Bartender
A long-running Mac menu bar manager that hides, rearranges and automatically shows menu bar icons.
- Verified facts
- 4 of 4
- Alternatives ranked
- 4
- Approved reviews
- 0
- Visits sent from here
- 0
About Bartender
Bartender tidies the macOS menu bar, which fills up quickly with app icons and gets cut off by the notch on newer MacBooks. You choose which items are always shown, which are hidden behind a click, hover or hotkey, and which appear in a separate Bartender Bar below the menu bar. Triggers can show items automatically, for example the battery when you unplug or a VPN icon on public Wi-Fi, and profiles swap entire menu bar setups for work, focus or travel. It can also search and activate menu bar items from the keyboard, adjust spacing so more icons fit, restyle the bar, and add custom script-driven items. Bartender is a paid app with a free four-week trial, sold as a one-time licence per major version or as a yearly Pro subscription, and it is included in Setapp. It runs only on macOS. In 2024 the app changed owners without an announcement, which upset some long-time users and pushed many to try alternatives such as the free, open-source Ice.
Best for: Mac users with crowded menu bars who want automatic, rule-based icon hiding.
Pros and cons
What works
- Triggers show icons only when they matter
- Handles the notch with a separate bar
- Keyboard search of menu bar items
- Four-week free trial
Why people leave
- Paid, with subscription options for the Pro tier
- Ownership change in 2024 dented trust for some users
- Each licence covers one major version
Top Bartender alternatives
See all 4- 1
Ice66.5Free and open-source menu bar manager with hiding, a notch bar and search.
- 2
iStat Menus52.2If your menu bar is full of system monitors, one combined iStat item can replace them.
- 3
Raycast50.3Can search and trigger many commands from the keyboard instead of menu bar icons.
- 4
BetterTouchTool48.9Includes menu bar customisation alongside its many other tools.
Why people left Bartender
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Bartender: common questions
Is Bartender free?
No, Bartender is a paid product.
Is Bartender open source?
No, Bartender is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Ice.
What platforms does Bartender run on?
Bartender is available for macOS.
What are the best alternatives to Bartender?
The highest-ranked Bartender alternatives right now are Ice, iStat Menus and Raycast. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.