Start11 by Stardock
Ranked 2 of 3 start menu replacements by recommenders
People recommend it for bringing back the Windows 10 style taskbar and start menu for a few dollars, and it gives many buyers most of the look and function they wanted.
People recommend it for bringing back the Windows 10 style taskbar and start menu for a few dollars, and it gives many buyers most of the look and function they wanted.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Restores Windows 10 taskbar and start menu
“I've managed to get the Windows 10 taskbar and start menu back. It only cost $8.”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Windows 11 users are tired of MS account requirements creeping into everything” “$5 spent on Start11 to sidestep the whole start menu train wreck”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux” Cheap, costs only a few dollars
“I've managed to get the Windows 10 taskbar and start menu back. It only cost $8.”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Windows 11 users are tired of MS account requirements creeping into everything” “$5 spent on Start11 to sidestep the whole start menu train wreck”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux” Does what buyers needed
“it gives me about 95% of the functionality I wanted back”
Comment from 24 Mar 2026 in “Microsoft's "Fix" for Windows 11: Flowers After the Beating” “I bought it off Steam and it's exactly what I needed!”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Windows 11 users are tired of MS account requirements creeping into everything”
Other start menu replacements people recommend
The two most recommended other start menu replacements, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LiteStep | 10 | 1 | 91% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Start11 by StardockThis page | 7 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Classic Shell | 5 | 1 | 83% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I bought it off Steam and it's exactly what I needed!”
“I've managed to get the Windows 10 taskbar and start menu back. It only cost $8.”
“it gives me about 95% of the functionality I wanted back”
“I just bought Start11 from Stardock for side taskbar placement.”
“The result looks and works almost nothing like Windows 11, more like an updated Win7.”
“$5 spent on Start11 to sidestep the whole start menu train wreck”
“which can integrate with Everything!”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.