# Vanilla review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Mac app that hides menu bar icons, with a one-time Pro upgrade Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Vanilla is a small Mac app that hides icons in the menu bar so the bar looks cleaner. The free version covers hiding and showing icons. Vanilla Pro, a one-time purchase, adds a keyboard shortcut, a section for completely removed icons, auto-hide and start at login. - **Category:** Desktop Utilities - **Made by:** Matthew Palmer - **Website:** https://matthewpalmer.net/vanilla/ - **Runs on:** macOS - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you use Windows or Linux, as only Mac is covered. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Vanilla has a free plan, and paid plans start at $10 one-time for Vanilla Pro. - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Vanilla is free and hides menu bar icons. Pro adds extra features on top. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Vanilla | $0 | Free app for hiding menu bar icons on a Mac. | | Vanilla Pro | $10 one-time purchase | One license code activates up to 10 Macs. 30-day money-back guarantee. | Read from https://matthewpalmer.net/vanilla/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Vanilla before buying. ## Key features - **Hide menu bar icons:** Hides the icons you pick from the Mac menu bar; the vendor's page says to download it, launch it and follow the prompts. - **Keyboard shortcut (Pro):** Sets a custom shortcut that toggles the menu bar icons and desktop icons. - **Completely removed icons (Pro):** A section for icons that stay out of sight and appear only when Vanilla's preferences window is open. - **Auto-hide (Pro):** Hides icons again automatically five seconds after you toggle them in Vanilla. - **Start at login (Pro):** Launches Vanilla when you log in to the Mac. ## Good for - Mac users who want a tidier menu bar without paying - People who want one price for several of their own Macs - Mac laptops with a crowded menu bar ## Worth knowing - Mac only. The pages read state no macOS version requirement, though help pages cover Catalina and later and notched MacBooks. - The keyboard shortcut, removed-icons section, auto-hide and start at login are all Pro-only. - The vendor's page links a screen-recording permission help page; the permission details were not read. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.8 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Vanilla hides menu bar icons on a Mac, and the free version does that. But the keyboard shortcut, auto-hide and start at login are Pro at $10, and it's Mac only. - **Value for money: A.** Free to hide icons, and Vanilla Pro is $10 one-time with a 30-day money-back guarantee. - **Free plan and trial: B.** The free version hides and shows icons. The shortcut, removed-icons section, auto-hide and start at login are Pro. - **Features: C.** It hides menu bar icons and does that one job fully, a smaller job. The extras sit in Pro. - **Ease of use: B.** Install and click: nothing to set up. No store rating is on record. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Mac only. The pages state no macOS version requirement. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Matthew Palmer's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among desktop utilities - Vanilla's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 116 of the 186 other desktop utilities we grade, and level with 37. - It stands best on value for money (A, above 55 of 186) and worst on features (C, above 2). The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/utilities ## Keep it, or make your own? **Your call.** It depends on the utility: a converter or a calculator is an afternoon. Vanilla sits between: not beyond making, and not a weekend's work either. What you would give up is listed below. Whether that is worth the price is your call. At $10, paid once, it costs less than the weekend it would take to replace, which is the argument for keeping it. - You could not: A native app living in the menu bar. - You could not: A real app for macOS. Something home-made would be a web page. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Menu bar app, One-time purchase ## Alternatives - [Bartender](https://toolgpa.com/tools/bartender): Menu bar manager for macOS that hides and organizes items. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bartender-vs-vanilla) - [Ice](https://toolgpa.com/tools/ice-menubar): Menu bar manager for hiding and arranging Mac menu items. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/ice-menubar-vs-vanilla) - [Thaw](https://toolgpa.com/tools/thaw): Free, open-source menu bar manager for macOS. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/thaw-vs-vanilla) - [Hidden Bar](https://toolgpa.com/tools/hidden-bar): Free, open-source utility that hides macOS menu bar icons. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hidden-bar-vs-vanilla) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://matthewpalmer.net/vanilla/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/vanilla Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).