Bartender

Name: Bartender
Brand: Bartender

Total control over your Mac menu bar - hide, organize, and style icons exactly how you want.

softwareOS & UtilitiesMenu BarmacOS UtilityCustomization

What is Bartender?

Bartender lets you take control of a cluttered macOS menu bar by hiding, grouping, and reordering menu bar icons, revealing hidden ones with a swipe, scroll, hover, or hotkey instead of them all competing for space. It adds custom styling, search across menu bar items, automation triggers that show or hide icons based on context, and the ability to build small widgets directly from menu bar apps. Now in its sixth major version, Bartender is sold as a one-time purchase, an annual Pro subscription that includes ongoing upgrades, or a lifetime 'Mega Supporter' tier, and remains one of the most recommended macOS utilities for anyone running more than a handful of menu bar apps.

SpecificationsAI-estimated

deploymentDesktop App

open source❌ No

Key Features of Bartender

Hides selected menu bar icons and reveals them on a swipe, scroll, hover, or keyboard shortcut.

Groups related menu bar icons together so related apps sit next to each other.

Lets you restyle the menu bar's appearance, spacing, and item order to taste.

Supports automation rules that show or hide specific icons based on time, app, or network conditions.

Includes a searchable Bartender Bar for quickly finding a hidden menu bar item by name.

Can turn certain menu bar apps into small interactive widgets.

Use Cases for Bartender

Menu bar decluttering

Hide rarely used menu bar icons and reveal them only when needed via a swipe or hotkey.

Context-based automation

Automatically show battery or network icons only when relevant, like when disconnected from Wi-Fi.

Visual organization

Group and reorder menu bar icons logically instead of leaving them in random install order.

Quick access search

Search for a specific hidden menu bar item by name instead of scanning visually.

Pros & Cons of Bartender

Pros

Dramatically cleans up a crowded menu bar
Multiple reveal gestures fit different workflows
Automation rules are genuinely useful for context-based hiding
Long-established, actively maintained utility

Cons

macOS only
Version 6 moved toward subscription pricing alongside the one-time option
Some users need time to configure automation rules to their liking

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bartender a subscription?

Bartender offers both a one-time purchase for Bartender 6 and an optional annual Pro subscription that includes future upgrades.

Does Bartender work on Windows?

No, Bartender is built exclusively for macOS.

Can Bartender automate showing and hiding icons?

Yes, it supports automation triggers that show or hide specific menu bar items based on context.

Is there a free trial?

Yes, Bartender offers a 4-week free trial before purchase.

Pricing Overview

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Paid (One-time)

Bartender 6

From $12 one-time

Bartender Pro

Annual subscription

Mega Supporter

Lifetime one-time

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Top Alternatives & Similar Software

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Ice

AI-suggested

Ice is a macOS utility for taming an overcrowded menu bar. It creates a second, hideable row below the system menu bar where less-used icons can be tucked away, and lets you drag icons to rearrange their order or search for a specific one when the bar is packed. Built as an open-source alternative to paid menu bar managers, Ice is developed by Jordan Baird and distributed free of charge with its source on GitHub. It focuses purely on menu bar organization, offering appearance customization and adjustable icon spacing without adding unrelated system utilities.

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