Guides/Best temperature monitors for Mac
The 6 best temperature monitors for Mac
En bref
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 | Idéal pour | Prix | Interface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vitals Meilleur choix | The temperature, and the app behind it | $9 pendant le lancement | Une fenêtre et la barre des menus |
| 2 | TG Pro | Fan rules by temperature, with email alerts and logs | $10 en une fois | La barre des menus |
| 3 | iStat Menus | Sensors in the menu bar, with alert rules and fan control | $11.99 en une fois | La barre des menus |
| 4 | Macs Fan Control | Free fan control, with the temperatures beside it | Free; the Pro version | Une fenêtre et la barre des menus |
| 5 | Stats | Free sensors in the menu bar | Gratuit (licence MIT) | La barre des menus |
| 6 | mactop | Every sensor, in the terminal, on Apple silicon | Gratuit (MIT) | The terminal, with a menu bar mode |
- 01
Vitals
Idéal pour : The temperature, and the app behind it
- Prix
- $9 pendant le lancement, puis $39, en une fois
- Interface
- Une fenêtre et la barre des menus
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.
Points forts
- 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
Bon à savoir
- 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
- Nécessite macOS 15 ou version ultérieure
- 02
TG Pro
par Tunabelly SoftwareIdéal pour : Fan rules by temperature, with email alerts and logs
- Prix
- $10 en une fois
- Interface
- La barre des menus
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.
Points forts
- 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
Points faibles
- No list of apps or processes: it does not say what is heating the Mac
- Temperatures and fans only
- 04
Macs Fan Control
par CrystalIDEAIdéal pour : Free fan control, with the temperatures beside it
- Prix
- Free; the Pro version, a one-time purchase, adds custom fan presets
- Interface
- Une fenêtre et la barre des menus
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.
Points forts
- Libre
- A fan can follow any temperature sensor
- Fan speed and a temperature in the menu bar
- Gives the fans back when it quits
Points faibles
- Saved fan presets need the Pro version
- Alerts and history not stated
- No list of apps or processes
- 05
Stats
par exelban (open source)Idéal pour : Free sensors in the menu bar
- Prix
- Gratuit (licence MIT), aussi via
brew install stats - Interface
- La barre des menus
L’option gratuite la plus populaire, avec plus de 42 000 étoiles sur GitHub et une nouvelle version presque chaque semaine (la dernière le 20 septembre 2026). Elle ajoute à la barre des menus des modules pour le processeur, le GPU, la mémoire, le disque, le réseau, la batterie, les capteurs (température, tension, puissance), les appareils Bluetooth et une horloge. Son README ne mentionne ni liste de processus, ni durée d’historique, ni alertes, et son pilotage des ventilateurs est indiqué comme ancien et plus maintenu. Si vous voulez des chiffres dans la barre des menus sans rien payer, commencez par là.
Points forts
- Gratuit et open source
- Très activement maintenu
- Large éventail de capteurs
Points faibles
- Pilotage des ventilateurs plus maintenu
- Open source, mais fermé aux contributions
- 06
mactop
par Carsen Klock (open source)Idéal pour : Every sensor, in the terminal, on Apple silicon
- Prix
- Gratuit (MIT),
brew install mactop - Interface
- 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 30 septembre 2026.
Points forts
- Every temperature sensor the Mac reports, with readable names
- Power in watts for the CPU, GPU and Neural Engine
- No sudo needed
- Gratuit et open source
Points faibles
- Apple silicon only
- Pas d’historique au-delà de la session, pas d’alertes
- Des processus, pas des apps
Des outils qui font bien une seule chose
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.
Ralentir automatiquement les apps gourmandes en processeur
Ralentit ou met en pause les apps d’arrière-plan qui utilisent trop le processeur. Son site indique une compatibilité jusqu’à macOS 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.
Notre méthode
Chaque prix et chaque fonctionnalité viennent du site de l’éditeur, consulté le 12 octobre 2026 : la page des tarifs, la page du produit ou la fiche App Store, et pour les outils open source, le README et l’historique des versions sur GitHub. Quand un éditeur ne dit pas si son app fait quelque chose, la fiche ne l’affirme pas non plus, dans un sens comme dans l’autre. Les prix changent : vérifiez sur le site de l’éditeur avant d’acheter.
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 fréquentes
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.