Bartender vs Overhang

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.

Overhang is a free macOS app for accessing status bar items that macOS has stopped drawing. It lists each item beside the icon of the app that owns it and lets users open its menu. Listing items needs no permissions; optional click-through uses Accessibility. Some apps handle mouse events in a way Overhang cannot press, so the app brings the owning application to the front in those cases. It supports Macs with and without a notch, plus external displays. Settings cover launching at login and enabling click-through.

Overhang does not require a network connection and says it collects, sends, or stores no user information. It has no analytics, account system, or server. While running, it reads menu bar icon positions, sizes, and owning apps in memory, then discards that information when it quits. The free plan costs nothing and requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later; it is a universal binary for Apple silicon and Intel. The maker says release builds are signed with an Apple Developer ID certificate and notarized by Apple, and identifies GitHub repository releases as the only official builds. Support requests are directed to GitHub Issues.