Comparing menu-bar meters
CodexBar alternative for people who use more than Codex
CodexBar is a free, open-source (MIT) menu-bar app that covers a wide set of providers, and plenty of people are already happy with it for exactly that reason. If CodexBar already shows you what you need, you do not need Usage HUD, and this page will not tell you otherwise. It exists for the narrower case where you want a couple of specific things CodexBar was not built around.
Usage HUD is a free, native Mac app built around one idea: every number should say how much you can trust it, not just what the number is. In practice that means a confidence label — official, measured or estimated — with a one-line reason on every reading, so you can tell an official reading that has quietly stopped updating from one that is genuinely live right now.
How Usage HUD shows it
Alongside the confidence labels, Usage HUD includes a doctor command that checks each provider and tells you in plain language whether its number is reliable and why, a pace verdict so you can see whether you are on pace for the week without doing the math yourself, and exact Ollama token counts pulled from your local logs for today and the rolling seven days.
The panel covers Claude, Codex, Gemini, Grok, and Ollama, with one bar per provider, a reset time, and a freshness stamp for each. None of this makes Usage HUD better than CodexBar at what CodexBar already does well — free, open source, and more provider coverage than most people will ever use. Usage HUD’s case is narrower: the labels, the doctor command, the pace verdict, and the design are the reasons to pay for it instead. If you already know CodexBar covers everything you track, stop there; the rest of this page is for the moment you want a plain-language reason behind a number, not another opinion on which app is better.
Get Usage HUD
Free · no account · signed and notarized by Apple
The download is a notarized disk image. Drag Usage HUD to Applications, open it, then click Set up.
- Your Mac: macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon or Intel.
- Claude and Codex: Claude Code or Codex signed in. Nothing else to install for those two lanes.
- Gemini and Grok: those lanes need Node.js 18 or later.
- Local models: the local lane reads your Ollama logs.
Tips are optional and go through Stripe. Free first: claude-usage-check shows which number is official. If CodexBar already works for you, you may not need this.
Frequently asked questions
Should I switch from CodexBar to Usage HUD?
Only if you want the confidence labels, the doctor command, the pace verdict, or exact Ollama token counts. If CodexBar already covers what you need, keep using it.
Is CodexBar worse than Usage HUD?
No. CodexBar is free, open source, and covers many providers. Usage HUD is a separate, free tool built around trust labels and pace, not a replacement claim.
What is the doctor command?
A command that checks each provider Usage HUD reads and tells you in plain language whether its number is reliable right now and why.
Related
Usage HUD vs CodexBar (short table). If Claude Code is part of your setup, see the Claude Code usage limit page. If you also run Gemini CLI or Grok, see Gemini CLI and Grok usage in one meter. Visit the Usage HUD home page.
