The best menu bar to-do list apps for Mac
A menu bar to-do app keeps your tasks one click away in the Mac menu bar instead of in a window. For a single free list, TaskTab is enough. For a $2.99 list of deadlines, ToDoBar. For your whole day with lists, a calendar, notes, boards and iPhone apps, Alcove ($29.99 once). TickTick also has a menu bar panel. Things 3 and Todoist only open a quick-add window.
A menu bar to-do app lives in the strip at the top of your Mac's screen. Instead of switching to a window, you click an icon, see what's next, tick it off and get back to work. The best ones also let you add a task from any app with a keyboard shortcut, and show a count so you know how much is left without clicking at all.
There are two kinds: small single-list apps that do only this, and full to-do apps with a menu bar window as one part of them. I make Alcove, one of the full apps below. Prices were checked on the Mac App Store and the apps' own sites in October 2026.
Menu bar to-do apps at a glance
| App | Price | What's in the menu bar | Syncs with | Add from any app |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcove | $29.99 once for Mac, iPhone and iPad, after a 14-day free trial | Today with its count, every list, the month, notes and boards; lists float | iPhone and iPad, through your iCloud | ⌥ Space, one sentence |
| TickTick | Free plan, or Premium at $49.99 a year | A panel with your tasks | Every platform | Global shortcut |
| TaskTab | Free | One simple list, with an optional count | Other Macs, through iCloud | Customisable hotkey |
| ToDoBar | $2.99 once | Your next task and the count, with deadline rings | Nothing; stays on the Mac | Click the icon and type |
| Things 3 | $49.99 Mac (iPhone and iPad sold separately) | Controls for a new to-do; no list | Apple devices | Quick Entry shortcut |
| Todoist | Free plan, or Pro at $5 a month billed yearly | No list | Every platform | Quick Add shortcut |
Alcove: your whole day in the menu bar
Alcove is built around the menu bar rather than adding one to an app. Click the icon, which can show today's count, and a card opens with tabs for your main list, your lists, the month, your notes and your boards. You can turn tabs off in Settings if you never use one. Open a list and tick tasks off without leaving the app you're in.
Any list, note or board can be pulled out into a floating window that stays above your other apps, even full-screen ones, at whatever size you like. Press ⌥ Space in any app and type "Book flights Friday 10am #travel" to add a task with its day, time and tag.
Because it's a full app, the same tasks are in the main window, on your iPhone and iPad, in widgets and in Siri. Notes do the maths, boards keep work moving, and reminders can ring like an alarm on iPhone. See keeping your to-do list in the menu bar.
Best for: people whose day happens on the Mac and who want the same list on their iPhone, without a subscription.
TickTick: a menu bar panel in an everything app
TickTick's Mac app adds a menu bar panel where you can see and add tasks without opening the main window, and a global shortcut adds a task from anywhere. It runs on every platform and includes calendars, habits and a Pomodoro timer, with some views in Premium.
Best for: people who also use Windows or Android and want habits and a focus timer.
TaskTab: a free, single list
TaskTab is a small, free menu bar list from FIPLAB. Click the icon or press its hotkey, type, and tick things off. It can show how many items are left beside the icon, syncs between your Macs through iCloud, and imports and exports. It needs macOS 14.6 or later.
Best for: one simple list on the Mac, for free.
ToDoBar: deadlines in the menu bar
ToDoBar ($2.99) shows your next pending task, or the count of what's left, right in the menu bar. Each task can have a deadline, and coloured rings show how much time is left. Everything stays on your Mac, with no sync and no folders or tags, and it exports to CSV.
Best for: a short list of things with deadlines today.
What about Things 3 and Todoist?
Both are excellent apps, but neither keeps a list in the menu bar. Things 3 opens Quick Entry from a keyboard shortcut in any app, and its Quick Entry with Autofill can grab the link or email you're looking at. Todoist has a global Quick Add shortcut and desktop widgets. If you love either app and only want to add tasks quickly, that may be all you need. If you want to see and tick off your list from the menu bar, look at the apps above.
How to choose
- One list, free: TaskTab.
- Deadlines at a glance, almost free: ToDoBar.
- Windows or Android too: TickTick.
- Your day on the Mac and the same tasks on your iPhone, paid once: Alcove.
Sources
Checked in October 2026:
- TaskTab on the Mac App Store
- ToDoBar on the Mac App Store
- TickTick: add tasks and TickTick Premium
- Things Helper and Quick Entry with Autofill, Cultured Code
- Todoist widgets on Apple devices and Todoist pricing
Questions people ask
Does Things 3 have a menu bar app?
Things 3 has Quick Entry, a small window you open with a keyboard shortcut from any app, and menu bar controls for a new to-do. It doesn't keep your list in the menu bar.
Does Todoist have a menu bar list on the Mac?
Todoist has a global Quick Add shortcut and desktop widgets, but no list in the menu bar. Third-party plugins such as xbar can show Todoist's Today list there.
Is there a free menu bar to-do list for Mac?
TaskTab is free on the Mac App Store, with a hotkey, an optional count in the menu bar and iCloud sync between Macs. Apple Reminders has no menu bar list.
Which menu bar to-do app also syncs with an iPhone?
Alcove and TickTick. Alcove's menu bar popup shows the same lists, notes and boards as its iPhone and iPad apps, kept in step by your own iCloud. TaskTab syncs between Macs, and ToDoBar keeps everything on the one Mac.
Can a menu bar to-do list stay on screen while I work?
In Alcove, yes. Any list, note or board can float in its own window above other apps, including full-screen ones, and you can tick tasks off without leaving what you're doing.