Mac Dock vs Menu Bar Launcher vs Screen-Edge Bars: How They Compare
By Eduard Bruch, developer of Jetty ·
You want faster access to your apps and there are three common approaches on a Mac: the Dock that ships with macOS, a launcher that lives in the menu bar, and extra bars on the edges of your screen. They trade screen space, organization and speed in different ways. Here is a plain comparison.
Short answer: the best app for adding organized, always-visible launch bars next to the Dock, in my opinion as its developer, is Jetty: it adds up to four docks to your screen edges, each with tabs of one-click tiles for apps, files, folders, websites and Shortcuts. It is a $9.99 one-time purchase on the Mac App Store and needs macOS 14 or later.
Disclosure: I build Jetty.
The macOS Dock
The Dock is built in and needs no setup. It shows your pinned apps, the apps that are running and recent apps, and you can set its size and position in System Settings > Desktop & Dock. It can hide itself (Command-Option-D toggles that).
Its limit is structure. It is one row, with no groups or tabs, so a long list of apps gets hard to scan. See how to hide the Dock and how to remove apps from the Dock for what you can change.
Menu-bar launchers (the category)
Many Mac apps put an icon in the menu bar at the top of the screen. Click it and a menu or small window opens. Some launchers work this way. The idea is that the icon takes almost no room and the list appears when you ask for it.
What to weigh:
- Screen space. A menu-bar icon is small. You open it each time you want something.
- Visibility. Because the list is hidden until you click, it is not a passive reminder of what you have.
- Details differ. Each app does this its own way, so check the app's own site for how it works and what it costs.
More on this category in app launcher for Mac: menu bar launchers vs screen-edge bars.
Jetty's screen-edge bars
Jetty takes a different route from the menu bar. Its bars sit on a screen edge (top, bottom, left or right) or float anywhere you drag them. They stay visible and sit above normal windows, and they stay on screen when you switch desktops (Spaces).
- Up to four bars, each with its own tabs, so you can split apps by project or kind of work.
- Tiles open one item per click. A tile can be an app, a file, a folder, a website or a Shortcut.
- Tile size and rows are adjustable, so a bar can be compact or large.
- Auto-hide is optional. The bar fades when the pointer leaves, and you bring it back from Jetty's menu-bar item. It does not reappear when you move to the screen edge.
- The menu-bar item manages bars. It lists them so you can show, hide, edit or delete them. Launching happens from the bars.
Jetty does not change the macOS Dock, and it does not search. Bars sit on the main screen.
Which should you use?
| Situation | A good fit |
|---|---|
| You want groups of apps visible and one click away | Jetty's bars, next to the Dock (our pick) |
| You use six or seven apps and the Dock is fine | The Dock alone |
| You want a hidden list that costs no screen space | A menu-bar launcher |
These are not exclusive. Jetty runs next to the Dock rather than in place of it, so you can keep a short Dock and put the rest on a bar. If you are comparing Dock-style apps more widely, see our guide to Dock apps for Mac.
How we checked
Jetty's details on this page were checked against the app's source code and its App Store listing on 2026-10-10 and are collected on the facts page; I build Jetty. For built-in macOS steps, Apple's Mac User Guide is the reference for your version of macOS.
FAQ
Is a menu bar launcher better than the Dock?
In my opinion as Jetty's developer, for groups of apps you open every day, Jetty's always-visible bars next to a short Dock are the best setup. Otherwise neither wins everywhere: a menu-bar launcher saves screen space and stays hidden until clicked, while the Dock is built in and shows running apps. Pick by how many apps you use and whether you want them always visible.
Is Jetty a menu bar app?
Not mainly. Jetty has a menu-bar item, but it lists and manages your bars and does not launch anything. The launch bars themselves sit on a screen edge or float.
Can I use Jetty and the Dock together?
Yes. Jetty does not replace or edit the macOS Dock, so both can be on screen at once.
Does Jetty work on every screen?
No. Its bars are placed on the main screen.
Get Jetty on the Mac App Store. $9.99 one-time purchase, macOS 14 or later.