The Best Dock and Sidebar Apps for Windows (2026): An Honest List
Want a macOS-style dock or a slide-out sidebar on Windows? Here's an honest comparison of Winstep Nexus, MyDockFinder, Seelen UI, the classic docks and CoolDesk — including what each one does better than the rest.
The Windows taskbar is fine at one thing: showing what's open. But if you've used a Mac, you miss the Dock — and if you juggle several projects, you probably wish your apps, folders and links for this piece of work lived somewhere one glance away. That's the gap dock and sidebar apps fill.
They come in two flavors. Eye-candy docks recreate the macOS Dock — magnification, animations, a bar of icons at the bottom of the screen. Workspace docks and sidebars care less about looks and more about what's inside: the right apps, files and links for what you're doing right now.
Full disclosure: we make one of the tools on this list (CoolDesk). So, the usual rule — for every tool, including ours, we say what it's genuinely best at and where another tool beats it.
The short version
| Tool | Price | Style | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winstep Nexus | Free + paid Ultimate | macOS-style dock | The most customizable classic dock |
| MyDockFinder | Paid (Steam) | macOS look-alike | The closest copy of the real macOS Dock |
| Seelen UI | Free, open source | Dock + top bar + tiling | Reshaping the whole Windows desktop |
| RocketDock / ObjectDock | Free / paid | Classic dock | Nostalgia — but showing their age |
| CoolDesk | Free | Bottom bar + side dock | A dock and sidebar built around your projects |
Winstep Nexus
Nexus has been the go-to Windows dock for years, and it's still actively maintained. You get a bottom-centered bar with magnification, reflections, running-app indicators, and an enormous amount of customization.
What it's best at: making a dock yours. Themes, icon effects, sizes, behaviors — if you can imagine a dock setting, Nexus probably has it. The free version is generous.
Where others beat it: the depth is also the downside — the settings can feel like a cockpit. The most advanced features (multiple docks, tabbed docks) are in the paid Nexus Ultimate. And like every classic dock, it's a launcher for icons you pin by hand; it doesn't know which apps belong to which project.
MyDockFinder
MyDockFinder is the "make Windows look like a Mac" app. Sold for a low one-time price on Steam, it recreates the macOS Dock and the menu bar at the top of the screen with uncanny accuracy — the hover magnification, the spacing, the animations.
What it's best at: looks. If what you miss about the Mac is how the Dock feels, nothing on Windows gets closer.
Where others beat it: it's about appearance, not organization. It's paid, it changes a lot of your desktop at once, and Windows updates occasionally break its shell tweaks until it catches up.
Seelen UI
Seelen UI is a free, open-source desktop environment for Windows: a dock, a customizable top bar, an app launcher, and a tiling window manager that arranges your windows for you.
What it's best at: ambition. If you want to rebuild your whole Windows desktop — Linux-style tiling, a status bar, a dock — in one free tool, Seelen is the most complete option.
Where others beat it: it's a lot of change at once, and it rewards people who enjoy tweaking. If you just want a dock, a dedicated dock is simpler.
RocketDock and ObjectDock (the classics)
RocketDock and Stardock's ObjectDock are where Windows docks started, and you'll still see them recommended.
What they're best at: simplicity, and in ObjectDock's case Stardock's polish.
Where others beat them: RocketDock hasn't been meaningfully updated in many years and shows it on modern high-DPI displays. ObjectDock is paid and has seen far less attention than Stardock's other apps. For a new setup in 2026, start with Nexus instead.
CoolDesk (that's us)
CoolDesk is a free project workspace for Windows and macOS, and its dock is built around one idea: show what belongs to the work you're doing right now. One shortcut — Ctrl+Shift+D (⌘+Shift+D on Mac) — cycles between three layouts:
- Full window — the complete CoolDesk workspace view.
- Side dock — a slim handle on the left or right edge of your screen. Click it and a sidebar slides in over your apps with your workspaces, tabs and notes; click away and it tucks back to the edge. Nothing on your screen gets resized.
- Bottom bar — a Mac-style dock strip. One view shows everything open right now (running apps and browser tabs); the other shows the current project's links, apps, folders and files. Drop a file from your file manager onto the bar to add it to the project.
Folder chips are developer-aware: they show the project's stack logo, the git branch and whether it has uncommitted changes, and when a dev server is running.
What it's best at: context. Every other dock on this list shows the same icons no matter what you're working on. CoolDesk's dock changes with your project — switch workspace and the bar fills with that project's apps, folders and links. It's free, needs no account, and keeps everything on your device.
Where others beat it: looks and customization. There's no magnification or icon reflections — Nexus and MyDockFinder win on eye candy. It doesn't replace the Windows taskbar or re-skin your desktop the way Seelen UI does. And it's the youngest tool here.
What about a "sidebar" like Windows 7 gadgets?
If by sidebar you mean the old Windows 7 gadgets — clocks, weather, CPU meters — that's a different category. GadgetPack (formerly 8GadgetPack) brings the original gadgets back, and Rainmeter is the free, open-source standard for desktop widgets and skins. Both are still maintained, and both work alongside any dock on this list.
Which one should you pick?
- "I want the most customizable dock" → Winstep Nexus
- "I want Windows to look and feel like a Mac" → MyDockFinder
- "I want to rebuild my whole desktop, tiling and all" → Seelen UI
- "I want widgets — clock, weather, system stats" → GadgetPack or Rainmeter
- "I want a dock and sidebar that show my current project's apps, files and tabs" → CoolDesk
Try CoolDesk free: download for Windows or Mac — no account, about a minute to set up. Press Ctrl+Shift+D to try each layout.
FAQ
Can I get the macOS Dock on Windows 11? Not the real one, but MyDockFinder copies it closely, and Winstep Nexus gives you the same idea with far more customization.
What's the best free dock for Windows? Winstep Nexus (free version) for a classic dock, Seelen UI if you also want a top bar and tiling, and CoolDesk if you want a dock organized by project.
Can I add a sidebar to Windows 11? Yes. CoolDesk's side dock slides in from the screen edge with your workspaces, tabs and notes. For gadget-style widgets, use GadgetPack or Rainmeter.
Will a dock app slow down my PC? Modern docks are light, but stacking several shell tweaks at once is where problems start. Pick one dock and one widget tool at most.
Looking for a launcher instead? See Raycast Alternatives for Windows.
Tags: dock for windows, macos dock windows 11, windows sidebar, taskbar alternative, productivity