TiidyTiidy vs Thaw.
If you want free, open source and every option there is, choose Thaw. If you want your menu bar sorted in a minute and kept tidy on its own, with a named maker to email, Tiidy is built for that. Both are good answers. They're for different people.
You want it looked after.
- You want suggestions to do the sorting for you.
- You want new icons to ask where they go, instead of piling up.
- You want apps to show up when they matter, and nap when they don't.
- You'd like one person to email when something's off.
- You're happy to pay US$9, once, for that.
You want the knobs.
- You want free and open source, under the GPL.
- You want profiles, your own triggers and a section per display.
- You like arranging every item yourself.
- You're comfortable running an alpha on macOS 27.
Side by side.
| Question | TiidyVersion 0.8.2 | Thaw3.0 alpha for macOS 27 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | US$9, once, for 3 Macs | Free |
| Source code | Closed | Open, GPL-3.0 |
| macOS 27 | Built for it. Version 0.8.2 | In the 3.0 alpha. Alpha 7 was released on 25 September 2026. |
| Permissions | Accessibility only | Accessibility. Screen Recording is optional. |
| Setup | One card per app with a suggestion. About a minute. | Drag and drop items where you want them |
| New icons ask where to live | Yes | |
| Unused icons | Suggestions at most once a week: tuck or bury what you don't click, bring back what you do, and let heavy unused apps nap | Highlights unused items in Layout in 3.0 alpha 7 |
| Attention from hidden icons | A tucked icon with changed text stays in the bar until you click it or it changes back, and the broom says why. A change with no new words visits for 10 seconds. A change to the picture alone isn't noticed. | Can reveal blinking icons; also offers configurable triggers |
| Rarely used apps | Can nap: they quit after hours unused and wake when you click them | |
| Profiles | Yes | |
| Triggers | A few, built in: calls, VPN, desk, app in front. No Focus or Wi-Fi triggers. | Yes, like battery, Focus or Wi-Fi network |
| Per-display layout | Yes, one section per display | |
| Keyboard search | Yes | |
| Support | Email the maker, Petar Ceklic | Through its GitHub project |
A line means the app doesn't offer it, or its own pages don't list it.
Credit where it's due
macOS 27 rebuilt the menu bar, and the old way of hiding icons stopped working for everyone. Thaw's maintainers worked out how the new menu bar can be managed, during the betas. Pelmet credits Thaw for that, and the same macOS mechanism is what Hidden Bar and Tiidy use today.
Thaw is a fork of Ice, the open-source menu bar manager many people used before macOS 27. It's free, it's generous, and it has far more options than Tiidy.
System iconsTiidy leaves Wi-Fi, Sound, Control Center and the clock visible. Thaw 3.0 alpha also experiments with replacement icons for some Apple items it cannot hide.
Set up in a minute
Thaw gives you a canvas: drag each item where you want it. Tiidy gives you a short stack of cards instead, one per app, each with a suggestion. Keep it in the bar, Tuck it behind the broom, or Bury it for Option-click. Press ← ↓ →, or accept the rest in one click.
Stays tidy on its own
This is the part you pay for. When you install an app that adds an icon, Tiidy tucks it and asks where it should live. After a few days, it starts suggesting changes, at most once a week: tuck the icons you haven't clicked, bury the ones you never touch, and bring back the ones you use every day. When a tucked icon has news, like a sync app saying it's syncing, it comes into the bar and stays until you click it, or until the news is over. Call apps come out while your mic or camera is on, and your VPN's icon shows while it's connected. Apps you rarely use can nap, and wake when you click them.
Tiidy never rearranges your icons. Tidy suggestions need your approval; new icons start tucked, and pop-outs and the shows you choose happen automatically.
Who's behind it
Thaw is a community project on GitHub, and that's a real strength: anyone can read the code. Tiidy is made by one person, Petar Ceklic, a product designer in Perth. The code is closed, but the maker isn't. Email hello@tiidy.app and he'll answer.
Try both. Tiidy's trial is free for a week.Version 0.8.2. 7 days, no card, no account. macOS 27 and Apple silicon. Or buy it now for US$9.
SourcesChecked 28 Sep 2026. Tell me if something has changed: hello@tiidy.app
- github.com/thaw-app/Thaw: GPL-3.0, free, features, permissions
- Thaw releases: 3.0.0 alpha 7, 25 Sep 2026, macOS 27
- Pelmet README: credits Thaw for the macOS 27 approach, Thaw as a fork of Ice
- Hidden Bar pull request 403: the same macOS 27 mechanism