Gmail in Your Menu Bar

You don't need a whole email app open all day just to know something landed. MistBar keeps your Gmail in the menu bar — the unread count sits up top, and one click drops down your inbox where you can write, reply, and undo a send without opening a client or a browser tab. And it isn't only Gmail: Outlook, iCloud, and Fastmail share the same hub. Full disclosure: I make MistBar, and this is one of its features, not a standalone app.

What it does

Your unread count lives in the menu bar, so a glance tells you whether anything needs you. Open the dropdown and every account is grouped on its own, each with its own count. From there you can compose a new message, reply to what's in front of you, and undo a send if you catch a typo a second too late — all without leaving the bar. Add as many accounts as you keep.

Every inbox in one place, straight to the source

Best for: anyone juggling a few accounts who just wants to stay on top of them.

Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, and Fastmail sit together in one hub instead of four apps or four browser tabs. And each account talks straight to its own provider — your mail never passes through any server of mine, there's no MistBar account, and your credentials stay on your Mac. It's the convenience of one place to look, without handing your mail to a middleman.

How it compares to a full client or a browser tab

	MistBar	Mimestream	Gmail in the browser
Lives in	Menu bar	Full app window	A browser tab
Providers	Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Fastmail	Gmail & Workspace	Gmail
Unread at a glance	In the menu bar	Dock / app	Only if the tab's open
Compose, reply, undo send	Yes	Yes, full client	Yes, in the tab
Talks straight to your provider	Yes	Yes	Yes
Also declutters your menu bar	Yes	—	—
Clipboard, launcher, notes, usage	Yes	—	—
Price	$9.99 once	Free tier + subscription	Free

Straight talk: if you want a real Gmail client with threading, labels, and deep search, Mimestream is excellent and the browser is free — MistBar isn't trying to replace them. MistBar is the menu-bar companion: it's for the person who wants to see what's unread and fire off a quick reply without a client eating a window, in the same app that declutters the menu bar and keeps a clipboard manager, notes, and AI usage a keystroke away.

It's part of the whole app

Mail isn't a bolt-on. MistBar's main job is to declutter your menu bar — hide the icons you never click, reveal them on hover or a hotkey, all without Screen Recording permission. The inbox rides alongside a clipboard manager, notes, an app launcher, folders, text expansion, and a live AI-usage readout. One-time $9.99 (launch price), up to three Macs, no subscription, macOS 26+.

New to MistBar? See what it does, or how it stacks up in the menu-bar app roundup.