Unstable for years, hidden membership instead of real quality
I’ve been using Bartender for about 3 years, and unfortunately I’ve been dealing with the same issues throughout that entire time.
The app crashes regularly, menu bar icons jump around, and exactly when you need it to work, it doesn’t.
What frustrates me most is that after three years, the team still hasn’t managed to deliver a truly stable product. Instead, a new paid version is released every year, while long-standing issues remain unresolved.
This annual payment is basically a hidden membership – just without transparency or the level of ongoing improvement you’d expect from a subscription. It feels like the product is only partially maintained between releases, then sold again as a “new version” rather than being continuously and properly developed.
Honestly, I’d rather donate to an open-source alternative that is developed sustainably than keep paying every year for software that never feels finished.
I will let my license expire and stop using Bartender.
I’ve recommended it to many people in the past – and I will now actively recommend that they switch to alternatives instead. Very disappointing.
