My menu bar hit maximum density when I installed the 23rd utility. Icons ran from the notch to the clock. A notification badge I needed sat behind the camera housing. Mid-call I spent half a minute hunting for the audio icon while everyone waited.
I did not need another “best menu bar managers” list. I needed the icons I use to stay visible, and a way to get the rest back without clicking through a junk drawer.
Hidden Bar — a divider, then stop
Hidden Bar (Free, open-source) added a chevron. Drag icons to the right of it, they hide. Click the chevron when you need them. Auto-hide after a delay is optional.
I ran it on a Mac Mini for two months and stopped thinking about it. Homebrew install (brew install --cask hiddenbar), negligible CPU, source on GitHub. No search, no presets, no appearance controls. If you have eight extra icons and a notch, this is the whole fix.
Ice — three tiers and a search field
Ice (Free, open-source) is what I kept on the laptop. Visible, hidden, and always-hidden sections. A hotkey opens search across every item, including the ones you buried on purpose.
After six weeks on a MacBook Pro, I stopped visually scanning the bar. During focus I collapse everything except a timer. During coding I pull developer tools back with the keyboard. It needs macOS 14+ and screen recording permission for the advanced bits. Users who only want a chevron will find the three-tier model fussy. Users with 20+ utilities will not.
Install with brew install --cask jordanbaird-ice. GPL-3.0.
Thaw is an Ice fork aimed at macOS 26. Same job — hide, search, rearrange — if you are already on that OS and Ice’s release cadence is not.
Bartender — when you actually want presets
Bartender ($16 one-time) has been the paid standard for a decade. Bartender 5 adds presets tied to battery, Wi-Fi, time, and a second row under the main bar. Hover, scroll, or swipe to reveal. AppleScript if you automate elsewhere.
I gave it a three-week trial and went back to Ice. Not because Bartender is worse — I did not use the presets or the visual chrome. If you want that automation, the 4-week trial is long enough to find out. Sonoma minimum; Bartender 4 still exists for older Macs.
What I run
- Few apps, no patience: Hidden Bar
- Crowded laptop, keyboard search: Ice (or Thaw on macOS 26)
- Presets and a second bar: Bartender
The win is not a prettier menu bar. It is not hunting for an icon while someone waits on a call.