Cornice vs Octobar

Cornice is a free, open-source menu bar manager for macOS. A divider hides the menu bar items to its left, and clicking it reveals them again. An optional second divider creates a section that stays hidden even when the rest of the items are revealed. Users can adjust divider thickness and height, choose among five chevron styles, and configure keyboard shortcuts and auto-hide behavior. Cornice does not move other applications’ menu bar icons, so the divider must be positioned by hand. Optional two-finger trackpad gestures on a window title bar can resize or reposition windows, or send them to the Dock. Hiding and revealing menu bar items requires no permissions; Accessibility access is requested only when those optional gestures are enabled. The interface supports sixteen languages that can be switched without restarting. The project is distributed under GPL-3.0. It costs nothing and requires macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later on Apple Silicon. Builds are signed for development but not notarised, so macOS requires a manual first launch through its warning. After an update, gesture users must grant Accessibility permission again.

Octobar is a menu bar app for macOS with more than 16 tools, including desktop organization, system controls, file and app access, shortcuts, translation and utilities. Its modules include Tidy Desktop, Stay Awake, Hide Notch, Pack Menu, Connected Devices, Open Folder, Run Shortcut, Open App, Open Webpage, What's My IP, Translate, Read QR Code, Color Picker, New File from Finder, Lock Keyboard and Snippets. Run Shortcut can launch a macOS Shortcut by name. Translate uses Apple's on-device framework, though macOS may use Apple's online service if an on-device model is unavailable for a language pair. Octobar requires macOS 15 Sequoia or later and Apple Silicon, and is distributed through the Mac App Store. The free plan supports up to five active modules and includes the full catalog and free updates. Octobar Pro is 4.99 USD once, adding unlimited active modules, submenu groups, future modules and Family Sharing for up to six people. The maker says normal operation collects no personal data; configuration and preferences are stored locally. Some modules contact the internet for their stated functions.