Start11 promises improvements to the Windows 11 Start menu and its search capabilities.

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If you’re not happy with the look and feel of Windows 11’s overhauled Start menu, a fix is coming. Not from Microsoft, though, but from Stardock’s new Start11 app.

This isn’t the first time Stardock has come to the rescue. Stardock’s studio earns a living by improving the appearance and feel of Microsoft’s operating system with tools such as Groupy and Fences. Start8 gave Windows 8 a Start menu, and Start10 updated Windows 10 with a Windows 7-themed Start menu, too. Now Stardock has set out to polish the Windows 11 Start menu and its search capabilities.

Our hands-on with the official Windows 11 beta shows how Microsoft has shaken up not only how the Start menu looks, but also its location. Currently, there’s a utilitarian matrix of icons in the Windows 11 Start menu, which remains fixed at the center of your screen. This is a very different design from the traditional Start Menu.

Start11 fixes that with bigger, brighter icons and the ability to slide the Windows 11 Start menu over to the left-hand corner. You can add submenus and choose the background color. Additionally, you can manually select your favorite applications to be displayed front and center. Stardock promised future improvements to Stardock’s search box. These include faster and more accurate results, as well as the ability to solve simple math problems directly within the search box.

Start11 can be used to modify the Windows 11 taskbar as well.

Stardock’s Start11 utility is cheap, but it’s not free: $4. 99 for the Start11 beta, with no indication if that will be the final price. (Stardock also promises a Start11 for Business plan, with volume discounts.) And if you already own Start8 or Start10, Stardock may offer you the ability to upgrade at a discount. To find out if you are eligible, click the link at bottom of the download page.

Finally, a word of warning: Windows 11 still remains in the development stage, so Microsoft could simply use Start11 as inspiration and integrate some or all of its ideas into the operating system, for free. If you just can’t stand the look and feel of Windows 11 right now, however, Stardock offers an alternative. And if Microsoft doesn’t make material changes to its next-gen Start menu, Start11 will be ready to help, just like Start10 and Start8 before it.

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Mark is the senior editor at PCWorld. He focuses on Microsoft news, chip technology and other beats.