose desktop is crowded with shortcuts and files
- Keeping game launchers, school work or project files in separate groups
- IT teams that want the same organized desktop on every company PC

## Worth knowing

- Windows 10 and 11 only, including ARM devices; no Mac or Linux version is listed.
- A copy bought as a subscription stops working if the subscription is allowed to lapse.
- A permanent license covers Fences 6 and its 6.x updates but not later major versions, and the Steam edition is permanent-license only.
- The Single plan covers one device; running Fences on up to 5 PCs needs the Multi-Device plan or a 5-pack license.

**Tags:** File management, One-time purchase

## Alternatives

- [DisplayFusion](https://toolgpa.com/tools/displayfusion): Multi-monitor taskbars, wallpaper and window control for Windows. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/displayfusion-vs-fences)
- [Microsoft PowerToys](https://toolgpa.com/tools/microsoft-powertoys): Free Microsoft utilities for customizing Windows 10 and 11. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fences-vs-microsoft-powertoys)
- [Files](https://toolgpa.com/tools/files): Open-source file manager for Windows with tabs and dual pane. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fences-vs-files)
- [Hazel](https://toolgpa.com/tools/hazel): Rule-based automatic file organization for the Mac. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fences-vs-hazel)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 9, 2026:

- https://www.stardock.com/products/fences/
- https://www.stardock.com/js/buildorder/1.0.0/byo.html?pid=fences6-corp&qty=1&st=support-subscription&kt=single&productPath=fences&bookingid=
- https://store.steampowered.com/app/3165690/Fences_6/?cc=us&l=english
- https://forums.stardock.com/534855/fences-6-upgrade-faq
- https://www.stardock.com/news/535945/stardock-releases-fences-6
- https://www.stardock.com/blog/511861/how-to-try-any-stardock-software-for-free
- https://www.stardock.com/about/

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/fences
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).