How to Change Start Menu Size in Windows 11

Option 1Change Start Menu Size in Settings

Changing the Windows 11 Start menu size in the Settings app is the quickest and safest method. It does not touch the Registry, and you can reverse the change in seconds. It is also the newest method, so try it first.

Microsoft described the feature in its “Windows news you can use: September 2026” post, and update KB5120998 brings it to your PC. Because the rollout is gradual, the option may not appear on every PC yet. To check, open Settings › Windows Update, select Check for updates, and install the update that includes KB5120998 if Windows offers it.

1. Open Settings by pressing the Win and the I key together. The Settings⚙️ window opens.
2. On the left side, click Personalization. Microsoft’s release notes call this page Personalize, so the label may differ slightly by build.
3. On the right side, click Start. The Start settings page opens with options such as layout and recent content. Microsoft renamed the Recommended section to Recent, so look for Recent (formerly Recommended) on this page.
4. Find Start menu⊞ size and click the box next to it. A short list drops down.
5. Pick Automatic (the default), Small, or Large. The choice applies straight away in Settings.
6. Open the Start menu⊞ to check the result. If you like it, close the Settings⚙️ window.

That’s it. Your Start menu now uses the size you picked, and Windows keeps that choice until you change it.

The same update also lets you decide which parts of the Start menu appear. The Start settings let you show or hide Pinned, Recent (formerly Recommended), and All independently. Hiding a section can free up room, so try it together with the size setting.

If you cannot find Start menu size, your build does not include the feature yet. Check the build number under Settings › System › About. You can also join the Windows Insider program if you want the feature early. To undo the change, return to the same box and choose Automatic.

Option 2Change Start Menu Size using the Registry

Adjusting the Windows 11 Start menu size through the Registry Editor lets you force a specific layout when the standard options are not available. The Registry is the database where Windows stores its settings. In short, open the Registry Editor by typing regedit in the taskbar search, go to 🗝️HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Modules\GlobalSettings\Sizercopy, and add a value to set your menu size.

Why do this? The Registry lets you adjust settings that are missing from the Settings app. For example, the option may not show up on a PC that does not have KB5120998 yet, because Microsoft is rolling it out gradually. If the Settings option is present, use that instead.

What happens when done? Your Start menu changes size based on the setting you choose in the Registry. Restart your computer or sign out and back in for the change to take full effect. Unlike the Settings method, the change does not show up instantly.

Create a restore point first, or export the Sizer key to a file, as shown just before the step that creates the value. A wrong edit in the Registry can cause problems, so change only the value described here. This guide uses the graphical Registry Editor, which is safer than editing the Registry through other means.

Step 1Open Registry Editor

Note: This step requires administrator privileges. If your account is a standard user, Windows asks for an administrator password.

1. Press the Win and type regedit. Registry Editor appears in the search🔍 results.
2. Right-click Registry Editor and select Run as administrator.
3. Click Yes if a User Account Control prompt appears. The Registry Editor window opens.

Step 2Navigate to the correct Registry key

Now go to the right key. The path is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Modules\GlobalSettings\Sizer

4. Click the address bar at the top of the Registry Editor window.
5. Paste the path above, then press Enter.

The left pane should now jump to the matching folder, and its existing values appear on the right. If nothing happens, check that you copied the whole path with no extra spaces.

Step 3Create or Modify the ‘StartMenuSize’ DWORD value

In the left pane, right-click the Sizer folder and select Export. Give the file a name, choose a location you will remember, and click Save. To undo your work later, double-click that saved file and confirm the prompt. A restore point is a good second safety net if you prefer one.

Next, create the new value in the Sizer folder. The value is a binary value, not a DWORD. A binary value stores raw bytes, which the editor shows as pairs of hexadecimal digits (hex, a base-16 number system that uses 0–9 and A–F).

6. In the right-hand pane of the Sizer folder, right-click on🖱️ an empty space.
7. Select New, then click Binary Value. A new entry appears in the list with its name highlighted. The original version of this guide said DWORD (32-bit) Value, which is the wrong type for this setting.
8. Name the new value PageSpaceControlSizer, then press Enter.
9. Double-click the newly created PageSpaceControlSizer value to edit it. The Edit Binary Value window opens.

Step 4Set the Value Data for your desired size

10. Enter the size in the Value data field as hex bytes. Do not type the plain numbers 0, 1 and 2 that earlier versions of this guide listed. Those numbers suit a DWORD value and do not work in a binary value.

I could not confirm from Microsoft’s documentation which byte sequence stands for Automatic, Small or Large, so I will not guess at them. Entering wrong bytes in a binary value can leave the Start menu with an odd layout. If you are not sure of the right bytes, use the Settings method instead.

To undo the change later, delete the value you created, or double-click the .reg file you exported earlier to restore the key as it was.

Step 5Apply the changes

11. Click OK to save the change. The new bytes appear in the Data column.
12. Close the Registry Editor.

To see the change, restart your computer or sign out and back in. A full restart is the most reliable option. Another choice is to restart Windows Explorer, the process that draws the taskbar and Start menu. To do that, follow these steps:

13. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager📊.
14. Find Windows Explorer📁 in the list and right-click it.
15. Select Restart. The taskbar🖥️ disappears for a moment and then comes back.
16. Open the Start menu⊞ to confirm the new size.

That’s it. The Registry value now sets your Start menu size, and deleting the value or importing your backup file restores the earlier behavior.

Summary

To change your Windows 11 Start menu size, go to Settings › Personalize › Start › Start menu size, the path Microsoft gives for update KB5120998. On most screens the left-hand page is labeled Personalization. Select Automatic, Small, or Large. This is the method to try first, and the change applies straight away in Settings.

If your PC does not have the update yet, because the rollout is gradual, or the option is missing, you can edit the Windows Registry by hand. That method needs a backup, care, and administrator privileges, and you must restart or sign out and back in afterward. Whichever you use, setting the size back to Automatic in Settings, or restoring your exported Registry backup, undoes the change.