Best Octobar Alternatives in 2026
15 menu bar customization software our editors would look at instead of Octobar, in our ranking order.
Octobar: Octobar combines menu bar control, notch handling, and practical Mac utilities. Where it falls short: the free plan limits users to five active modules.
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Thaw not yet scored
Best forFree power users needing deep customization
A free, highly configurable way to organize, hide, and search macOS menu bar items.
- Custom menu items
- Multiple displays
- Rearrange items
—not yet scoredVisit Thaw -
Best forPower users wanting the fullest Mac toolkit
A broad Mac menu bar toolkit for users who need profiles, triggers, widgets, and layouts.
- Custom menu items
- Multiple displays
- Rearrange items
7.0/10★★★★☆Visit Bartender -
Best forFree users wanting polished organization
A capable free option for organizing crowded Mac menu bars.
- Multiple displays
- Rearrange items
- Notch support
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit SaneBar -
Pelmet not yet scored
Best forFree users wanting advanced layout control
Advanced menu bar layout control without a paid tier.
- Custom menu items
- Multiple displays
- Rearrange items
—not yet scoredVisit Pelmet -
Best forFree users wanting straightforward organization
A focused free tool for hiding, arranging, and revealing Mac menu bar items.
- Multiple displays
- Rearrange items
- Hide menu items
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit Ice 2 -
Hidden Bar not yet scored
Best forSimple free icon hiding
A focused, free utility for hiding and organizing crowded macOS menu bars.
- Multiple displays
- Rearrange items
- Hide menu items
—not yet scoredVisit Hidden Bar -
Best forUsers wanting grouped hidden icons
A focused macOS utility for grouped hiding, real glyphs, and direct app-menu access.
- Notch support
- Hide menu items
- Group menu items
6.5/10★★★☆☆Visit Foldaway -
Dozer not yet scored
Best forUsers wanting minimal two-group hiding
A focused macOS utility for hiding, grouping, and rearranging menu bar icons.
- Rearrange items
- Hide menu items
- Group menu items
—not yet scoredVisit Dozer -
Best forUsers wanting a proven low-cost option
A low-cost macOS utility for hiding, removing, and controlling menu bar icons.
- Multiple displays
- Notch support
- Hide menu items
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit Vanilla -
Best forUsers wanting free basic icon management
A focused macOS utility for organizing crowded menu bars, with a useful free mode.
- Rearrange items
- Notch support
- Hide menu items
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit iBar-Menubar -
GreatBar not yet scored
Best forUsers building custom shortcut menus
A flexible free launcher for organizing custom shortcuts on macOS.
- Custom menu items
- Rearrange items
- Hide menu items
—not yet scoredVisit GreatBar -
OverflowBar not yet scored
Best forUsers needing a persistent second row
A focused, free menu bar organizer for keeping selected icons in a persistent second row.
- Multiple displays
- Notch support
- Hide menu items
—not yet scoredVisit OverflowBar -
Best forUsers wanting profiles and a second row
A focused macOS menu bar manager for profiles, hotkeys, and extra vertical space.
- Rearrange items
- Notch support
- Hide menu items
7.1/10★★★★☆Visit ChocolateBar -
Best forUsers wanting backups and reliable layouts
A focused free tool for tidy layouts, backups, and automatic restoration.
- Rearrange items
- Hide menu items
- Group menu items
6.7/10★★★☆☆Visit JellyBar -
MenuBarDockX not yet scored
Best forUsers with overflow and notch problems
A free, open-source utility for overflow, notch, and off-screen menu bar icons.
- Rearrange items
- Notch support
- Group menu items
—not yet scoredVisit MenuBarDockX
Octobar Alternatives: Common Questions
What is the best alternative to Octobar?
Bartender: #2 in our Menu Bar Customization Software ranking, with an editor score of 7.0 out of 10. A broad Mac menu bar toolkit for users who need profiles, triggers, widgets, and layouts.
Is there a free alternative to Octobar?
Yes. Thaw, SaneBar, Pelmet, Ice 2 and Hidden Bar have a free plan or a free tier (12 of the 15 alternatives on this page).
What is the cheapest paid alternative to Octobar?
Of the alternatives here that publish a price, Foldaway starts lowest, at $9.99one-time.
Octobar vs Each Alternative
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Hide menu items | Rearrange items | Group menu items | Custom menu items | Multiple displays | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Octobar | Yes | $4.99one-time | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | 7.3 |
| not scored | Thaw | Yes | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — |
| 2 | Bartender | No | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7.0 |
| 3 | SaneBar | Yes | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | 8.4 |
| not scored | Pelmet | Yes | None | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — |
| 5 | Ice 2 | Yes | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | 7.7 |
| not scored | Hidden Bar | Yes | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | — |
| 7 | Foldaway | No | $9.99one-time | Yes | No | Yes | — | — | 6.5 |
| not scored | Dozer | — | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | — | — |
| 9 | Vanilla | Yes | $10one-time | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | 7.7 |
| 10 | iBar-Menubar | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | 7.7 |
| not scored | GreatBar | Yes | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — |
| not scored | OverflowBar | Yes | None | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | — |
| 14 | ChocolateBar | No | $15one-time | Yes | Yes | No | No | — | 7.1 |
| 15 | JellyBar | Yes | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | 6.7 |
| not scored | MenuBarDockX | Yes | None | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — |
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Sep 2026