Guides/Best temperature monitors for Mac
The 6 best temperature monitors for Mac
Quick answer
Vitals is the best temperature monitor for Mac if you want the temperature and the reason for it. It reads the CPU, GPU, SSD and battery sensors, puts the CPU, the GPU or the hottest sensor in the menu bar, names the apps heating the Mac with Quit beside each, tells you when the Mac stays above a temperature you choose, and can set each fan's speed. TG Pro is the specialist: fan rules by temperature, email alerts and CSV logs. Stats is the best free one, and Macs Fan Control is the free pick for fans.
How to check a Mac's temperature without an app
- 01 Open Terminal: press ⌘Space, type Terminal and press Return.
- 02 On a Mac with Apple silicon, run
sudo powermetrics --samplers thermal -n 1. It reports the thermal pressure, such as Nominal or Heavy, not a temperature in degrees. - 03 On an Intel Mac, run
sudo powermetrics --samplers smc -n 1. It prints the CPU temperature and the fan speed. - 04 To find what is producing the heat, open Activity Monitor, click CPU and sort by % CPU.
macOS has no temperature readout in Activity Monitor or System Settings, which is why these apps exist. Apple's own advice is to use a Mac laptop where the room is between 10° and 35° C (50° to 95° F).
A Mac measures its own temperature in a dozen places and shows you none of them. A temperature monitor reads those sensors: the CPU cores, the GPU, the SSD, the battery, the air moving through the case. The good ones also put a reading in the menu bar, warn you at a limit you set, and let you run the fans harder. Only one says which app is behind the heat. The apps below are ranked on all of it, and each is labeled with the job it does best.
| # | App | Best for | Price | Runs in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vitals Best overall | The temperature, and the app behind it | $9 during the launch | A window and the menu bar |
| 2 | TG Pro | Fan rules by temperature, with email alerts and logs | $10 once | The menu bar |
| 3 | iStat Menus | Sensors in the menu bar, with alert rules and fan control | $11.99 once | The menu bar |
| 4 | Macs Fan Control | Free fan control, with the temperatures beside it | Free; the Pro version | A window and the menu bar |
| 5 | Stats | Free sensors in the menu bar | Free (MIT license) | The menu bar |
| 6 | mactop | Every sensor, in the terminal, on Apple silicon | Free (MIT) | The terminal, with a menu bar mode |
- 01
Vitals
Best for: The temperature, and the app behind it
- Price
- $9 during the launch, then $39, once
- Runs in
- A window and the menu bar
Most temperature monitors stop at the number. Vitals goes on to the cause. Its Temperature & Fans panel shows the CPU, the GPU and the hottest sensor, then every sensor it reads: efficiency and performance cores, GPU, SSD, battery, Wi-Fi and airflow. When the Mac is hot or the fans are working, a card names the apps responsible, by the power each is drawing, with Quit beside each. The menu bar can show the CPU, the GPU or the hottest sensor, in Celsius or Fahrenheit. It notifies you when the Mac stays hotter than a limit you set, from 70 to 105 °C, and keeps the average and peak temperature for 30 days, or up to a year. Each fan can stay on automatic or run at a speed you set, and every fan goes back to automatic when Vitals quits. It runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs. Reading temperatures needs no extra permission; setting a fan needs Full System Metrics turned on.
Good
- Names the apps heating the Mac, with Quit beside each
- CPU, GPU or the hottest sensor in the menu bar
- A notification when the Mac stays above a limit you set
- Average and peak temperature kept for 30 days, or up to a year
- Each fan on automatic or at a speed you set
- The rest of a system monitor around it: every app, with history
Good to know
- No fan rules by temperature: a fan is on automatic or at the speed you set
- Reads a known list of sensors for each chip, not every sensor the Mac has
- Temperature history is an average and a peak every five minutes, not a drawn chart
- Needs macOS 15 or later
- 02
TG Pro
by Tunabelly SoftwareBest for: Fan rules by temperature, with email alerts and logs
- Price
- $10 once
- Runs in
- The menu bar
TG Pro is the specialist. It reads CPU temperatures, including single cores on Apple silicon, the GPU, internal and external drives, the battery, and more, and keeps the highest reading for each sensor. Its Auto Boost rules raise the fans when a sensor you choose passes a temperature you choose, and fans can also be set by hand. It sends notifications and email alerts at your own limits, logs temperatures and fan speeds to CSV, and checks the hardware: fans, sensors, battery health and the last shutdown. It runs on Intel and Apple silicon, macOS 10.14 to 27. Version 2.104.
Good
- Fan rules by temperature, for any sensor
- Notifications and email alerts at your own limits
- CSV logs of temperatures and fan speeds
- Hardware checks for fans, sensors and battery
- Runs on macOS 10.14 and later
Not so good
- No list of apps or processes: it does not say what is heating the Mac
- Temperatures and fans only
- 04
Macs Fan Control
by CrystalIDEABest for: Free fan control, with the temperatures beside it
- Price
- Free; the Pro version, a one-time purchase, adds custom fan presets
- Runs in
- A window and the menu bar
Macs Fan Control shows two tables, the fans and the temperature sensors, including third-party drives. Each fan stays on automatic, runs at a speed you set, or follows a sensor you choose. The menu bar can show a fan speed and a temperature. Every fan goes back to automatic when the app quits. It works on Intel and Apple silicon Macs, and on Windows through Boot Camp.
Good
- Free
- A fan can follow any temperature sensor
- Fan speed and a temperature in the menu bar
- Gives the fans back when it quits
Not so good
- Saved fan presets need the Pro version
- Alerts and history not stated
- No list of apps or processes
- 05
Stats
by exelban (open source)Best for: Free sensors in the menu bar
- Price
- Free (MIT license), also
brew install stats - Runs in
- The menu bar
The most popular free option, with over 42,000 stars on GitHub and releases most weeks (the latest on September 20, 2026). It adds menu bar modules for CPU, GPU, memory, disk, network, battery, sensors (temperature, voltage, power), Bluetooth devices and a clock. Its README does not describe a process list, history length or alerts, and its fan control is marked as legacy and unmaintained. If you want menu bar figures and do not want to pay, start here.
Good
- Free and open source
- Very actively maintained
- Broad sensor coverage
Not so good
- Fan control no longer maintained
- Open source, but not open to contributions
- 06
mactop
by Carsen Klock (open source)Best for: Every sensor, in the terminal, on Apple silicon
- Price
- Free (MIT),
brew install mactop - Runs in
- The terminal, with a menu bar mode
mactop is written for Apple silicon and nothing else. It shows efficiency and performance cores apart, GPU use and frequency, the power drawn by the CPU, GPU and Neural Engine in watts, the thermal state, fan speeds, and every temperature sensor the Mac reports, without needing sudo. Its process list filters by name and can kill a process after a confirmation, and it can also run as a menu bar item. Version 2.1.6, released on September 30, 2026.
Good
- Every temperature sensor the Mac reports, with readable names
- Power in watts for the CPU, GPU and Neural Engine
- No sudo needed
- Free and open source
Not so good
- Apple silicon only
- No history beyond the session, no alerts
- Processes, not apps
Tools that do one job well
This one is not a temperature monitor, so it is not ranked against the list above. It is the best pick for its one job.
Slowing down CPU hogs automatically
Slows or pauses background apps that use too much CPU. Its site lists macOS up to 26.5.
When you do not need a temperature monitor
A Mac looks after its own temperature. It speeds up the fans, and if that is not enough it slows the chip down, long before anything is damaged. If your Mac is quiet and quick, you do not need to watch a number, and a high reading during a video export or a game is the chip doing its job.
A monitor earns its place when the Mac is hot or loud and you do not know why, or when you want to hear about it before it slows down. Start with why a Mac's fans get loud, and see how to control fan speed on a Mac before you set a fan by hand.
How we checked
Every price and feature comes from the maker's own site on October 12, 2026: the pricing page, product page or App Store listing, and for open-source tools the README and the release history on GitHub. Where a maker does not say whether their app does something, the entry does not claim it either way. Prices change; check the maker's site before you buy.
iStat Menus and Stats were checked on September 22, 2026. Vitals is first because it is the only one here that names the app behind the heat, which is what a hot Mac needs fixed, and it covers the rest: sensors, the menu bar, an alert at your own limit, and fan speed. TG Pro is second because nothing here does more with fans and alerts, and if fan rules by temperature are what you want, it is the better pick; the entry says so. Every other app is ranked for how well it does the whole job. If something here is out of date, email us and we will fix it.
Questions people ask
How do I check my Mac's CPU temperature?
macOS does not show it. On an Intel Mac, sudo powermetrics --samplers smc -n 1 in Terminal prints it. On Apple silicon, Terminal reports only the thermal pressure, so you need an app: Vitals, TG Pro, iStat Menus and Stats all show CPU temperature.
What is the best free temperature monitor for Mac?
Stats. It is free and open source and puts temperatures in the menu bar. Macs Fan Control is free and adds fan control, and mactop is free in the terminal on Apple silicon.
Is there an app that shows which app is heating my Mac?
Vitals. When the Mac is hot or the fans are working, it names the apps responsible, ranked by the power each is drawing, with Quit beside each. On a Mac without fans the same card is called Heating This Mac.
Can I see my Mac's temperature in the menu bar?
Yes. Vitals shows the CPU, the GPU or the hottest sensor. TG Pro, iStat Menus, Stats and Macs Fan Control put temperatures in the menu bar too.
What temperature is too hot for a Mac?
Apple does not publish a limit for the chip. A Mac protects itself: it runs the fans faster, then slows the chip down. What matters is a Mac that stays hot with nothing heavy running, which means an app is busy when it should not be. Vitals' own alert starts at 90 °C held for 3 minutes, and you can change both.
Does a MacBook Air have temperature sensors?
Yes. A Mac without fans still measures its temperature, and Vitals and TG Pro both read it. There are no fans to control, so the Mac cools itself by slowing down.