Skip to content

The Bottom Line

Price
From $4/user/mo, billed monthly (free plan available). Compare plans

Key facts

  • Free and open-source macOS app for complete menu bar management.
  • Hide, search, and rearrange menu bar items with customizable triggers and profiles.
  • Private by design with no tracking, no account, and no telemetry.

Pros

  • Completely free with no subscriptions or in-app purchases.
  • Open source with a strong focus on privacy and no tracking.
  • Highly customizable with profiles, triggers, and appearance options.

Cons

  • Only available for macOS, no Windows or Linux support.
  • Some advanced features like triggers are experimental and require manual enabling.

What is Thaw?

Thaw is a free and open-source macOS app that gives you complete control over your menu bar. It allows you to hide icons you don't need, instantly reveal hidden items with a hover, click, scroll, or hotkey, and search for any menu bar item from your keyboard. The app is private by design, with no tracking, no account, and no telemetry, and everything stays on your Mac. Beyond simple hiding, Thaw offers extensive customization. You can style the bar with tints, gradients, shadows, and custom shapes, and create different profiles that automatically switch based on your display, Space, or Focus filter. It also includes triggers that can reveal or hide items based on conditions like battery level, active app, or Wi-Fi network, and a Zen mode that conceals everything for presentations or screen sharing.

Key Features

  • Hide menu bar items and create an always-hidden section.
  • Reveal hidden items by hovering, clicking, scrolling, swiping, or pressing a hotkey.
  • Search and jump to any menu bar item from the keyboard.
  • Create triggers to reveal or hide items based on conditions like battery level, active app, or Wi-Fi network.
  • Switch between profiles that bind to specific displays, Spaces, or Focus filters.

Pricing Plans

Free Trial

Pricing checked Oct 16, 2026. Source: github.com/pricing, read Oct 16, 2026

Thaw plans and prices, checked October 2026
Plan Price Details
Free

$0 USD per month

  • Unlimited public/private repositories
  • Host open source projects in public GitHub repositories
  • Dependabot security and version updates
+4 more
  • 2,000 CI/CD minutes/month (free for public repositories)
  • 500MB of Packages storage (free for public repositories)
  • Issues & Projects
  • Community support
Team

$4 USD per user/month

  • Everything included in Free
  • Access to GitHub Codespaces
  • Repository rules
+9 more
  • Multiple reviewers in pull requests
  • Draft pull requests
  • Code owners
  • Required reviewers
  • Pages and Wikis
  • Environment deployment branches and secrets
  • 3,000 CI/CD minutes/month (free for public repositories)
  • 2GB of Packages storage (free for public repositories)
  • Web-based support
Enterprise

$21 USD per user/month

  • Everything included in Team
  • Data residency
  • Enterprise Managed Users
+7 more
  • User provisioning through SCIM
  • Enterprise Account to centrally manage multiple organizations
  • Environment protection rules
  • Repository rules
  • Audit Log API
  • SOC1, SOC2, type 2 reports annually
  • FedRAMP Tailored Authority to Operate (ATO)

Is Thaw worth the price?

Good value

The pricing is fair and competitive for a developer platform, with a generous free tier that includes unlimited repositories and public CI/CD minutes.

The Team tier at $4/user/month is a strong value for small teams, while the Enterprise tier at $21/user/month is reasonable for organizations needing compliance features like SOC2 and FedRAMP. Best for individual developers, growing teams, and regulated enterprises.

Hidden Costs & Gotchas

Overage for CI/CD minutes

$0.008/min after 3,000 min/month

Overage for Packages storage

$0.25/GB after 2GB for Team tier

Enterprise tier requires minimum 50 users (implied by per-user billing)

No free tier includes private CI/CD minutes beyond 2,000/month

Advanced security features like Dependabot alerts limited on Free tier

Full Thaw pricing: every plan, hidden costs and alternatives

Email me when Thaw changes its price

One email per change, found on the vendor's own pricing page. Unsubscribe any time.

Thaw by the numbers

Toolradar data: Thaw's entry paid plan ($4/user/mo, billed monthly) ranks #1 of 17 (joint) for price among the UI/UX Design tools with a verified entry price per user, where the median is $10/user/mo. As of Oct 2026.

Thaw compared with 440 UI/UX Design tools on Toolradar, as of Oct 2026
Metric Thaw Peer median Position (1 is best)
Entry paid plan $4/user/mo, billed monthly $10/user/mo #1 of 17 (joint) tools priced per user, verified price
Free plan Yes 79% have one n/a
Listed as an alternative to 3 tools 2 #135 of 440 (joint)

Each position is counted among the tools that have data for that row, as noted under it. A lower entry price ranks higher; prices are read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis. All UI/UX Design data · How we compute this. Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position.

Cite this: Toolradar, “Thaw by the numbers”, Oct 2026.

Reviews

Improve Your Thinking Patterns Using ChatGPT cover
$99 Free with your review

Review Thaw, get a free AI guide

Share your experience and we will send you Improve Your Thinking Patterns Using ChatGPT, free.

Write a review

Best Thaw Alternatives

Top alternatives based on features, pricing, and user needs.

Most buyers shortlist 2 or 3 tools before committing. Pull a side-by-side comparison or browse the full alternatives shortlist below.

Explore More

Thaw FAQ

How does Thaw help with screen sharing or presentations?

Thaw includes a Zen mode that conceals everything in the menu bar for presentations or screen sharing. This allows you to hide sensitive icons and notifications when sharing your screen, keeping your desktop clean and professional.

How does Thaw compare to Raycast for menu bar management?

While Raycast is a general-purpose productivity tool, Thaw is specifically designed for macOS menu bar control. Unlike Raycast, Thaw is completely free and open source, with features like hiding, revealing, searching, and styling the menu bar, and it operates with no tracking or telemetry.

What are the main limitations of using Thaw?

Thaw is only available for macOS, so it does not support Windows or Linux. Additionally, some advanced features like triggers are experimental and require manual enabling, which may limit their stability for all users.

What kind of user benefits most from Thaw's customization features?

Users who want to declutter and personalize their macOS menu bar, such as designers, developers, and productivity enthusiasts, benefit most from Thaw. Its ability to create profiles that switch based on display, Space, or Focus filter makes it ideal for users with complex workflows.

How is Thaw priced?

Thaw is available on a free tier with no subscriptions or in-app purchases. It offers paid plans for more usage and features, but the core functionality is free and open source, ensuring accessibility for all users.

Can Thaw show or hide menu bar items based on specific conditions?

Yes, Thaw includes triggers that can reveal or hide items based on conditions like battery level, active app, or Wi-Fi network. This allows for automated menu bar behavior tailored to your current context, reducing clutter when you don't need certain icons.

Does Thaw allow you to search for menu bar items using your keyboard?

Yes, Thaw lets you search for any menu bar item directly from your keyboard. This feature is part of its core functionality, enabling quick access without needing to click through icons, which saves time and keeps your workflow smooth.

How does Thaw handle different displays or Focus modes?

Thaw allows you to create different profiles that automatically switch based on your display, Space, or Focus filter. This means your menu bar can adapt its appearance and hidden items depending on your current setup or activity, providing a tailored experience across contexts.

How does Thaw pricing compare with other UI/UX Design tools?

Thaw's entry paid plan ($4/user/mo, billed monthly) ranks #1 of 17 (joint) for price among the UI/UX Design tools with a verified entry price per user, where the median is $10/user/mo. Prices are read on each vendor's own pricing page and compared only with tools priced on the same basis. Source: Toolradar, Oct 2026.

Source: github.com

Guides & Articles