NotchStar vs ChocolateBar
ChocolateBar is a $15 menu bar manager that hides crowded icons or shows them in a second row under the bar, on macOS 12 to 15. NotchStar is a $4 notch toolbox that does not manage menu bar icons.
| NotchStar | ChocolateBar | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4 once, 7 day trial, up to 3 Macs, 7 day refund | $15 once with 1 year of updates, 48 hour free trial with no card, 7 day refund. Next 20 buyers could pay $12 with code LAUNCH30 |
| Minimum macOS | macOS 14 or later | macOS 12 Monterey |
| Newest macOS supported | No ceiling stated. Version 1.0.5 notes include a macOS 27 fix | macOS 15 Sequoia. Tahoe support "coming soon" and macOS 27 not yet, per its compatibility page |
| Organizes or hides menu bar icons | Not listed Does not recover or organize crowded icons | Included An optional toggle hides third party icons behind a chevron |
| Second row of icons under the menu bar | Not listed | Included Opens with ⇧⌘B or a click on its icon, as a row or a vertical column |
| Notch aware layout | Included Panel opens from the notch. A floating pill on Macs without one | Included Shows icons the notch hides. Also works on Macs without a notch |
| Opens a hidden icon's own menu | Not listed | Partly Real menu on a notched Mac with the beta Reveal setting. Otherwise a plainer mirrored copy |
| Running apps chips for switching apps | Not listed | Included Optional, off by default, one chip per app |
| Apple Silicon and Intel | Included | Included Universal binary, no Rosetta |
| Clipboard history, file shelf, quick notes | Included | Not listed Not listed on its website |
| Music, calendar, timers, teleprompter | Included | Not listed Not listed on its website |
| No account, no analytics by default | Included Anonymous version info only if you opt in | Included States no telemetry, analytics or accounts. Update downloads send your licence key |
| Open source | Not listed | Not listed Closed source, per its FAQ |
Sources: ChocolateBar website (checked 4 November 2026), ChocolateBar full reference (last updated 18 October 2026) (checked 4 November 2026), ChocolateBar macOS compatibility page (checked 2 November 2026 by the maker) (checked 4 November 2026), ChocolateBar comparison with Bartender (its own page) (checked 4 November 2026), How ChocolateBar works (its own blog) (checked 4 November 2026), ChocolateBar public issue tracker on GitHub (no source or downloads) (checked 4 November 2026). “Not listed” means the source does not mention it, which is not proof the feature is missing. Prices and features change, so check before you buy.
ChocolateBar at a glance.
- Made by
- Aloysius Lim, an independent macOS developer, per its full reference page
- Who it suits
- Someone with a crowded menu bar, on a notched MacBook or not, who wants to hide or reach every status icon, and who runs macOS 12 to 15, including Intel Macs.
- Price
- One time purchase. Website, 4 November 2026: "$15 USD, one time purchase". The next 20 buyers could use code LAUNCH30 to pay $12. "One year of updates from the purchase date"; the installed version keeps working afterwards, and licences bought before version 0.6.0 keep lifetime updates. "Valid on every Mac the buyer owns and uses". "48 hour free trial, full features, no card". "7 days, no forms" refund. No subscription. Direct download only, not on the Mac App Store.
- Needs
- macOS 12 or later. Apple silicon and Intel.
- License
- Closed source
ChocolateBar is one of the 62 apps counted in our pricing statistics and requirements statistics.
Strengths
- It does the one thing NotchStar does not: it hides crowded third party icons, or shows them in a second row under the menu bar, including icons the notch hides.
- It works on a Mac with or without a notch, so it also helps on an iMac, a Mac mini or an external display.
- It supports macOS 12 and 13 and Intel Macs, a floor two versions older than NotchStar's.
- It asks for Accessibility only and states that it never asks for Screen Recording.
- The site lists a 5 MB download, about 30 MB of memory at launch and no telemetry, analytics or accounts.
Limits
- It lists macOS 12 to 15. Its site says macOS 26 Tahoe support is coming soon and macOS 27 is not supported yet.
- It is closed source and paid, at $15, with one year of updates for licences bought from version 0.6.0.
- A hidden icon opens a plainer mirrored copy of its menu unless the beta Reveal hidden items on click setting applies, which needs a notched Mac.
- The site shows no dated changelog or release notes, so we cannot compute a release cadence. It is English only at launch.
Choose ChocolateBar if…
- Your real problem is a crowded menu bar and you need to recover or tidy the icons.
- You want a second row of icons one shortcut away, or a vertical column down the screen edge.
- You are on macOS 12 or 13, which NotchStar does not support.
- You are on macOS 14 or 15 and want its approach to menu bar icons, which NotchStar does not offer.
Choose NotchStar if…
- You want tools in the notch: clipboard history, a file shelf with AirDrop, music, timers and more.
- You want a $4 one time price on up to 3 Macs.
- You are on a macOS version newer than 15, where ChocolateBar says it does not run yet.
The verdict.
These apps are not substitutes. Choose ChocolateBar to get back crowded or notch hidden menu bar icons. Choose NotchStar for ten tools around the notch. NotchStar does not manage menu bar icons, so many people would run both.
What ChocolateBar is
ChocolateBar is a menu bar manager at chocolatebar.app, built by Aloysius Lim, who describes himself as an independent macOS developer. Its tagline asks to let your notch eat no more. It is aimed at one problem: a Mac menu bar that has more icons than fit. Past a point, macOS drops the older icons off the edge, and on a notched MacBook the camera housing hides them sooner.
It offers two answers, and you can use either or both. The first is an optional toggle that hides third party icons behind a chevron, which you can click to peek at them. The second is a row under the menu bar. Press ⇧⌘B, or click the ChocolateBar icon, and a strip opens with your menu bar apps at full size. The strip can also stand up as a vertical column along a screen edge. An optional row of running apps, one chip per app, is off by default.
It reads other apps’ icons through the macOS Accessibility API, and that is the only permission it asks for. Its site says it never asks for Screen Recording. The download is 5 MB, it is a universal binary for Apple Silicon and Intel, and it uses about 30 MB of memory at launch. The price is $15 once, with one year of updates, a 48 hour free trial with no card, and a 7 day refund. It is sold as a direct download only, because its site says the Mac App Store sandbox blocks the Accessibility access it needs.
Who it suits
Anyone whose menu bar is full. That includes owners of 14 inch and 16 inch MacBook Pro models, but also an iMac, a Mac mini or an external display, because ChocolateBar does not need a notch. A work Mac with a VPN, a device manager and a chat app that cannot be uninstalled is a good example.
It also suits people on older systems. It supports macOS 12 Monterey and 13 Ventura, which NotchStar does not, and it runs on Intel Macs.
The catch is the other end of the range. Its site lists macOS 12 to 15, says macOS 26 Tahoe support is coming soon and says macOS 27 is not supported yet. Its compatibility page was checked by the maker on 2 November 2026. If your Mac already runs a newer macOS, ChocolateBar is not an option today.
What ChocolateBar does that NotchStar does not
Everything about menu bar icons. NotchStar does not recover or organize crowded menu bar icons. If an icon has slid behind the notch, installing NotchStar will not bring it back, and it adds one small star item of its own to the bar.
Specifically, ChocolateBar can hide third party icons, show them in a second row, rotate that row into a column, and open an icon’s menu when you click it in the strip. When the real icon is on screen, it clicks the real one. On a notched Mac with the beta setting Reveal hidden items on click, a hidden icon is slid out, opened and tucked back. Its site says that setting has been on by default for new installs since version 0.6.0. With the setting off, or on a Mac without a notch, you get a mirrored copy of the menu, which the site says looks plainer than the original. That trade comes from avoiding Screen Recording.
It also offers the optional running apps row, so one strip can switch apps. And it covers older macOS and Intel, with a lower floor of macOS 12.
What NotchStar does that ChocolateBar does not list
The tools. ChocolateBar’s pages describe a menu bar manager and nothing else. They list no clipboard history, no file shelf, no music controls, no calendar, no timers and no teleprompter. NotchStar 1.0.5 has ten tools: clipboard history, a file shelf with AirDrop, now playing, calendar and reminders, timers and Pomodoro, a teleprompter, a camera mirror, system stats, quick notes and disk tools, plus a screenshot tray. It costs $4 once, covers up to 3 Macs, and has a 7 day trial and a 7 day refund.
A different layout. NotchStar opens from the notch and fills the space around the camera housing. On a Mac without a notch it becomes a small floating pill. ChocolateBar opens a strip below the menu bar and leaves the notch itself alone.
Newer macOS. NotchStar needs macOS 14 or later, and its 1.0.5 release notes of 12 October 2026 include a fix for macOS 27. ChocolateBar says it does not run there yet.
NotchStar is signed and notarized, needs no account and sends no analytics unless you opt in to anonymous version info. ChocolateBar makes similar statements: no telemetry, analytics or accounts, with your licence key sent only when you download an update.
Switching from ChocolateBar to NotchStar, or using both
This is not a switch, because NotchStar does not replace a menu bar organizer. If ChocolateBar is hiding icons for you, removing it will return them to a crowded bar, and NotchStar will not help. Many people would run both: ChocolateBar for the status icons, NotchStar for tools in the notch.
On macOS 14 and 15 the two ranges overlap, so both can be installed. We have not tested them together, so we cannot say how the two menu bar items and the notch panel behave side by side. NotchStar does not touch other apps’ icons, and neither app reads the other’s settings. ChocolateBar’s pages mention no settings export, so nothing carries over either way.
If you decide to drop ChocolateBar, note which icons it hid first. Its optional hide toggle moves them behind a chevron, so quitting it may put them back where macOS has no room. Both apps have a trial, 48 hours for ChocolateBar and 7 days for NotchStar, so you can test the pair before paying for either.
What we could not verify
We have not tested ChocolateBar ourselves. We read its website, its full reference page, its compatibility page, its Bartender comparison, its blog and its public issue tracker on GitHub. Several statements come from the maker’s own pages and are claims, not measurements, such as the 30 MB memory figure and the 30 plus apps it says it tried.
We could not find a dated changelog or release notes. Its pages mention versions 0.4.1 and 0.6.0, but give no dates or latest version number, so we do not state a release cadence. The tracker on GitHub holds issues only, with no source and no downloads. The site says it launched in June 2026.
We could not confirm how reliable the Reveal setting is, how the app behaves on a Mac with a very crowded bar, or when macOS 26 support will arrive. Its pricing offer for the next 20 buyers may have ended. Check the site for the current price, and test the trial on your own Mac and macOS version.
Questions.
What does ChocolateBar do?
It reads your menu bar through the macOS Accessibility API. It can hide third party icons behind a chevron, or open a row under the menu bar with ⇧⌘B or a click on its icon, showing those icons at full size. The row can also be a vertical column.
Does ChocolateBar work on the newest macOS?
Not according to its site. It lists macOS 12 Monterey through 15 Sequoia, says macOS 26 Tahoe support is coming soon, and says macOS 27 is not supported yet. Check its compatibility page before you buy.
Can I run ChocolateBar and NotchStar together?
They do different jobs, so the idea is sound, and NotchStar does not touch other apps' menu bar icons. We have not tested them together. Both only run on macOS 14 and 15, the range where their support overlaps.
More comparisons.
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- Alcove is a $12.99 one time purchase for macOS 15 or later built around live activities, lock screen widgets and HUDs; NotchStar is a $4 toolbox of ten utilities with none of those three. Read it
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- NotchStar vs Brow
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- NotchStar vs CleanShot X
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- NotchStar vs Crest
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- NotchStar vs Dynamic Notch
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- NotchStar vs TopNotch
- TopNotch, a free app from the CleanShot team, makes the camera housing blend into a black menu bar; its last release was June 2023. NotchStar keeps the notch visible and puts ten tools around it. Read it
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- NotchStar vs Vibe Notch
- Vibe Notch, formerly Claude Island, is an Apache 2.0 open source app for monitoring Claude Code and approving permissions from the notch; NotchStar has no agent monitoring. Read it
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- ChocolateBar alternatives
- Every option next to ChocolateBar, with price and macOS support. See the alternatives
- Best Mac notch apps
- A neutral roundup of the options. Read the guide
Put your notch to work.
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