Bartender vs Dozer

Bartender manages macOS menu bar items, controlling which ones appear and when. It can reveal items quickly, search them, and use custom hotkeys and triggers. Users can hide, rearrange, and group items, create custom items from built-in data sources or scripts without coding, and switch profiles by hotkey, trigger, or display setup. Bartender 7’s Command Bar searches for and triggers menu bar items; clipboard history is included for Pro users. Automation options include built-in triggers, Shortcuts, AppleScript, hotkeys, and Siri. The app works without Screen Recording permission, showing app icons rather than snapshots when permission is disabled. The maker says captures remain cached locally on the device and app data is not transmitted to its servers. Bartender 7 is built for macOS 27 Golden Gate; users on macOS 26 Tahoe are directed to Bartender 6 while Bartender 7 support is pending. Bartender 7 costs 24.99 USD as a one-time purchase, and Pro costs $19.99 a year. A license covers all Macs owned and personally used by its holder.

Dozer is a free, open-source macOS utility for hiding menu bar icons and keeping the status area less crowded. A left click toggles one icon group, while option-left-click controls an optional second group. Dozer can hide status bar icons automatically, including when it launches. Its documented No Icon mode uses a keyboard shortcut to hide and show icons without clicking the menu bar. Users can set the delay before icons disappear and adjust icon size and padding. Right-clicking opens settings. The README provides Homebrew Cask and manual installation instructions, and lists macOS 10.13 or later as the requirement. The repository uses the Mozilla Public License 2.0. Dozer supports hiding, rearranging and grouping menu items, plus keyboard shortcuts, but does not provide custom menu items. Bug reports and feature requests go through GitHub issues, with the app version requested in bug reports.