Software Alternatives & Reviews

Classic Shell VS The Portable Freeware Collection

Compare Classic Shell VS The Portable Freeware Collection and see what are their differences

Classic Shell logo Classic Shell

Classic Shell was developed for Windows 8 since that was the first version of the popular operating system to forgo the iconic Start menu.

The Portable Freeware Collection logo The Portable Freeware Collection

One of the largest collections of free, portable software on the web.
  • Classic Shell Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30
  • The Portable Freeware Collection Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-05

Classic Shell videos

Classic Shell with Windows 10!

More videos:

  • Review - Classic Shell Review | Make Windows 8 Like Windows 7 with Classic Shell
  • Review - Classic Shell 4.0.2 Review

The Portable Freeware Collection videos

No The Portable Freeware Collection videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Classic Shell and The Portable Freeware Collection)
Note Taking
61 61%
39% 39
LMS
60 60%
40% 40
OS & Utilities
100 100%
0% 0
Bookmarks
37 37%
63% 63

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Classic Shell should be more popular than The Portable Freeware Collection. It has been mentiond 18 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Classic Shell mentions (18)

  • Scrollbars Are Becoming a Problem
    There's a great add-on called... ClassicShell http://classicshell.net/. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • What software would be used to remove the red elements and change the layout of the tray icon?
    Windows Classic Shell is what I have used for over a decade. It brings back the old start menu and can be customized. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Microsoft is turning Windows 11's Start Menu into an advertisement delivery system
    ClassicShell is no longer being developed. OpenShell succeeded it. (c.f., http://classicshell.net/). Source: over 1 year ago
  • Is it possible to install windows 8.1 on the surface pro 5?
    Http://classicshell.net/This lets you pick UI goodness you want. Source: over 1 year ago
  • looking for a taskbar replacement
    Other, non-rainmeter options that I'm aware of include TranslucentTB and Classic Shell (note: Open Shell is the newer version, but I'm unsure if it has the same features). Source: about 2 years ago
View more

The Portable Freeware Collection mentions (6)

  • Free PDF editor software that can be installed without internet connection
    If you, or others here, want other portable PDF utilities and apps, then portableapps.com above is great, but also try out http://portablefreeware.com where virtually everything I've mentioned in this sub can be found. The guys that run it work a lot with the founder/owner of portableapps.com. The thumbdrive is your friend. Source: over 1 year ago
  • portable is handy !
    Even after all these years, portable software is still small. I have a big collection of Portable software, and it still fits on my USB drive. I don't grab everything at portablefreeware.com or portableapps.com, but I do get everything that I find useful and fun. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Merging PDFs without 3rd party apps
    Some that will do it easily are PDFtk Builder, PDF Arranger, cPDF, and PDFtk. All are portable and can be found at https://portablefreeware.com (where as the url states, specializes in portable and free--a great resource). Source: over 1 year ago
  • What tools do you have on your USB thumbdrive?
    Hiya, about everything from portablefreeware.com and I am not kidding. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Software that may be useful for you
    Whenever I need specialized software, the first place I look is portablefreeware.com. Why download lot byte when few byte do trick? Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Classic Shell and The Portable Freeware Collection, you can also consider the following products

Open Shell - Open Shell is a fork of the Classic Shell project for Windows that getting back the classic start...

PortableApps.com - PortableApps.com is a website offering many free, commonly used Windows applications that have been...

Start Menu X - Start Menu X with Start Button. Power users know how inconvenient and time-consuming it is to launch programs from the system menu.

SyMenu - SyMenu is a portable menu launcher and Start Menu replacement to organize your applications quickly...

StartIsBack - StartIsBack returns Windows 10 and Windows 8 a real fully featured start menu and start button, behaving exactly like the ones in Windows 7. It's totally awesome and easy solution for your new Windows woes.

Portable Start Menu - Portable Start Menu - easy way to open/close applications on USB sticks