Activity Monitor alternatives/Vitals vs ProcXray

Vitals vs ProcXray

Atta 馃惉

Founder, Vitals

ProcXray checked

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Quick answer

Vitals is the better choice for the everyday question of which app is using your Mac. It counts every helper process under its app, keeps 30 days of history and shows temperatures and fan speed. ProcXray is a process explorer for developers, and the better pick when you need to inspect one process in depth: its files, environment, code signature and connections.

VitalsProcXray
What it is
VitalsAn Activity Monitor replacement with a menu bar item
ProcXrayA process explorer for developers
List of what is running
VitalsEvery app, with its helper processes counted in
ProcXrayA process tree or a flat list of processes
Helper processes counted under their app
VitalsYes
ProcXrayNot stated
History
Vitals30 days for every metric, per app
ProcXrayPer-process CPU, GPU, memory and power, length not stated
Alerts
VitalsWhen an app keeps the CPU busy, keeps growing in memory, or hammers the disk or network
ProcXrayWatches on a process, app or executable: start, exit and thresholds
Temperatures and fans
VitalsTemperatures and fan speed
ProcXrayNo
Open ports
VitalsGrouped by project, idle dev servers pointed out
ProcXrayPer process, with its connections
Process detail
VitalsMemory, CPU, energy, disk and network for each process, under its app
ProcXrayFiles, environment, libraries, code signature and entitlements
Quit and force quit
VitalsAn app or a single process, after a confirmation
ProcXrayTerminate, force kill, suspend and send signals
Processes that exit quickly
VitalsNo
ProcXrayKept in the list after they exit
Price
Vitals$5 during the launch, $29 after, once
ProcXrayFree basic tier; $15 once for everything, 3 Macs
Trial
VitalsNone, a 14-day refund
ProcXray14 days of every feature
Requirements
VitalsmacOS 15 or later
ProcXraymacOS 14 or later

Choose Vitals if

  • You want to know which app is using the Mac, helpers counted in
  • You want 30 days of history and alerts for every app
  • You want temperatures, fans and battery in the same app
  • You want dev servers grouped by the project they belong to
Get Vitals for $5

Choose ProcXray if

  • You debug processes and need their files, environment or signature
  • You want to catch processes that exit within a second
  • You want to suspend a process or send it a signal
  • You want a free tier
ProcXray website

How we compared

The ProcXray 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 us and we will fix it.

More comparisons

Wondering why apps show so many rows in Activity Monitor? Read about helper processes.