Taskbar customization has become a growing trend among Windows users seeking a cleaner and more personalized desktop experience. Among the many tools designed to enhance taskbar functionality, TaskbarX has carved out a loyal user base for its simplicity, flexibility, and elegant approach to centering taskbar icons.
Centering icons isn’t just a cosmetic upgrade. It plays into productivity, workflow efficiency, and personal aesthetics. Whether you’re a fan of the macOS-style layout or you simply prefer a more balanced taskbar look, TaskbarX delivers a minimalist solution with surprisingly deep features.
Let’s examine what makes TaskbarX stand out, how it compares to alternatives, and whether it truly deserves the title of the best tool for centering taskbar icons on Windows.
Windows Taskbar: Default Limitations
By default, Windows positions taskbar icons starting from the left, pushing them progressively to the right as more apps are opened or pinned. While this layout has served its purpose for decades, it’s not ideal for everyone.
Many users prefer a centered taskbar for the following reasons:
- Visual balance: Centered icons provide symmetry, especially on ultrawide monitors.
- User experience: With centered icons, your most-used apps are closer to the screen’s midpoint, reducing mouse travel.
- Aesthetic appeal: Centered layouts resemble macOS or some Linux desktops, offering a modern look.
Unfortunately, Windows doesn’t offer native support for fully customizing the taskbar position of icons, especially in older versions like Windows 10. This gap is where third-party tools like TaskbarX come into play.
What TaskbarX Offers Out of the Box
Developed by Chris Andriessen, TaskbarX is a lightweight, open-source utility specifically designed to center your taskbar icons and provide subtle animations and visual effects that enhance the overall desktop feel.
Here are its core features:
Centered Icons
At its heart, TaskbarX perfectly centers your pinned and running applications on the taskbar. It dynamically adjusts icon placement based on the number of apps open or pinned, ensuring your layout stays centered regardless of your workflow.
Smooth Animations
One of TaskbarX’s most praised features is its fluid animation options. Users can apply different transition effects—such as ease-in, slide, or bounce—to make the taskbar icons shift naturally when new windows open or close.
Transparency and Blur Effects
TaskbarX allows users to add blur, acrylic, and transparent effects to the taskbar, creating a more immersive and modern interface. Combined with custom background colors and gradients, your desktop can look dramatically different in just a few clicks.
Custom Color Options
Are you tired of the default black or gray taskbar? TaskbarX offers complete control over taskbar colors, allowing for vibrant themes, gradient transitions, or completely transparent backgrounds.
Performance-Oriented
Despite its rich visuals, TaskbarX is built to be lightweight and efficient. It runs in the background with minimal memory usage and doesn’t noticeably affect system performance, even on older hardware.
Setup and Installation
Getting started with TaskbarX is straightforward:
- Download the ZIP or installer from the official GitHub page or Microsoft Store.
- Extract and run the configuration utility, which acts as the control panel for all customization options.
- Apply your desired settings, including icon alignment, animation speed, and visual effects.
- Click ‘Apply’ and watch your taskbar transform in real-time.
There’s no bloatware, no aggressive ads, and no complex learning curve. Users appreciate how quickly they can go from install to implementation.
Customization Without Complexity
What sets TaskbarX apart from other taskbar utilities is its balance between customization and simplicity. Advanced users can fine-tune dozens of settings, while casual users can stick to the defaults for instant results.
You can configure:
- Primary and secondary monitor behavior
- Startup delay for smoother boot performance
- Automatic resetting when screen resolution changes
- Fallback modes for compatibility with unusual display setups
Yet, everything is controlled through a single clean interface. There’s no need to edit registry entries or scripts.
Compatibility Across Windows Versions
TaskbarX works primarily with Windows 10 and is partially compatible with Windows 11. While Windows 11 has its own native centered taskbar, it lacks the same customization features offered by TaskbarX—such as animations, transparency tweaks, and fine-tuned control.
On Windows 11:
- Some TaskbarX features are limited due to system restrictions
- Animations may not behave identically
- Microsoft’s new taskbar architecture introduces challenges for deep customization
Still, many users find TaskbarX to be a worthy add-on even with Windows 11’s native centering, simply because it allows for a more tailored and animated experience.
How It Stacks Up Against Alternatives
TaskbarX isn’t the only game in town. Other tools offer taskbar customization, but few offer the same combination of performance, open-source freedom, and control. Here’s how TaskbarX compares:
TaskbarXI
- Designed for Windows 11
- Offers rounded corners and floating effects
- Lacks animation depth and detailed configuration found in TaskbarX
StartIsBack / StartAllBack
- Paid software with a heavy focus on restoring classic Windows Start Menu features
- Includes taskbar customization, but at a cost
- More suited to users looking to emulate Windows 7 aesthetics
Rainmeter (with taskbar skins)
- Highly customizable
- Requires extensive configuration and scripting knowledge
- Not designed specifically for taskbar centering, but can mimic it
Compared to these, TaskbarX provides a more focused and purpose-built solution for one thing: better taskbar alignment and appearance.
Ideal Use Cases
TaskbarX is an excellent fit for users who:
- Want a macOS-style centered taskbar on Windows
- Prefer a minimalist look with subtle animations
- Use ultrawide or dual monitors and need visual symmetry
- Enjoy customizing their desktop experience without installing bulky software
- Need a free, open-source solution that doesn’t compromise performance
Even gamers and professionals who depend on system responsiveness can use TaskbarX without sacrificing resources.
Limitations and Known Issues
Like any tool, TaskbarX isn’t without its flaws.
- Windows 11 limitations: Some advanced features don’t work due to Microsoft’s new taskbar architecture.
- Occasional bugs: In rare cases, icon misalignment or crashes may occur after resolution changes or updates.
- Lack of automatic updates: Users must manually check for updates if not using the Microsoft Store version.
Still, the developer maintains an active GitHub community, where updates and bug fixes are released regularly.
Open Source and Community Driven
TaskbarX isn’t just free—it’s open source. This means developers and tech-savvy users can inspect, modify, or even contribute to the software. This transparency builds trust, especially in an age when system-level tools often come with hidden baggage.
The community surrounding TaskbarX also helps with troubleshooting, customization tips, and skin sharing.
Conclusion
TaskbarX shines where it matters. It’s fast, beautiful, reliable, and endlessly customizable. Whether you’re looking to center icons, add slick animations, or completely change your taskbar’s appearance, it checks all the right boxes.
While Windows 11 has reduced the need for third-party centering tools, TaskbarX still outperforms native functionality by offering customization that Microsoft doesn’t yet provide.