Best Mac system monitor apps, compared by need
At a glance
| App | Price | Requirements | Good fit for |
|---|---|---|---|
| iStat Menus | Single and Family licenses, price not readable; 14 day trial; Setapp $9.99 a month | macOS 13.5 | CPU, GPU, memory, disks, network, battery, sensors and fan control in the menu bar. |
| Stats | Free, MIT open source; sponsorship optional | macOS 12 | Free, open source CPU, GPU, memory, disk, network, battery and sensor readings. |
| MenuMeters | Free, GPL 2.0 licence | macOS support range looks out of date; check before installing | Free, open source CPU, memory, disk and network meters as menu bar items. |
| NotchThings | Free download with 7 day trial; Lifetime purchase $6.99 | macOS 15.6 or later; chip support not stated | CPU, memory and network, active processes, usage alerts and a Speed Test. |
| Brow | Free forever with 40 or more tools; Pro $4.99 a month or $49 a year | macOS 14 or later; Intel support not stated | CPU, memory, battery, disk, network and fan stats with fan control. |
| Droppy | $9.99 once, 3 day trial, one license covers two Macs | macOS 14 or later; Intel support not stated | A system droplet with GPU, temperature and history graphs. |
| NotchPop | Free, MIT open source, no login | macOS 14, Apple silicon and Intel | Free notch app with CPU, RAM and disk next to clipboard, shelf and timers. |
| NotchBar | Price not stated; AGPL 3.0 licence | macOS 14.5 | AGPL notch widgets: system monitor, media playback and active app. |
| NotchStar | $4 once for ten tools, up to 3 Macs, 7 day trial, 7 day refund | macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon and Intel | CPU, memory, disk, battery and network speed gauges, sampled once a second while the tab is open. |
Prices and availability were checked on 4 November 2026. Verify the linked product page before buying.
There is no single best Mac system monitor. iStat Menus has the deepest set, with sensors and fan control. Stats is the free, open source pick for menu bar readings. NotchStar shows five gauges in the notch while the tab is open. Prices as of 4 November 2026.
How we checked
Each entry comes from the maker’s own pages, read on 4 November 2026: websites, pricing pages, GitHub pages and Mac App Store listings. Nothing was tested by hand for this list, so it says what each maker states and no more. Where a page did not state a price or a macOS version, this list says so instead of guessing. Prices as of 4 November 2026.
At a glance
| App | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| iStat Menus | the deepest monitoring | Single and Family licenses, price not readable; 14 day trial; Setapp $9.99 a month |
| Stats | free menu bar readings | Free, MIT open source; sponsorship optional |
| MenuMeters | simple free meters | Free, GPL 2.0 licence |
| NotchThings | monitoring with usage alerts | Free download with 7 day trial; Lifetime purchase $6.99 |
| Brow | fan readings inside a toolkit | Free forever with 40 or more tools; Pro $4.99 a month or $49 a year |
| Droppy | GPU and temperature history in the notch | $9.99 once, 3 day trial, one license covers two Macs |
| NotchPop | free CPU, RAM and disk in the notch | Free, MIT open source, no login |
| NotchBar | an open source widget to try | Price not stated; AGPL 3.0 licence |
| NotchStar | a glance at five gauges in the notch | $4 once for ten tools, up to 3 Macs, 7 day trial, 7 day refund |
Nine system monitors, one entry each
iStat Menus
Best for: the deepest monitoring.
iStat Menus covers CPU and GPU, memory, disks, network, battery and power, sensors and fan control, with notification rules and a combined mode that saves menu bar space. It also shows world clocks and weather. The page showed placeholder prices, so none is recorded here; the Setapp price is $9.99 a month.
Price: Single and Family licenses, price not readable; 14 day trial; Setapp $9.99 a month. Requires: macOS 13.5.
Stats
Best for: free menu bar readings.
Stats also shows Bluetooth devices and a multiple time zone clock. Its fan control is legacy and unmaintained, sensor keys change per chip, and Apple silicon support is not stated on the page.
Price: Free, MIT open source; sponsorship optional. Requires: macOS 12.
MenuMeters
Best for: simple free meters.
MenuMeters is a standalone app that draws status item meters. Its README lists support only through an older macOS range, so confirm current support yourself before you rely on it. Third party pages show different versions.
Price: Free, GPL 2.0 licence. Requires: macOS support range looks out of date; check before installing.
NotchThings
Best for: monitoring with usage alerts.
NotchThings lists CPU, memory and network, active processes, usage alerts and a Speed Test inside a larger notch app. See the NotchThings comparison.
Price: Free download with 7 day trial; Lifetime purchase $6.99. Requires: macOS 15.6 or later; chip support not stated.
Brow
Best for: fan readings inside a toolkit.
Brow bundles system stats into a wide toolkit that includes a launcher. It is more app than you need if monitoring is the only job. See the Brow comparison.
Price: Free forever with 40 or more tools; Pro $4.99 a month or $49 a year. Requires: macOS 14 or later; Intel support not stated.
Droppy
Best for: GPU and temperature history in the notch.
Droppy’s droplet adds GPU and temperature plus history graphs, which NotchStar does not show. It is one tool in a modular suite. See the Droppy comparison.
Price: $9.99 once, 3 day trial, one license covers two Macs. Requires: macOS 14 or later; Intel support not stated.
NotchPop
Best for: free CPU, RAM and disk in the notch.
NotchPop is a small, free option, with no privacy policy linked and an unnamed maker.
Price: Free, MIT open source, no login. Requires: macOS 14, Apple silicon and Intel.
NotchBar
Best for: an open source widget to try.
NotchBar is a pre release project at version 0.0.x with a system monitor widget for CPU, memory, storage, battery and network. The README says more widgets are coming and mentions a Gatekeeper popup.
Price: Price not stated; AGPL 3.0 licence. Requires: macOS 14.5.
NotchStar
Best for: a glance at five gauges in the notch.
NotchStar shows CPU, memory, disk and battery rings plus network speed, sampled once a second only while the tab is on screen. It shows totals only: no per app breakdown, no sensors, no fan control and no history. Its Disk tab has a Monitor section listing the busiest processes. See system stats versus Activity Monitor.
Price: $4 once for ten tools, up to 3 Macs, 7 day trial, 7 day refund. Requires: macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon and Intel.
How to choose
- Need sensors and fans: iStat Menus, or Stats for free.
- Want always visible meters in the menu bar: iStat Menus, Stats or MenuMeters.
- Want a glance in the notch: NotchStar, NotchThings, Droppy, NotchPop or Brow.
- Need a per app breakdown: use Activity Monitor; see check CPU and memory use.
- Care about licence: Stats is MIT, MenuMeters GPL 2.0 and NotchBar AGPL 3.0.
Left out
Atoll lists CPU, GPU, memory, network and disk stats but states no price, so it was left out of the table. Read the System Stats feature page for NotchStar’s limits.
Sources
Official pages, read on 4 November 2026. Prices as of 4 November 2026.
