Bartender vs Thaw
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). Thaw is free.
- Thaw has a free plan. Bartender does not, though it has a free trial.
- Bartender can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Thaw is open source, according to its own site.
- Bartender also covers workflow automation and clipboard manager.
At a glance
| Bartender | Thaw | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 and open source under GPL-3.0. The README says there is no purchase, subscription, account or upgrade fee for new macOS versions. |
| 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. | thaw-app |
| Price read from | macbartender.com | github.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
Thaw
- Mac users with a crowded menu bar, including MacBooks with a notch
- People who want a free, open-source alternative to paid menu bar managers
- Showing or hiding items by context, such as the display, Space or Focus
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.
Thaw
- macOS only, and the README says it needs macOS 26 or later.
- Only battery and power triggers are on by default. Other conditions are enabled one at a time from Developer settings, and some are marked experimental.
- It needs Accessibility permission to move menu bar items. Live item previews and wallpaper-based tinting also need Screen Recording permission.
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.
Thaw
- Hide and reveal menu bar items
- Items go into a hidden or always-hidden section and come back by hovering, clicking an empty area, scrolling, swiping or pressing a hotkey, then hide again automatically.
- Thaw Bar
- Hidden items can be shown in a separate bar below the menu bar, intended for MacBooks with a notch. The bar can have its own shape, tint and border.
- Search and hotkeys
- A search panel finds and opens any menu bar item from the keyboard. Hotkeys toggle sections, open a specific item's menu and switch profiles.
- Triggers
- An item can be revealed or hidden when a condition is met, such as battery level, Wi-Fi network, the active Focus or a script's exit code. Conditions combine with AND and OR.
- Profiles
- The whole configuration can be saved as a profile and bound to a display, a Space or a Focus filter. Profiles can be imported, exported and given script hooks.
- Menu bar appearance
- Tint, gradient, shadow, border and custom shapes for the menu bar, with separate settings for light and dark mode and overrides per Space.
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.
Thaw
Thaw$0
Hidden sections, the Thaw Bar, item search, triggers, profiles, hotkeys and menu bar styling. GPL-3.0 licensed, with no tracking or account.
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.
Thaw
No public discounts listed.
