Bartender vs JellyBar

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.

JellyBar is a free macOS utility for rearranging, hiding and grouping menu bar icons. Its editor has Active and Hidden sections; dragging an icon between them updates the menu bar automatically. Hidden icons can be shown by hovering after a configurable delay, set to one second by default, or by clicking the chevron. Spacers in three sizes and bullet dots help organize groups. JellyBar keeps the 30 newest automatic layout backups. Manual snapshots remain pinned indefinitely and can sync to iCloud Drive. Accessibility permission is required, while Screen Recording is optional for icon previews in settings. The maker says there is no analytics, telemetry or app-originated network traffic. It supports macOS 15 Sequoia and later on Apple Silicon, including desktops, external displays and clamshell MacBooks with an external monitor. Native support for notched MacBook screens remains in development.