# Vitals vs CleanMyMac Menu

Canonical page: https://vitalsmac.com/vs/cleanmymac

By Atta Ur Rehman Shah, maker of Vitals. CleanMyMac Menu checked on its maker's site September 22, 2026.

**Short answer:** Vitals is the better choice if you want the full picture of which app is using your Mac: every app with its helpers counted in, 30 days of history per app, and dev servers with their ports. CleanMyMac Menu is the menu bar part of CleanMyMac, with top consumers, temperatures and a one-click memory free-up, and it makes sense if you already pay for CleanMyMac.

| | Vitals | CleanMyMac Menu |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An Activity Monitor replacement with a menu bar item | The menu bar part of CleanMyMac |
| List of what is running | Every app, with its helper processes counted in | Top consumers of CPU, memory and battery |
| Helper processes counted under their app | Yes | Not stated |
| History | 30 days for every metric, per app | A live CPU load chart; history not stated |
| Alerts | When an app keeps the CPU busy, keeps growing in memory, or hammers the disk or network | Heavy memory use, hung apps, battery drain, overheating, low disk space |
| Temperatures and fans | Temperatures and fan speed | CPU, disk and battery temperatures; fans not stated |
| Dev servers and open ports | Grouped by project, idle ones pointed out | Not stated |
| Quit and force quit | An app or a single process, after a confirmation | Quit from the top consumers list; force quit not stated |
| Free up memory | No; Vitals shows which app is using it | Yes, one click |
| Cleanup and malware protection | No | Yes, in CleanMyMac |
| Price | $5 during the launch, $29 after, once | Part of CleanMyMac: from $29.95 a year, or $79.95 once, 1 Mac |
| Trial | None, a 14-day refund | 7 days |
| Requirements | macOS 15 or later | macOS 11 or later |

## Choose Vitals if

- You want every app listed, not only the top consumers
- You want 30 days of history per app
- You want to pay once, and pay less
- You run dev servers and want to see their ports

Vitals website: [vitalsmac.com](https://vitalsmac.com/)

## Choose CleanMyMac Menu if

- You already pay for CleanMyMac
- You want cleanup and malware scanning with your monitor
- You want a one-click memory free-up
- You are on a macOS older than 15

CleanMyMac Menu website: https://macpaw.com/cleanmymac

## How we compared

The CleanMyMac Menu column comes from its maker's own site on September 22, 2026. Where the site does not say whether it does something, the cell says "Not stated". If a cell is out of date, email hi@vitalsmac.com and we will fix it.

See [all 10 Activity Monitor alternatives](https://vitalsmac.com/best-activity-monitor-alternatives), [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).