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HighTop vs Thaw

Side-by-side comparison for macOS

HighTop

8.0
Productivity

File access via the menu bar

Thaw

7.0
Utilities

Menu bar manager

Metric HighTop Thaw
Category Productivity Utilities
AI Score 8.0 7.0
30-day Installs 11 3.4K
90-day Installs 42 11.2K
365-day Installs 202 17.6K
Version 1.4 1.2.0
Auto-updates Yes Yes
Deprecated No No
GitHub Stars 509 2.7K
GitHub Forks 8 54
Open Issues - 38
License MIT GPL-3.0
Language Ruby Swift
Last GitHub Commit 6mo ago 3mo ago
First Seen May 24, 2021 Feb 5, 2026

Reviews

HighTop

HighTop offers quick file access via a menu bar icon, ideal for users who frequently work with files. Its seamless integration and convenience make it a useful productivity tool.

Adds a menu bar icon for quick file access and browsing.

Pros

  • + Quick and convenient file access via the menu bar.
  • + Seamless integration with macOS interface.
  • + Lightweight and efficient system resource usage.

Cons

  • - Limited to menu bar interface without a traditional file browser.
  • - Currently only available for macOS.

Thaw

Thaw is a menu bar manager for macOS that offers customization and control over the menu bar items. It is a fork of Ice, designed to enhance the user experience by providing a sleek and functional interface. Users who value a clean and organized menu bar will benefit from this app.

Thaw allows users to customize and manage their macOS menu bar items.

Pros

  • + Customizable menu bar items
  • + Active development and updates
  • + Forked from a well-known menu bar manager

Cons

  • - Open bugs reported by users
  • - Compatibility issues with macOS 26