Bartender vs SwiftBar

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

SwiftBar

• Mac users comfortable writing shell, Python or other scripts
• People who already have BitBar or xbar plugins
• Showing custom status readouts or quick actions in the menu bar

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.

SwiftBar

• macOS only; it runs on macOS Monterey (12) and later.
• It shows nothing by itself: every menu bar item needs a plugin script, taken from the plugin repository or written by the user.
• Every file in the plugin folder is imported as a plugin and made executable unless a .swiftbarignore file excludes it.
• Several preferences, such as hiding SwiftBar's own item, are not in the settings window and are set with Terminal commands.

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.

SwiftBar

Plugins are plain scripts

Any executable script in the language of your choice becomes a menu bar item: the lines it prints before the first separator form the title, and the rest fill the drop-down menu.

Refresh intervals and cron schedules

A refresh interval goes in the file name, as in date.1m.sh, from milliseconds up to days. A metadata tag accepts cron syntax for one or several schedules instead.

BitBar and xbar compatibility

The plugin format is adopted from BitBar and xbar, so existing plugins for those run unchanged, and a Get Plugins menu item opens a bundled plugin repository.

Formatting and click actions

Per-line parameters set colors, fonts, SF Symbols, images, badges and tooltips, and make an item open a URL, run a script, show a web view or respond to a hotkey.

Shortcuts and streaming plugins

Beyond standard scripts, an Apple Shortcut can supply the menu content, ephemeral plugins create temporary items on demand, and streamable plugins stay running to push updates.

URL scheme

swiftbar:// links refresh, enable, disable or add plugins, post notifications and create temporary menu bar items, so other apps and scripts can drive it.

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.

SwiftBar

• SwiftBar$0

  The complete app with every plugin type and the bundled plugin repository. MIT licensed, with no license key or account.

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.

SwiftBar

No public discounts listed.