Menu Bar apps sit in your Macâs menu bar and provide access to an array of features and services, all with just a simple click or tap of the appâs menu bar icon. They can bring additional productivity, utility, or security, or add useful information to your Macâs menu bar.
Our list of 15 menu bar apps is by no means all-inclusive; there are so many apps available that it would take quite a while to combine them into a single list. Instead, Iâve gathered a list of menu bar apps that Iâve either used or are popular in the Mac community, and are worth trying out.
Letâs start our list of favorite menu bar apps with ones that enhance your productivity.
Jun 07, 2017 We hope you found one (or more) Mac menu bar apps on this list that will help you be healthier, happier, and more productive while youâre using your computer. If you want to explore even more Mac menu bar app options, check out the full list on the Ask Product Hunt page here.
Calendars
Yes, your Mac comes with its own Calendar app, which does a pretty good job of keeping track of dates and notifying you of upcoming events. But to add, edit, and view the calendars, the app needs to be running. Thatâs where menu bar-based calendar apps shine, letting you work with your calendars directly from the menu bar.
Fantastical
Currently at version 2, Fantastical started life as strictly a menu bar app but has grown into a full-fledged Mac app. Thankfully, the folks who make Fantastical didnât abandon the menu bar; version 2 has all the original benefits of a lightweight menu bar app, as well as the power of a full app when you need it.
Fantastical provides easy access to your current calendar and upcoming events.
Fantastical supports multiple calendars, and calendar sets, which can automatically switch their active/inactive states depending on your location. This lets you set up calendars for work as well as home, and automatically switch between them.
⢠Fantastical 2 is $49.99, with a 21-day free trial.
Itsycal
If the Macâs Calendar app is performing well for you, and the feature youâre really missing is access to Calendar from the menu bar, Itsycal is the menu bar app for you. Itsycal can display a monthly view of your Calendar appâs information, including showing events that are scheduled. If you need additional information, you can open the Calendar app directly from Itsycal.
Android emulator for mac yosemite. ⢠Itsycal is free.
Contact Managers
There are a number of contact managers for the Mac but most are full-fledged apps, with only minimal, if any, menu bar support. One of the exceptions is the app below.
![]() Cardhop
Cardhop is the preferred way to access, edit, add to, and just work with the Macâs Contacts app. For many Mac and iOS device users, Cardhop is the only method they use to manage their contacts; thatâs how powerful this menu bar app is.
Cardhop can show upcoming events and recent contacts, as well as all of the cards in the Macâs Contacts app.
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Cardhop makes use of a powerful search capability that allows you to find contact information based on just about any detail that may be present in a contacts card. Search by name, address, birth date, or any criteria; itâs as easy as clicking or tapping the Cardhop menu bar item and starting to type. Cardhop will display any matching cards it finds.
Adding or editing contacts is just as easy; just enter the name and details and Cardhop takes care of the rest. Cardhop also includes the ability to add note fields, to enter personal details about your contact, and a timestamp field to create a history of your contacts.
One of the best features of Cardhop is its ability to act on a contact you select. If you need to send an email or make a phone call, Cardhop can launch the appropriate app to send an email or connect to your Bluetooth phone, use Wi-Fi calling, or get the macOS Continuity feature to make calls for you.
⢠Cardhop is $19.99 and is available with a 21-day free trial.
System Utilities
Menu bar-based system utilities have a tendency to overpopulate my menu bar. It seems the techie in me wants to know how my Macâs resources are being used any time Iâm using it. There are a number of system menu bar apps, but here are a few of my favorites.
iStat Menus
This system utility will place a number of items in your menu bar to monitor the performance of your Mac. You can keep track of CPU and GPU performance, memory usage, disk access, and network usage; thereâs also a large array of built-in system sensors, including various temperature, voltage, current, and wattage readings, You can even measure ambient light levels, if your Mac is properly equipped.
The compact menu bar menus in iStat Menus can reveal details about how your Mac is performing.
iStat Menus can monitor just about every aspect of your Macâs performance and do it without taking up too much of your menu barâs real estate.
⢠iStat Menus is available for $11.99 for a single Mac, or $14.99 for a 5-user family pack. A 14-day free trial is available.
MenuMeters
The original MenuMeters was a handy menu bar system monitor by Alex Harper that stopped working when OS X El Capitan was introduced. Since then, the original open source app has been forked by various developers, to accommodate the newer versions of the Mac OS. This version works with OS X El Capitan through macOS Mojave.
MenuMeters installs as a preference pane that allows you to specify how each item (CPU, Disk, Memory, and Network) should be displayed in the menu bar. You can control the type of information displayed, update intervals, and in some cases, the colors to be used.
⢠MenuMeters is free.
Memory Clean
Unlike the other system monitor utilities in this group, Memory Clean is dedicated to monitoring a Macâs memory. It can keep track of memory usage, how memory is being used, which apps are memory hogs, and which apps are inactive but still tying up memory.
Keeping track of how your memory is being used is one of the many tasks Memory Clean can perform for you.
Additionally, Memory Clean can also purge inactive memory, freeing up RAM that was set aside for apps that are no longer running.
⢠Memory Clean, currently at version 3, is $9.99. A free trial is available.
Mac Fan Control
This menu bar app can monitor the temperature sensors built into your Mac. But it doesnât stop there; Mac Fan Control can use the temperature information to control the speed of your Macâs fans.
You can set a constant fan speed, or assign one of the temperature sensors to be used to regulate a fanâs speed.
Mac Fan Control is a great way to silence a noisy fan momentarily while you perform a critical task, such as recording from a microphone that is located near your Mac. Itâs also commonly used to set a fanâs speed when a temperature sensor was broken during an upgrade or tear down that went awry.
Apps For Customizing Menu Bar In Macos Computer
⢠Mac Fan Control is $14.95; a free trial period is available.
f.lux
One of the new features of the macOS was Night Shift, a system that reduces blue light from the display as the evening approaches. The idea is to enhance your sleep cycle by reducing blue light output from a digital display that can interfere with your natural circadian rhythm.
The f.lux app has been providing the same type of capabilities for a lot longer and may be in a better position to provide a better implementation. The f.lux system provides more control to the user and does a better job of reducing blue spectrum output of a display in the evening.
If you need a better nightâs sleep after working on your Mac all day, give f.lux a look-see.
⢠f.lux is free.
Battery Monitors
Mac laptop users need a reliable way to monitor their Macâs battery to help them stay informed about the current state of the battery, how much run-time is left, and the overall health of the battery.
coconutBattery
This battery monitor has been a Mac staple since 2005. Since then, coconutBattery has branched out to provide battery-monitoring services to the iPhone and iPad, as well as the Mac.
coconutBattery displays your current battery health, how often the battery was charged, the age of the battery, current charge, original and current capacity, battery temperature, and much more.
⢠coconutBattery is available in a free basic version and a Plus version for $9.95.
Battery Health
Understanding how well your battery is performing is one of the goals of the Battery Health app, but it can also help you prolong the batteryâs runtime and longevity.
Battery Health displays the usual battery details: current battery health, capacity, charging cycles, battery temperature, age, manufacture date, the remaining charge on the battery, and how long it will take to fully charge the battery. Keynote for el capitan download free. It can also help you increase the battery runtime by showing you which apps are using the most energy.
Battery Health can also display the battery levels of connected Bluetooth devices, such as your Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, or AirPod.
Battery Health also works for iPhone and iPad devices.
⢠Battery Health is $9.99; a 3-day free trial is available.
Security
There are quite a few apps for detecting malware that utilize the menu bar. But in many cases, the menu bar is used to launch the associated app. So, instead of listing those security apps, I went with a favorite password manager.
1Password
This password manager has long been a popular Mac app for creating and managing all of a userâs passwords. It provides access via the included full-featured app as well as from the menu bar, and from most Mac web browsers.
Let 1Password manage your logins and passwords, freeing you to use complex passwords for increased security.
The 1Password web extension can handle most of your web-based login and password needs, but with the addition of the menu bar interface, 1Password can be used with any app as well as any web page, even when a web page hinders the use of a password manager.
1Password can generate complex passwords for you and make sure youâre not using duplicate passwords. Since 1Password is storing the passwords and login information for you in an encrypted database, you donât need to worry about remembering every password, 1Password takes care of that for you.
⢠1Password is available for single users and a 5-user family license, as well as business licenses. A free 30-day trial is available.
File Access
If your Mac is getting a little weighed down with apps and files, either of these file access apps can help you find everything faster.
XMenu
This simple little app adds one or more menu items to the menu bar; each menu bar item can be populated with apps, folders, documents, or text snippets.
⢠XMenu is free and available from the Mac App Store.
Shortcut Bar
Another menu bar app designed to give you quick access to your favorite items, including apps, documents, folders, bookmarks, text snippets, and color swatches.
Shortcut Bar lets you create your own list of important locations and documents that you want to have quick access to.
Items can be organized into groups that can be expanded or hidden as needed â a helpful feature when your Shortcut Bar gets a bit overpopulated.
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⢠Shortcut Bar is $8.99; a free trial is available.
Weather
In the Weather and Menu Bar Utility categories, I only found one app for each thatâs worthy of mention.
Meteorologist
There have been quite a few weather widgets for the menu bar, but for me, Meteorologist stands out because of the details it can provide and the community of developers/supporters that keep the app up to date. Meteorologist supports up to eight different locations that can use one of nine different weather services, letting you pick the best service for your location.
Menu Bar UtilityBartender
Now that youâve likely overpopulated your Macâs menu bar, you may find yourself needing a bartender; by that I mean an app named Bartender that can manage all those menu bar icons.
Bartender can organize, rearrange, and hide or show items. It can also automatically highlight menu bar icons when they update, such as battery alerts, memory filling up, or other notifications a menu bar app may support.
⢠Bartender is $15.00; a free 4-week trial is available.
Whatâs Your Favorite Menu Bar App?
Let us know which menu bar apps you use, or which ones you donât like, by using the comments section below.
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I recently switched from Windows to a Mac and one of the first things I noticed was the lack of calendar in the menu bar. While there are plenty of full-fledged Calendar apps for Mac, I wanted a simple and easy app that sits on the Menu bar. Letâs check those out.
A calendar is an important utility app that every OS should have and macOS does have a pretty good Calendar app that syncs with your iCloud account. However, you canât actually see the calendar in the menu ba and there is no widget to go with it as well. The apps listed below are built to offer that functionality in mind and have a few other options to enhance the user experience.
Menu Bar Windows 10Best Calendars Apps1. iCultus
Letâs start with a simple Calendar app, iCultus is the Calendar that should have been available by default. It sits on the Menu bar at the top and shows you a calendar for the current month when you click the icon.
To be honest thatâs all I need for a widget to do and maybe move forward and backward in months to plan any upcoming holidays. While it doesnât show any events lined up on your iCloud calendar, it gives you a button to launch the Calendar app so that you can take action in the real app. It is also open-source and free if you care about that kind of stuff.
Get iCultus (free)
2. Quick View Calendar
This next app does exactly what iCultus did, so why would you choose this app over the previous one? One word; aesthetics, if you care about consistency and want a Calendar app that matches the overall theme and layout of the OS then this app is perfect.
It has that translucent interface with a dark gray and white color scheme that matches well with the Dark theme on macOS. The icon sits on the Menu bar for quick access and has arrow keys to look up upcoming and past months.
Get Quick View Calendar (free)
3. ItsyCal
Okay, weâve got the basics covered so letâs talk about some actual features. ItsyCal is built for easy access but also offers some functionality that you would want from a Calendar app. You can customize the app to your preferences, for example, you can set the theme to match the system, highlight a day of the week, get upcoming events notification in the widget itself, and the ability to create events and appointments.
The app can also automatically launch itself at the restart, unlike the above two apps which mean I donât have to restart the app every time the Mac reboots.
The app syncs everything to the iCloud so whatever you have planned would show up on the widget. I like ItsyCal because of two features; pinning the widget to keep it on the top, and real-time Date and Month on the Menu bar icon. Also, itâs free.
Best Macos Apps
Get ItsyCal (free)
4. Quick Calendar
Weâve got enough apps covered that sit on the Menu bar so letâs include one that sits in the Notification area. We all check out the notifications area anyway so it would be a good idea to put a small calendar there. Quick Calendar needs to be added manually by going to the edit menu on the bottom of the notifications panel. After you enable it, it will stay in the notifications panel.
Feature-wise, it is as basic as it gets, it only shows the current month and arrow keys to look upcoming and past months. However, if you want to have a quick glance at the Calendar while checking out Notifications, then Quick Calendar is the one.
Get Quick Calendar (free)
5. Next Meeting
Next Meeting is a little widget that shows you upcoming events on the Menu Bar. Letâs say you plan out your week in advance and have meetings at different hours, this app would take that info from the iCloud and slap it on the Menu bar so that you can miss it ever. If you click the icon, it shows you upcoming events in the coming days. You can customize which meetings to display and choose between in-progress, todayâs meetings, and all-day meetings.
Get Next Meeting (free)
6. Calendars
Calendars is not like other apps in the list, instead of giving you a simple Calendar Widget on the Menu bar, it gives you full-fledged Calendar with lots of features. For starters, you can set a different picture for every month, just like a real calendar, if thatâs not your jam, you can make it subtle and translucent to match the theme of your System.
It syncs with your iCloud, Facebook, and Google Calendar to keep you updated. If that wasnât enough, you can also enable weather options in this app and you would get a real-time day-wise forecast, right below each day.
Calendars is a free app on the App Store but you can upgrade either with the Subscription($0.99/mo) or one-time license fee ($19.99).
Get Calendars (free)
7. InstaCal
While Calendars app is great for remembering birthdays from Facebook and getting reminders from Google, InstaCal is meant for professionals who use Office 365, Google Calendar, and Outlook. You can integrate, view and respond to invitations right from the Menubar pop up. Along with the menu bar, InstaCal also has a Dock app which lets you use the app to its full potential.
Apart from events, you can also view your reminders within the app and create new ones. The themes can be customized and the app has Touchbar support as well. With all these features combined, you only have to $5 to own this app which in my opinion is pretty good.
Get InstaCal ($4.99)
Best Easy Calendar Apps for Mac
Well, these were my picks for best easy calendar apps for mac when you want more than what native Calendar app offers. Itsycal, Quick View Calendar, iCultus, are great choices when you just want a quick way to look at the Calendar. Next Meeting serves its own niche where it reminds you of upcoming events, and Calendars let you integrate Facebook and Google Calendar. Instacal is best for people who want a professional Calendar app with integrations for Outlook, Office 365, etc. Which app would you use, let me know in the comments?
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