uBar alternatives
uBar vs Taskbar for macOS
The Lawand Taskbar and uBar are both Windows-style taskbars for the Mac, and both run on macOS 10.13 and later. The biggest difference is scope: the Lawand Taskbar shows the current Space in a bar that looks like Windows, while uBar shows every window on every monitor and can also run as a dock. This page is part of our uBar alternatives guide.
What the Lawand Taskbar is
The Lawand Taskbar is a Windows-style taskbar for macOS from lawand.io, at version 1.6.3 as of 6 September 2026 and supporting macOS 10.13 and later. It shows thumbnails when you hover over an app, lets you pin apps, includes a start menu that stands in for Launchpad, groups windows by app, and puts one bar on each screen. It follows the system light or dark appearance, has adjustable transparency, and follows Spaces, showing only the windows in the current one. It can be installed with Homebrew, and its developer reports more than 12,000 downloads.
Two things the Lawand Taskbar offers that uBar does not: a free version, and a lower price for the paid one. Version 1 is free until it expires on 19 December 2026, and version 2 is a one-time $25 after a free trial, against uBar’s $30.
What uBar is
uBar is a Dock replacement and taskbar for the Mac, in development since 2009 and currently at version 4.2.4, released 2 September 2026. It runs on every macOS release from 10.13 High Sierra through macOS Tahoe as a Universal binary. In taskbar mode each window gets a labeled tile, with grouping set to Always, Never or Automatic, previews on hover, badges, drag-and-drop and up to five rows, and the uBar menu lists Applications, System Settings and your own apps and folders. In dock mode it behaves like a dock, with six themes including Custom. Every monitor gets its own bar, or the same bar in Mirror mode, on any edge, pinned or floating. It is a one-time purchase: $30 personal, $50 commercial, after a 14-day trial. Setup is covered in the documentation.
Side by side
| Feature | uBar | Lawand Taskbar |
|---|
| Labeled windows | Yes. Each window is a tile with its title. | Yes. Window titles on each tile, with an option to hide them and show icons only. |
|---|
| Window previews | Yes, on hover. | Yes, thumbnails on hover. |
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| Window grouping | Always, Never or Automatic. | Group by app. |
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| Start menu | Yes. The uBar menu lists Applications, System Settings, and custom apps and folders. | Yes. A start menu that stands in for Launchpad. |
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| Multi-monitor | A bar on every monitor showing that monitor’s windows, or Mirror mode to show the same bar everywhere. | One bar per screen showing that screen’s windows, with an option to show all windows on every bar. |
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| Dock mode | Yes. One click on Dock Defaults switches the layout. | No. It is a taskbar only. |
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| Themes | System, Light, Dark, Platinum Neue, Now Playing and Custom. | Light and dark, following the system or fixed to dark, plus custom transparency. No theme set. |
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| Homebrew install | brew install --cask ubar | brew install --cask taskbar |
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| Minimum macOS | 10.13 High Sierra, through macOS Tahoe. | 10.13 |
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| Last release | 4.2.4, 2 September 2026. | 1.6.3, 6 September 2026. |
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| Price | $30 personal (two Macs) or $50 commercial, one-time, after a 14-day trial. | Version 1 free. Version 2 $25 one-time after a free trial. |
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| After 19 December 2026 | Nothing changes. uBar licenses do not expire. | Version 1 expires. Continuing means moving to version 2 at $25. |
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The date that matters most in the near term is 19 December 2026. Lawand Taskbar version 1 stops working then on 19 December 2026, and lawand.io’s answer is version 2 at $25. If you are choosing now, compare uBar with Lawand Taskbar version 2 rather than the free version 1, since version 2 is what you would be using a few months from now.
Choose the Lawand Taskbar if…
- You want a free taskbar and are fine with version 1 expiring on 19 December 2026.
- You want the bar to show only the current Space.
- You would rather pay $25 for version 2 than $30 for uBar.
Choose uBar if…
- You use more than one monitor and want each to have its own bar, or the same bar mirrored on all of them.
- You want the option of a dock layout as well as a taskbar, and themes that go with either.
- You want a one-time license with no expiry date, for an app that has shipped updates through macOS Tahoe.
- You want to turn grouping off and see every window as its own labeled tile.
Frequently asked
Is the Lawand Taskbar free?
Lawand Taskbar version 1 is free until it expires on 19 December 2026. Version 2 is a one-time $25 purchase after a free trial. uBar is not free: it has a 14-day trial, then costs $30 for a personal license.
What happens when Lawand Taskbar version 1 expires?
Version 1 stops working on 19 December 2026, and version 2 is the paid successor. If you would rather not start over on a new version, uBar is a one-time purchase and its licenses do not expire.
Can I install either app with Homebrew?
Yes. Both are Homebrew casks: brew install --cask ubar for uBar and brew install --cask taskbar for the Lawand Taskbar.
Bring your taskbar with you.
14-day free trial. One-time purchase of $30. No subscription.
