Guides/Vitals vs ProcessSpy
Vitals vs ProcessSpy
Quick answer
ProcessSpy and Vitals both make sense of helper processes, then part ways. ProcessSpy is a process explorer for developers: the command line, environment and signature of every process, regex and JavaScript filters, and a record of processes after they finish. Vitals is for the everyday question: one row per app, always, with 30 days of history and alerts included. Choose ProcessSpy to read a process; choose Vitals to know which app is using your Mac.
VitalsProcessSpy Choose Vitals if
- You want one row and one figure per app, without opening a tree
- You want 30 days of history included, not as a paid extra
- You want alerts, temperatures and a menu bar view of every metric
- You want to know which project is holding a port
Choose ProcessSpy if
- You want Windows Process Explorer on a Mac
- You need the command line, environment or signature of a process
- You want to filter processes with regular expressions or JavaScript
- You want to see a process after it has finished
- You run it on many Macs: one license covers them all
Where Vitals pulls ahead
One row per app, without a tree
ProcessSpy's tree view rolls helpers up under their parent, with totals for CPU, memory and threads. Vitals starts there: one row per app, always, with one figure for memory, CPU, energy, disk and network, and the processes underneath when you open it.
History included
ProcessSpy keeps CPU, memory and thread history in its paid version, for a length its site does not state. Vitals keeps 30 days for every app and every metric, included in the price.
The whole Mac
ProcessSpy has no temperatures or fans, and its menu bar dashboard is a paid feature. Vitals has temperatures, fan speed, battery and a menu bar view of every metric, included.
See it for yourself
The same Mac, listed the way Activity Monitor lists it and the way Vitals does. Tap Vitals to watch about 900 processes become eight apps.
Everything Vitals does
One app, one payment, every update for life.
- Processes grouped by app. Every helper process is added to the app that launched it, so a working Mac shows about 60 apps instead of about 1,000 processes, each with one figure for memory, CPU, energy, disk and network.
- A tab per subsystem. Overview, CPU, Memory, Disk, Network, GPU, Battery, Sound, Bluetooth and Projects, plus Containers while Docker runs, each with its live figures and the apps behind them.
- Inside your browser. Click Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Arc or Dia to see its memory and CPU split into tabs, extensions, graphics and the browser itself. Slack, VS Code and similar apps are split by window.
- 30 days of history. CPU, memory, energy, disk and network for the last hour, 12 hours, 24 hours, 7 days and 30 days, with the apps that used the most, ranked hour by hour for the last two days.
- What keeps the Mac awake, and the fans on. The Battery tab lists the apps holding sleep off, what each said it is doing and for how long. When the Mac runs hot, Vitals names the apps behind it, with Quit beside each.
- Alerts for misbehaving apps. A notification when an app keeps the CPU busy, keeps growing in memory, or hammers the disk or network.
- Dev servers and open ports, by project. Processes grouped by the project folder they run in, with their listening ports, and dev servers left idle for days pointed out and offered to stop.
- A menu bar you arrange. Every readout can be its own menu bar item: CPU, memory, GPU, network, disk, temperature or battery, as a value, a graph or both, ⌘-dragged into any order. Behind it, a dropdown with every metric, the busiest apps, and a tab for each metric.
- Arrange the window and the dropdown. Choose the window’s tabs and their order, and show, hide or reorder the sections, cards and lists on every tab. The dropdown has its own tiles and a List layout with one line per metric. Reset puts everything back.
- Docker containers. A Containers tab with every Docker container’s memory, CPU, network and ports, in the window and the dropdown, and Stop on each, after a confirmation.
- Sound and Bluetooth tabs. The Mac’s output device and level with a slider for every app playing sound, the microphone and the apps using it, and every connected Bluetooth device with its battery, lowest first.
- Units you choose. Celsius or Fahrenheit, bytes or bits for network speed, and CPU per core or per Mac, each with a live example in Settings.
- Temperatures and fans. CPU and GPU temperature on Intel and Apple silicon, M5 included, and fan speed. Hold any fan at a speed you choose, and hand it back to the Mac in one click. The menu bar temperature can follow the CPU, the GPU or the hottest sensor.
- Quit and force quit. Quit an app or a single process, always after a confirmation.
- Keyboard shortcuts and Shortcuts actions. Open the dropdown or the window from any app, and get a reading or the busiest app from the Shortcuts app.
- Export as an image. Save or copy a snapshot of the Mac as a 1200 × 630 share card or a dashboard image.
- In the Dock, if you like. Show in Dock keeps Vitals in the Dock like Activity Monitor. Opened by hand it shows its window; at login it stays in the menu bar.
What Mac users say
Now I find myself stealing quick glances at the menu bar, instead of taking another sip of coffee.
Ed Wiseman Emmy-winning director and producer macOS Activity Monitor is horrible when I’m juggling dev projects and local AI. Vitals is so much better.
Knowix Developer and AI builder cant keep vibecoding everything for $5, i get a finished product, clean ui, and bug fixes
Sai Krishna Founder of Superblog Common questions
Can I use Vitals and ProcessSpy together?
Yes, and they suit each other: Vitals to find which app is responsible, ProcessSpy to read that process's command line, environment and signature.
Can Vitals filter with regular expressions or JavaScript?
No. Vitals filters apps and processes by name. ProcessSpy's filters are its strength.
Does Vitals remember finished processes?
It keeps every app's usage in its 30-day history, so an app that quit an hour ago still shows what it used. It does not keep a process's command line or environment after it exits.
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Get Vitals for $9How we compared
The ProcessSpy column comes from its maker's own site on September 27, 2026. Where the site does not say whether it does something, the cell says "Not stated". If a cell is out of date, email us and we will fix it.
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Wondering why apps show so many rows in Activity Monitor? Read about helper processes.