Bartender vs Hidden Bar
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bartender
Menu bar manager for macOS that hides and organizes items
Where they differ
- Bartender starts at $19.99 / year (Bartender Pro) or $24.99 one-time (Bartender 7). Hidden Bar is free.
- Hidden Bar has a free plan. Bartender does not, though it has a free trial.
- Bartender can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Hidden Bar is open source, according to its own site.
- Bartender also covers workflow automation and clipboard manager.
At a glance
| Bartender | Hidden Bar | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free |
| Starts at | $19.99 / year (Bartender Pro) or $24.99 one-time (Bartender 7) | Free |
| Free plan | None | The whole app is free on the Mac App Store, through Homebrew or as a direct download, and is open source under the MIT license. |
| Free trial | Four-week free trial of Bartender 7; Bartender Pro has a 14-day free trial | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Made by | Applause Group, Inc. | Dwarves Foundation |
| Price read from | macbartender.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Bartender
- Mac users with more menu bar items than fit, especially on MacBooks with a notch
- People who want menu bar items to appear only under certain conditions
- Buyers who want a one-time license rather than a subscription
Hidden Bar
- Mac users who only want to tuck away rarely used menu bar icons
- People who want a free, open-source menu bar hider
- Those who prefer one arrow to click over a larger menu bar manager
Worth knowing
Bartender
- macOS only. Bartender 7 is built for macOS 27; on macOS 26 the vendor points buyers to Bartender 6, which the same license key activates.
- There is no free version: Bartender 7 has a four-week trial and Bartender Pro a 14-day trial.
- Top Shelf and future Pro tools need the Bartender Pro subscription or a Mega Supporter lifetime license.
- The pricing page shows prices in the visitor's local currency; the US dollar figures here come from the vendor's Bartender 7 launch post.
Hidden Bar
- macOS only. Current GitHub releases need macOS 13 or later, while the Mac App Store listing shows version 1.8 from June 2021.
- The manual says always-hidden icons can still appear after expanding unless the separators are hidden too, a known limitation.
- A newly installed app's icon can start out in the hidden zone and has to be Command-dragged out once.
- On macOS 27 the direct-download build needs Accessibility permission, and the manual lists a hiding failure on a macOS 27 beta as a known issue.
Key features
Bartender
- Hide and reveal menu bar items
- Choose which menu bar items show and when. Hidden items come back by swiping, scrolling, clicking or hovering in the menu bar, or with a hotkey.
- Bartender Bar
- A second bar beneath the menu bar holds overflow items, including those the MacBook notch would cover. It opens on hover, click or hotkey and can be themed separately from the menu bar.
- Command Bar
- Search for any menu bar item and trigger it from the keyboard, switch presets and check automations. For Pro users the same bar also searches clipboard history.
- Triggers and profiles
- Triggers show items or switch presets based on battery, Wi-Fi, location, time and more. Profiles replace the whole menu bar by hotkey, trigger or display setup.
- Styling, spacing and widgets
- Restyle the menu bar with glass, tints, gradients and rounded shapes, tighten item spacing, and build custom menu bar items from built-in data sources or your own scripts.
- Top Shelf (Bartender Pro)
- A Pro tool for the MacBook notch with a Dynamic Island-style display, audio controls, weather, calendar, a clipboard manager, a file shelf with AirDrop and status for coding agents.
Hidden Bar
- Collapsible hidden section
- Command-drag icons to the left of the separator, then click the arrow to collapse or expand that part of the menu bar.
- Auto collapse
- Hidden icons are tucked away again after a chosen delay. The countdown pauses while the pointer is in the menu bar.
- Global shortcut
- A system-wide hotkey set in Preferences expands or collapses the hidden section from any app.
- Always-hidden section
- An optional second zone holds icons that stay hidden even when the bar is expanded. Option-clicking the arrow reveals it.
- Full menu bar on expanding
- A preference lets the expanded icons use the whole menu bar for a moment, which the manual says helps when the menu bar is tight on space.
- Terminal-only options
- Settings with no interface, changed with the defaults command, include expanding on hover and a custom auto-collapse delay.
Plans
Bartender
Bartender 7$24.99
one-time purchase
Menu bar management, Bartender Bar, triggers and widgets, with all Bartender 7 updates. The license also activates the latest Bartender 6.
Bartender Pro$19.99
per year
Everything in Bartender 7 plus the Pro suite, starting with Top Shelf, and all future major versions while subscribed. 14-day free trial.
Hidden Bar
Hidden Bar$0
Collapsible hidden section, auto collapse, global shortcut, always-hidden section and launch at login. Listed as Free on the US Mac App Store.
Ways to pay less
Bartender
- Lifetime license
Mega Supporter lifetime license
A one-time Mega Supporter license includes everything in Bartender Pro and all future versions. It was listed with a Launch Discount badge and no US dollar price in text.
- Other savings
Free or discounted upgrade from Bartender 6
Full Bartender 6 licenses bought in 2026 get Bartender 7 free, as do paid Bartender 6 upgrades bought from 14 March to 14 September 2026. Other Bartender 6 licenses get a discounted upgrade.
- Other savings
Available to Setapp subscribers
The vendor's FAQ says Setapp users can get Bartender 7 by enabling beta app updates in Setapp.
Hidden Bar
No public discounts listed.
