Best Menu Bar Managers for Mac

The short answer. Ice if you want an actively developed organiser that is free and open source. Bartender if you want the most mature feature set and are willing to pay for it. Hidden Bar or Dozer if you want something minimal that hides items behind a separator and does nothing else. Vanilla if you want the simplest option with a paid upgrade for the full feature set. On a Mac with a notch, check that whichever you choose handles the reduced menu bar width — that constraint decides more than the feature list.

This guide covers 8 menu bar managers for macOS. Every fact below is drawn from the same verified records that back each app’s own page. The recommendations are our editorial judgment, not payment. Last verified 2026-10-05.

Quick comparison

What actually decides this

• How it hides things. Some move hidden items off-screen, some collapse them behind a divider, some let you choose per item. The approach determines whether hidden items still update and whether they reappear on their own.
• Notch handling. On notched Macs the usable menu bar is narrower, and items that do not fit disappear without warning. A manager that accounts for this is solving a real problem; one that does not is solving a smaller one.
• What happens on relaunch. Whether your arrangement survives a restart, a display change, or a menu bar item being added by an app you just installed. This is where these tools differ most in daily use.
• Accessibility permissions. Managing the menu bar requires broad system permissions. It is a necessary cost, not a red flag, but it is worth knowing what you are granting.
• Maintenance. macOS changes the menu bar most releases. A manager that is no longer maintained will break, and menu bar tools are the category where that shows up fastest.

Our picks

• Ice — It is open source and actively developed, which matters more here than feature count because the menu bar changes every macOS release. Choose it when you want a maintained, free organiser.
• Bartender — It has the deepest set of options, including per-item rules, and has been maintained through several macOS menu bar changes. Choose it when you want the most control over what is shown and when.
• Hidden Bar — It does one thing with no configuration, which is the right answer if you do not want another tool to manage. Choose it when all you want is to push items out of sight behind a divider.

The apps

Bartender

Bartender is a menu bar manager for macOS. A menu bar manager for macOS that hides, reveals and reorganises menu bar icons, with triggers that show items only when they matter. It is paid.

Strengths. According to the developer, can hide menu bar items entirely and reveal them only on hover, click or a hotkey. Bartender 7 can run without Screen Recording permission, showing app icons instead of images of bar items. Triggers show items automatically in response to conditions such as unplugging power, joining public Wi-Fi or entering a meeting.

Trade-offs. According to the developer, bartender 7 is built for macOS Golden Gate and the purchase also includes Bartender 6 for Tahoe, so older macOS releases are not covered. According to the developer, only the yearly Pro subscription and the lifetime licence include future major-version upgrades; the one-time purchase covers Bartender 7 updates. The one-time and subscription options are sold on the developer’s own store, so purchase is not handled through the Mac App Store. Accessibility permission is required before the app can manage menu bar items. Apple Silicon support is not stated in the sources Nuanyue tracks.

Not for. Anyone who wants to buy through the Mac App Store — purchase is handled on the developer’s own store. People who want a free menu bar manager — Bartender is a paid app.

What it does. Hiding, revealing and rearranging menu bar items. Bartender Bar that appears on hover, click or hotkey. Command Bar with keyboard search and clipboard history. Triggers that reveal items in response to conditions.

Bartender is listed with current version 7.

Full profile and verified facts for Bartender →

Dozer

Dozer is a menu bar manager for macOS. Free open-source menu bar utility that hides the macOS status icons you choose, with no rules and no configuration beyond moving icons. It is released under MPL-2.0.

Strengths. Free and open source under the Mozilla Public License 2.0, with the source on GitHub. Single-purpose and very small — it hides menu bar icons and does nothing else. Installs with one Homebrew command or a drag from the release disk image.

Trade-offs. No new release has been published since version 4.2.0 in July 2020, so it is effectively frozen. Hiding is entirely manual — there are no rules, schedules or automatic behaviour. The README does not state whether the build is a universal binary, so Nuanyue does not record Apple Silicon support.

Not for. Anyone who wants automatic, rule-based hiding — Dozer hides the group you choose, not one it decides on. Users who need a tool that keeps pace with new macOS releases — the last release was in 2020.

What it does. Adds two or three dots to the menu bar; clicking any of them hides or shows the icons to the left. An optional third dot toggles a second, shorter group of icons when option-clicked. Right-clicking a Dozer dot opens the settings. Installs with a single Homebrew command, or by dragging the app out of the release disk image.

Dozer is listed with current version 4.2.0.

Full profile and verified facts for Dozer →

Hidden Bar

Hidden Bar is a menu bar manager for macOS. Free, MIT-licensed menu bar utility that hides the icons you choose behind a divider, with an optional always-hidden section and opt-in hover-to-expand. It is released under MIT.

Strengths. Free and open source under the MIT licence, with no paid tier, no in-app purchase and the full source on GitHub. According to the developer, sandboxed and self-contained: the developer’s architecture notes describe a single process with no helper app, no daemon and no network. The direct download is notarized, and the project also publishes on the Mac App Store and through Homebrew.

Trade-offs. Requires macOS 13 or later; users on macOS 10.13 to 12 are stuck on version 1.10. The Mac App Store listing is still on version 1.8 from 2021, so the store is not a route to the current release. According to the developer, on macOS 27 the App Store build cannot hide icons at all because the App Sandbox blocks the accessibility reads the native hiding path needs. Requires macOS 13 Ventura or later. Start-at-login uses SMAppService, which does not exist on earlier releases, so macOS 10.13 to 12 users are pinned to version 1.10. Icons that macOS inserts to the left of the separator appear in the hidden zone by default, because new status items are placed at the far left of the menu bar.

Not for. Users on macOS 12 or earlier, who need version 1.10 rather than the current release. Anyone who wants automatic, rule-based hiding — Hidden Bar hides the group you place behind the arrow, not one it decides on. People who need per-icon scheduling or appearance customisation, which Bartender and Ice provide and this does not.

What it does. Hides a group of menu bar icons behind a divider arrow; clicking the arrow pushes them off the visible edge. An optional second separator creates an always-hidden zone for icons you never want on screen. Hold Command and drag icons to choose which side of the separator they sit on. Opt-in hover-to-expand, enabled with a defaults command, expands the bar when the pointer dwells in it.

Hidden Bar is listed with current version 1.11.1.

Full profile and verified facts for Hidden Bar →

Ice

Ice is a menu bar manager for macOS. Menu bar manager for hiding icons and organizing layouts. It is released under GPL-3.0.

Strengths. Free and open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. According to the developer, hides menu bar items into an always-hidden section and brings them back on hover, click or scroll, with automatic rehiding and drag-and-drop arrangement. According to the developer, can display hidden items in a separate bar for MacBooks with a notch, and restyles the menu bar with tint, shadow, border and custom shapes.

Trade-offs. Requires macOS 14 or later; the developer states Ice uses system APIs introduced in macOS 14 and has no plans to support earlier versions. According to the developer, the project’s own README states Ice is in active development and that some features have not yet been implemented. It reads menu bar items through Screen Recording permission, though a limited mode works without it. Apple Silicon support is not stated in the sources Nuanyue tracks.

Not for. Windows or Linux users — Ice is macOS only. Macs running macOS 13 or earlier — Ice requires macOS 14 or later. Anyone who needs a finished feature set — the project states that some features have not yet been implemented.

What it does. Hides menu bar items and reveals them on hover, click or scroll. Drag-and-drop arrangement of individual menu bar items. A separate bar for hidden items, including on MacBooks with a notch. Profiles for menu bar layouts, plus spacer items and item groups.

Ice is listed with current version 0.11.12.

Full profile and verified facts for Ice →

Pelmet

Pelmet is a menu bar manager for macOS. Menu bar manager built for macOS 27’s rebuilt menu bar. Hides the icons you don’t need until you do. It is released under GPL-3.0.

What it does. Pelmet hides the menu bar icons you don’t need until you do.

Pelmet is listed with current version 0.3.1.

Full profile and verified facts for Pelmet →

SaneBar

SaneBar is a menu bar manager for macOS. Privacy-first menu bar manager with hidden zones and automation rules. It is released under MIT.

What it does. Hide and organize macOS menu bar icons. Free and fully open source (MIT), every feature unlocked, no trial or license. Private and on-device by default.

SaneBar is listed with current version 2.1.90.

Full profile and verified facts for SaneBar →

Spaced

Spaced is a menu bar manager for macOS. Organize your menu bar items into groups. It is free.

What it does. Organize your menu bar items into groups. The app provides menu bar separators to group menu bar items for a more streamlined appearance.

Spaced is listed with current version 1.3.0.

Full profile and verified facts for Spaced →

Vanilla

Vanilla is a menu bar manager for macOS. Free Mac app that hides menu bar icons behind a divider, with a one-time Pro upgrade for keyboard shortcuts, a fully removed icons section and auto-hide. It is freemium.

Strengths. The app itself is free, and the Pro upgrade is a one-time $10 rather than a subscription. One licence code activates up to ten times, so a single purchase covers every Mac you own. Ships as a universal build, so it runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs alike.

Trade-offs. The features most people want — keyboard shortcuts, auto-hide and start-at-login — are behind the Pro purchase. Version 3.0 requires macOS 12.4, so older Macs are out of support. Closed source and not on the Mac App Store, so purchases, refunds and installs all run through the developer’s own site. Requires macOS 12.4 or later; the developer’s support page documents the app as running on macOS Catalina and above but version 3.0 declares a higher floor. Closed source, and not distributed through the Mac App Store, so there is no App Store purchase history or refund route.

Not for. Users on macOS 12.3 or earlier, since version 3.0 declares a minimum of macOS 12.4. Anyone who wants rule-based or automatic hiding — Vanilla hides the group you place behind the divider. People who require open-source software, since Vanilla is closed source.

What it does. Hides the menu bar icons you choose behind a divider, toggled by clicking its arrows. Vanilla Pro adds a customisable keyboard shortcut to toggle the menu bar and desktop icons. Vanilla Pro adds a Completely Removed section for icons that are only visible while the preferences window is open. Vanilla Pro adds auto-hide, which hides the icons five seconds after you toggle them.

Vanilla is listed with current version 3.0.

Full profile and verified facts for Vanilla →

How to choose

• Free of charge. Spaced — no payment is required.
• No licence fee, source available. Dozer, Hidden Bar, Ice, Pelmet and SaneBar — the source can be read and, under the terms of each licence, reused.
• Freemium. Vanilla — free to use, with paid tiers for additional features.
• Paid. Bartender — a paid product.

Open source: Dozer, Hidden Bar, Ice, Pelmet and SaneBar (5 of 8).

Common mistakes

• Installing a menu bar manager on a notched Mac without checking how it handles the reduced width. The items you lose are the ones furthest right, which are often the ones you wanted.
• Running two menu bar managers together. They will each try to control the same items and the result is unstable.
• Expecting a manager to reduce memory use. Hiding a menu bar item does not stop the app behind it from running.
• Forgetting that hidden items may still update and still draw power. Hiding is a display change, not a suspension.

How this guide was put together

Each app’s facts come from its own record: the developer’s own pages and repository, the App Store listing where one exists, and the documentation, each with a source grade and an access date. Where a fact rests on the developer’s own statement rather than on something we verified independently, the sentence says so. Where our data has no value for something, the guide says “not published” instead of guessing.

A price appears here only where the record carries one from a stated source; the guide never estimates one, and it records the pricing model alongside so the two can be read together. Prices change and vary by region, so each app links to its own page for the current detail.

The facts and the recommendations are kept apart on purpose. Everything in the app entries, the comparison table and the answers above is composed from the records. The short answer, the criteria and the picks are our editorial judgment: they reflect what we would choose and why, and they are not paid for. Where we make a recommendation we name the condition it applies under, because we do not call anything “the best” without explaining the criteria.

Verified 2026-10-05.