Bartender 9.2 May 2026

If your Mac’s menu bar looks like a crowded Times Square billboard, Bartender 9.2 is the traffic cop you have been waiting for. Have you updated to Bartender 9.2? Share your experience in the comments below. For more macOS deep dives, subscribe to our weekly Power User newsletter.

| Feature | Bartender 9.2 | Hidden Bar (Free) | Ice (Open Source) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Per-app notch avoidance | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ❌ No | | Location-based triggers | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ⚠️ Via shortcuts only | | Instant reveal (no lag) | ✅ Yes | ❌ 200ms lag | ⚠️ 150ms lag | | macOS Sequoia native | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Beta only | ❌ No | | Price | $16/year (or $39 lifetime) | Free | Free | bartender 9.2

If you are a Mac power user, your menu bar is prime real estate. On modern MacBooks with notches and on multi-monitor setups, managing icons has shifted from a convenience to a necessity. For over a decade, Bartender has been the gold-standard solution. Now, with the release of Bartender 9.2 , the development team at (now acquired by Applause) has delivered one of the most significant stability and feature-focused updates in the software’s history. If your Mac’s menu bar looks like a

While the subscription model still stings for long-time users, the lifetime license option ($39) is reasonable given that you will likely use this app every single day for the next three to four years. For more macOS deep dives, subscribe to our

For a menu bar utility, the bloat in 9.0 and 9.1 was a genuine concern. Version 9.2 is leaner than even the legendary Bartender 4. For those unaware, in mid-2024, the original developer sold Bartender to a company called Applause , which led to a panic over potential spyware (later proven false by independent audits, but trust was broken). Many users refused to update past Bartender 4.