# The 8 best menu bar system monitors for Mac

Canonical page: https://vitalsmac.com/best-menu-bar-system-monitor-for-mac

By Atta Ur Rehman Shah, maker of Vitals. Prices and features checked September 27, 2026.

**Short answer:** Vitals is the best menu bar monitor for Mac if you want the figure and the app behind it: each readout can be its own menu bar item, as a value, a graph or both, and its dropdown lists the busiest apps. One more click opens 30 days of history. iStat Menus puts the most in the menu bar, including weather and fan control. Stats is the best free one.

## How to make room in the menu bar

1. Hold ⌘ and drag any menu bar item to move it. macOS remembers the order.
2. To remove one of Apple's items, hold ⌘ and drag it down off the bar.
3. On a MacBook with a notch, items that do not fit are hidden, not squeezed. Keep the ones you read most at the right, so they are the last to go.

A menu bar monitor keeps a figure in sight while you work: CPU, memory, network, a temperature. The good ones let you choose which figures, in what style and in what order, and open a dropdown that says what is behind the number. The apps below are ranked on both halves, what the menu bar shows and what the dropdown explains, and each is labeled with the job it does best.

## At a glance

| # | App | Best for | Price | Runs in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vitals | The figure and the app behind it, one item per readout | $9 during the launch | A window and the menu bar |
| 2 | iStat Menus | The most in the menu bar, with weather and fan control | $11.99 once | The menu bar |
| 3 | Stats | Free and open source | Free (MIT license) | The menu bar |
| 4 | iStatistica Pro | Menu bar monitors plus widgets | $5.99 on the Mac App Store | A window, widgets and the menu bar |
| 5 | MacPulse | Sparklines in the menu bar, history behind them | €14.99 once | A window and the menu bar |
| 6 | Sensei | A menu bar monitor inside a maintenance suite | $29 a year or $59 lifetime | A window and the menu bar |
| 7 | TK-mac | The ten busiest processes, with pause and force quit | $7.99 once during its launch offer | A window and the menu bar |
| 8 | CleanMyMac Menu | People who already have CleanMyMac | Part of CleanMyMac | The menu bar |

## 1. Vitals

Maker: Atta Ur Rehman Shah. Best for: The figure and the app behind it, one item per readout. Price: $9 during the launch, then $29, once. Runs in: A window and the menu bar.

Every readout can be its own menu bar item: CPU, memory, GPU, network, disk, temperature or battery, as a value, a graph or both, with or without its icon, in the order you ⌘-drag them into. Disk shows free space or reads and writes, and temperature follows the CPU, the GPU or the hottest sensor. Click an item for the dropdown: every metric, the busiest apps right now and a tab for each metric, as tiles or a list. One more click opens the window, with 30 days of history for every app.

**Good:** One row and one figure per app, helpers included; 30 days of history for every metric, per app; Alerts when an app misbehaves; Dev servers and open ports, by project; Every metric in the menu bar, one item each, arranged as you like; One payment, every update for life.

**Good to know:** Needs macOS 15 or later; Sold direct, not on the Mac App Store, because its sandbox blocks reading other apps' processes.

Website: [vitalsmac.com](https://vitalsmac.com/). $9 during the launch, $29 after it, once.

## 2. iStat Menus

Maker: Bjango. Best for: The most in the menu bar, with weather and fan control. Price: $11.99 once, $14.99 for a family of 5, 14-day trial, also on Setapp. Runs in: The menu bar.

The long-standing menu bar monitor, now at version 7. It puts CPU, GPU, memory, disks, network, sensors, battery and weather in the menu bar, each with a dropdown of history graphs and the apps using the most. Its alert rules are the most flexible on this list, and it can control fans. It is not a process manager: there is no full window listing everything, and its site does not say how it counts helper processes. If you want the most detail in the least space, it is the one to beat.

**Good:** The deepest menu bar coverage, including weather; Flexible alert rules and fan control; Low one-time price, with a trial.

**Not so good:** No full process list or window; History length not stated.

Website: https://bjango.com/mac/istatmenus/. Compared head to head: [Vitals vs iStat Menus](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/istat-menus)

## 3. Stats

Maker: exelban (open source). Best for: Free and open source. 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.

Website: https://github.com/exelban/stats. Compared head to head: [Vitals vs Stats](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/stats)

## 4. iStatistica Pro

Maker: Imagetasks. Best for: Menu bar monitors plus widgets. Price: $5.99 on the Mac App Store, $9.99 for Pro. Runs in: A window, widgets and the menu bar.

A system monitor sold on the Mac App Store, with menu bar monitors, widgets and alerts for CPU, memory, disk, network, GPU and sensors. The Pro version adds app activity with CPU history, force quit, a web dashboard, a REST API and CSV export. Temperatures and fans need a separate Sensors plug-in.

**Good:** Low price, on the Mac App Store; Alerts, a REST API and a web dashboard.

**Not so good:** Temperatures need a separate plug-in; Force quit needs the plug-in too.

Website: https://www.imagetasks.com/istatistica/. Compared head to head: [Vitals vs iStatistica Pro](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/istatistica)

## 5. MacPulse

Maker: MacPulse. Best for: Sparklines in the menu bar, history behind them. Price: €14.99 once, €49.99 for 5 Macs, 14-day trial. Runs in: A window and the menu bar.

The other app here built around history: 30 days of it, downsampled, with plain-English insights about what happened, temperatures and fan curves, menu bar sparklines and CSV export. Its FAQ notes that the Mac App Store version leaves out sensors, fan control and top processes, so buy it direct if you want those.

**Good:** 30 days of history; Session recording and CSV export.

**Not so good:** The App Store version leaves out sensors, fan control and top processes; Top processes only, no full list.

Website: https://www.macpulse.app/. Compared head to head: [Vitals vs MacPulse](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/macpulse)

## 6. Sensei

Maker: Cindori. Best for: A menu bar monitor inside a maintenance suite. Price: $29 a year or $59 lifetime, 3 Macs. Runs in: A window and the menu bar.

A performance suite: a menu bar monitor for CPU, GPU, battery and storage and a thermal dashboard, alongside battery and drive health, a cleaner, an uninstaller and a disk benchmark. Its site does not describe a list of running apps. Monitoring is one part of a larger toolbox, which suits you if you want the toolbox.

**Good:** Many tools in one; A lifetime option.

**Not so good:** A yearly price, or $59 for lifetime; Monitoring is not the main job.

Website: https://cindori.com/sensei. Compared head to head: [Vitals vs Sensei](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/sensei)

## 7. TK-mac

Maker: TK-mac. Best for: The ten busiest processes, with pause and force quit. Price: $7.99 once during its launch offer, $13.99 after; two Macs $13.99; 7-day trial (checked September 27, 2026). Runs in: A window and the menu bar.

A Task Manager for people who came from Windows, laid out the way they remember it. It splits your apps from background tasks, shows live CPU, memory and disk dashboards, tracks upload and download speed per process, and puts the top ten consumers in a menu bar dropdown with pause, restart and force quit, plus a one-click quit-all for a frozen Mac. It also reads system, app and security logs with search, timelines and CSV export, and can sample one app for up to 60 seconds. Its site does not describe counting helper processes under their app, alerts, or any history beyond that sample. Version 1.5; the site counts 100+ downloads.

**Good:** The Windows Task Manager layout, on a Mac; Upload and download speed per process; A log viewer with search, timelines and CSV export; Low price, with a 7-day trial.

**Not so good:** No history beyond a 60-second sample of one app; Helper processes not counted under their app, as far as its site says; No alerts stated.

Website: https://www.tk-mac.com/. Compared head to head: [Vitals vs TK-mac](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/tk-mac)

## 8. CleanMyMac Menu

Maker: MacPaw. Best for: People who already have CleanMyMac. Price: Part of CleanMyMac, from $29.95 a year or $79.95 once. Runs in: The menu bar.

CleanMyMac's menu shows CPU and memory with the apps using the most, memory pressure and swap, disk, battery and network, with a button to free up memory. It is simple and already there if you pay for CleanMyMac, but on its own it is not a reason to buy.

**Good:** Simple; Included with CleanMyMac.

**Not so good:** Subscription-first pricing; Shallow compared with the rest.

Website: https://macpaw.com/cleanmymac. Compared head to head: [Vitals vs CleanMyMac Menu](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/cleanmymac)

## Tools that do one job well

These each do one neighboring job, so they are not ranked against the list above. Each is the best pick for its one job.

- **TG Pro** (Temperatures and fan control, $10 once (on sale from $20)): Per-core temperatures on Apple silicon through M5 Max, fan control with rules, and email alerts. No process list. https://www.tunabellysoftware.com/tgpro/
- **Little Snitch** (Which app talks to which server, From €59 once): Its Network Monitor keeps up to 12 months of per-app traffic, with every connection, port and domain, and blocks with one click. Network only. https://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/
- **App Tamer** (Slowing down CPU hogs automatically, $14.95 once, 15-day trial): Slows or pauses background apps that use too much CPU. Its site lists macOS up to 26.5. https://www.stclairsoft.com/AppTamer/

## When you do not need a menu bar monitor

If you only look when the Mac feels slow, Activity Monitor is free and already installed, and its Dock icon can show a live CPU graph (View → Dock Icon). Opening it when something feels wrong is enough for many people.

A menu bar monitor earns its space when you want to see trouble coming: memory creeping up over a long session, a Mac running hot, a download that has stalled. Why items vanish from a crowded bar is in the [menu bar item](https://vitalsmac.com/glossary/menu-bar-item) entry of the glossary.

## Checked, but not ranked

Still in most roundups, but no longer maintained:

- **MenuMeters**: last release in November 2021; its own README now points people elsewhere.
- **eul**: last release in August 2021.
- **Hot**: last release in July 2024.
- **iGlance**: last release in October 2020.
- **XRG**: last release in October 2023.

## How we checked

Every price and feature comes from the maker's own site on September 22, 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.

Vitals is first because its menu bar does both halves: any readout as its own item, in the style and order you choose, and a dropdown that names the app behind the figure. iStat Menus is second because nothing puts more in the menu bar. Every other app is ranked for how well it does the whole job, and where one does a part of it better, the entry says so. If something here is out of date, email us and we will fix it.

## Questions people ask

### What is the best menu bar system monitor for Mac?

Vitals, if you want the figure and the app behind it: each readout is its own menu bar item, and the dropdown lists the busiest apps. iStat Menus if you want the most in the menu bar, including weather and fan control.

### What is the best free menu bar monitor for Mac?

Stats. It is free and open source, and puts CPU, GPU, memory, disk, network, battery and sensors in the menu bar as separate modules.

### Can each figure be its own menu bar item?

In Vitals, iStat Menus and Stats, yes: each readout is a separate item, and you hold ⌘ and drag them into order. In Vitals each item can be a value, a graph or both, with or without its icon.

### Why did some of my menu bar items disappear?

The menu bar is full. On a MacBook with a notch, items that do not fit to the left of the notch are hidden with no sign that they exist. Remove the ones you do not read, or move the ones you do to the right.

### Can a menu bar monitor show the Mac's temperature?

Yes. Vitals can show the CPU, the GPU or the hottest sensor. iStat Menus and Stats show temperatures too, and iStat Menus and Vitals can also set fan speeds. TG Pro is the specialist for temperatures and fans.

Head-to-head: [Vitals vs Activity Monitor](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/activity-monitor), [Vitals vs iStat Menus](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/istat-menus), [Vitals vs Stats](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/stats), [Vitals vs MacPulse](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/macpulse), [Vitals vs iStatistica Pro](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/istatistica), [Vitals vs ProcXray](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/procxray), [Vitals vs Sensei](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/sensei), [Vitals vs CleanMyMac Menu](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/cleanmymac), [Vitals vs TK-mac](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/tk-mac), [Vitals vs ProcessSpy](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/processspy), [Vitals vs SoundSource](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/soundsource), [Vitals vs SoundDial](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/sounddial), [Vitals vs eqMac](https://vitalsmac.com/vs/eqmac).

More guides: [Activity Monitor alternatives](https://vitalsmac.com/best-activity-monitor-alternatives), [iStat Menus alternatives](https://vitalsmac.com/best-istat-menus-alternatives), [Stats alternatives](https://vitalsmac.com/best-stats-alternatives), [Task Manager for Mac](https://vitalsmac.com/task-manager-for-mac), [Best system monitors for Mac](https://vitalsmac.com/best-system-monitor-for-mac), [Best volume mixers for Mac](https://vitalsmac.com/best-volume-mixer-for-mac).