# StartAllBack review (2026): is it worth $4.99? > Windows 11 taskbar, Start menu and Explorer restyling tool Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. StartAllBack changes the Windows 11 shell to bring back older layouts. It restores a movable taskbar with labels and adjustable icon sizes, a classic Start menu, the older File Explorer command bar and context menus. The same developer sells StartIsBack for Windows 8 and 10, and one license key works across versions. - **Category:** Desktop Utilities - **Made by:** Stanislav Zinukhov (StartIsBack) - **Website:** https://www.startallback.com - **Runs on:** Windows - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you are on Windows 10 or earlier, as that is a different product, StartIsBack. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, StartAllBack is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $4.99 one-time for a personal license. - **Pricing model:** Free trial - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** 30-day trial with no feature limits; afterward it runs in a limited mode with a blank Start menu. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Personal | $4.99 one-time, personal use | License key stated to work with any StartIsBack version, including StartAllBack. Personal use only; the site also mentions a family pack. | | Business, 10 PCs | $50.00 one-time for 10 PCs | Required for business use. Adds group policies, priority email support and future optional updates; 100 PCs is $450 and 1,000 PCs is $3,000. | Read from https://www.startisback.com/ on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with StartAllBack before buying. ## Key features - **Taskbar restore:** Shows labels on task icons, sets icon size and margins, and moves the taskbar to the top, left or right edge. - **Start menu:** Brings back a Start menu that opens programs and system places in one click, with its own search. - **File Explorer and Control Panel:** Restores a revamped ribbon and command bar, a bottom details pane and the older search box. - **Context menus:** Replaces the Windows 11 menus with rounded acrylic ones that the vendor says open faster. - **Styles and recoloring:** Offers Windows 7, Windows 8 and third-party taskbar and Start menu styles and recolors UI in many windows apps. - **Light footprint:** The vendor says it uses less RAM and starts fewer processes than the default shell. ## Good for - Windows 11 users who miss the older taskbar and Start menu - Businesses that want group-policy control over the Start menu ## Worth knowing - Windows 11 only for StartAllBack; Windows 10 and 8 use StartIsBack versions. - After the 30-day trial the Start menu goes blank and a reminder appears at every boot until a key is activated. - New versions for new Windows releases may need a license upgrade payment, according to the vendor's FAQ. - Activation is tied to the PC's hardware, and one key activates a limited number of computers. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.4 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. StartAllBack gives Windows 11 a taskbar, Start menu and Explorer closer to the older ones, for $4.99 once. After the 30-day trial the Start menu goes blank and a reminder shows at every boot until you activate it. - **Value for money: A.** $4.99 once for personal use, far under the category's cheaper quarter. Businesses pay $50 for 10 PCs. - **Free plan and trial: C.** A 30-day trial with no feature limits, and no card is mentioned. After that, a limited mode with a blank Start menu. - **Features: C.** Restores taskbar labels and placement, a Start menu, Explorer commands and old-style context menus. It does one job on Windows 11 only, and Windows 10 and 8 need StartIsBack. - **Ease of use: B.** No rating on record. You install it and the taskbar changes, with options to adjust. - **Platforms and integrations: D.** Windows 11 only for this product. No other platform and no integrations. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from StartIsBack's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among desktop utilities - StartAllBack's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 17 of the 96 other desktop utilities we grade, and level with 17. - It stands best on value for money (A, above 24 of 96) and worst on platforms and integrations (D, above 0). The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/utilities ## Keep it, or make your own? **Your call.** It depends on the utility: a converter or a calculator is an afternoon. StartAllBack sits between: not beyond making, and not a weekend's work either. What you would give up is listed below. Whether that is worth the price is your call. At $4.99, paid once, it costs less than the weekend it would take to replace, which is the argument for keeping it. - You could not: A native app living in the menu bar. - You could not: A real app for Windows. Something home-made would be a web page. - You could not: It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** One-time purchase, Works offline, Menu bar app ## Alternatives - [Microsoft PowerToys](https://toolgpa.com/tools/microsoft-powertoys): Free Microsoft utilities for customizing Windows 10 and 11. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/microsoft-powertoys-vs-startallback) - [Files](https://toolgpa.com/tools/files): Open-source file manager for Windows with tabs and dual pane. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/files-vs-startallback) - [Fences](https://toolgpa.com/tools/fences): Windows desktop organizer that groups icons into shaded areas. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fences-vs-startallback) - [Flow Launcher](https://toolgpa.com/tools/flow-launcher): Free, open-source app launcher and file search for Windows. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/flow-launcher-vs-startallback) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://www.startallback.com/ - https://www.startisback.com/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/startallback Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).