Best Mac System Monitor Apps for Performance Checking
Utility • Updated on Mar. 20, 2024
Macs are powerful devices, and with the introduction of the custom Apple silicon M1/M2/M3 Macs and MacBooks, it has become more imperative that you manage the background apps and monitor power consumption.
Don’t get us wrong, the M1/M2/M3 SOC is fast and is the fastest of the chips that we’ve ever seen, but that doesn’t mean that you should leave everything to the computer and not do anything as it will consistently deliver poor results and keep on getting slower over time. However, using a system monitor brings a lot of benefits, and they are:
- In-depth monitoring of apps and processes.
- Maintaining a smooth user experience.
- Helps terminate unresponsive and unwanted tasks and applications.
Are you currently taking full advantage of all the techy help you can get?
If you are not sure, I’m glad you are here. As a Mac geek, I have been testing some system monitoring tools on my MacBook Air M2 13-inch running macOS Sonoma, and I’m happy to share my favorites with you.
The best Mac system monitor apps
- iStat Menus for most users
- TG Pro for temperature monitoring
- Sensei for performance monitoring and optimization
- iStatistica Pro for advanced system monitoring
- XRG for Mac for free performance monitoring
Understanding Mac’s Activity Monitor
Your Mac comes with a built-in system monitoring application known as Activity Monitor. It is excellent for closing unresponsive applications and seeing real-time CPU, Network, Disk status or Energy usage. So, how do you access the Activity Monitor? – Follow the steps below to get the activity monitor running for you.
- Firstly, Go to your “Applications” folder and then to the “Utility” folder.
- Then double-click on the “Activity Monitor”, which will bring up a window.
- This is the Activity Monitor app, and here you’ll see five tabs and a list of entries that changes every few seconds. The Tabs contain the following information – CPU, Memory, Energy, Disk Usage and Network.
Note: The Activity Monitor shows you real-time usage and power consumption. It also allows you to close and terminate all unresponsive tasks or tasks, hogging up too much performance.
Is the built-in Activity Monitor good enough?
The Activity Monitor is a decent app from Apple and is ideally suited to beginners. However, if you want to have extra control over what you’re doing and the processes running, you would have to opt for the third-party solutions listed below.
The Activity monitor helps you by displaying the main processes and the percentage load on the CPU and GPU. It can also force-quit any unresponsive application and help recover your Mac to a normal running state. However, there are many features and information that it misses or hides due to Apple’s clutter-free and simple design idealogy. Hence, third-party applications are better alternatives for the program.
Therefore, the built-in Activity is popular with beginners and casual users, while professionals use 3rd-party apps with more functionality and readily available data.
Best 3rd-party Mac performance monitor tools
To ensure that you receive only verified information, I do the following:
I have tested all the products covered in this article. When testing products, I compare all key parameters, including performance, customization options, widgets, and other significant features. (Read the full rundown of how we select tools to feature on TheSweetBits blog.) Based on our testing sessions, here are my top favorites.
iStat Menus – best for most users
Pricing: Free for seven days and then a $9.99 per month Setapp subscription, or you can purchase it for $14.15 and can be upgraded for $11.79 (includes six months of weather data)
iStat Menus is genuinely outstanding and delivers one of the best user experiences possible. It works by recognizing all apps and integrating the charts in the menu bar on top of your Mac to access the numbers quickly. It is also lightweight and runs in the background with zero to no performance hit.
Here is the complete list of items that iStat Menus keep track of and help monitor:
- Disk Usage
- Memory Consumption and Availability
- CPU and GPU performance
- Battery and Power Information
- Displaying data such as Weather, Network information, and Sensor state
iStat Menus offers a comprehensive graph page that helps us monitor the total time spent working and gaming, and this data helps me out by analyzing and taking out time for other day-to-day stuff.
You can also do this and enable the settings to make it more productive by:
- Go into the app and look for the CPU and GPU tab on the left-hand side of your screen.
- Click on the tab and now look for ‘Processes’ and clear any unwanted task or process you want to.
Note: You can explore different tabs to explore other options.
Customization Options
iStat Menus uses a menu bar integration method to display all the information. This can lead to problems such as a cluttered menu bar or accessibility concerns. However, you can lay these concerns to rest as iStat Menus is highly customizable.
You can choose what to display on the menu bar and what to hide on the menu bar. You also have the option to hide the icons from your menu bar temporarily and customize the update frequency so that the icons aren’t disturbing.
Performance Monitoring
As we have already discussed, the CPU and GPU tab helps you manage your processes and activities. Finally, the memory tab enables you to manage RAM consumption to improve performance and responsiveness all around the UI.
iStat Menus can also display various graphs and infographics of your workload so that you can manage and learn about your usage and gain ample insight into how your apps behave. The app is also quite a haven for developers and can help them check, and stress tests their app performance and requirements on the Mac.
Notifications and Weather Information
Finally, iStat Menus also provides many customization options for what notifications you want to receive. The notification feature allows you to have reports every time your Mac hits a specific condition or issue. For example, it helps you by notifying if your Mac heats up, overuses the CPU, or saturates the memory with background apps.
It also features a built-in weather information widget to help you monitor your area’s current and upcoming weather conditions. However, some of the weather tool features are locked behind a paid upgrade which is a bummer considering it is handy.
Pros and Cons of using iStat Menus
Pros
- It is feature-rich and can help you monitor a lot of stuff at once
- It has a menu integration system that displays data directly on every screen
- You can also set custom notifications, and it has a lot of customization settings for personalization
Cons
- The Pro package can get a little pricy
- Weather Information and Notifications can feel a little cluttered
In Short, iStat Menus is the perfect app if you want to monitor all your process activity and keep your device optimized for the best performance at all times. In addition, it helps save battery and improves responsiveness across the UI.
TG Pro – best for temperature monitoring
Pricing: Free – Trial Version, $10 – Pro Version
TG Pro is a diagnostics app that works the best with monitoring temperature and fan data. However, it also has system monitoring capabilities with CPU, GPU, Battery, and storage information that helps you maintain your device easily. Finally, it is the only app on the list that can accurately display all the temperature information for the new M1/M2 Macs, including any older gen models.
Here are all the features that TG Pro comes with:
- Automatic Fan Control and Cooling
- Easy access menu bar integration
- Customizable profiles
- Advanced logging and data management
- How can you use TG Pro to manage processes?
TG Pro can’t be used to manage apps directly, but it can help you control and monitor the device temperature and fan speeds. While Apple has its own thermal limit, all CPUs and GPUs inherently run better with colder temps. TG Pro is very useful due to the detailed report it presents. However, this is only useful if you know how to manage the temps of your Mac and cool it down for a better-boosted system.
Automatic Fan Control
You can control all the fans on your device with a quick access panel on the app. You can select the ‘Fan’ header on the top panel, and it will bring you to the screen that allows you to access all the fan information – speeds, boost, sleep, and other profiles.
It also helps you customize these profiles accordingly to the temperature of your device. Hence, you fine-tune all the settings for the best cooling process and indirect performance boosts.
Menu Bar Integration
TG Pro also has great integration with the default macOS menu bar, and it can help you quickly check all the data with just a single click. The app runs in the background with minimal system resources and constantly updates the information for accurate readings.
Customizations
TG Pro also has a lot of customization built in and also allows you to change the update frequency of the scans. Hence, you can truly optimize everything on your system and make cooling down your Mac a breeze.
Pros and cons of using TG Pro
Pros
- Easy to use
- Integrates with the menu bar
- Provides detailed information of the device temperatures
Cons
- Cannot monitor apps
- It doesn’t help clear RAM
In short, if all that you’re looking for is a temperature monitoring application, then TG Pro is the way to go. It has some of the most detailed information you can find, and it also works in the background with the quick and easy menu bar integration. Hence, it consumes a low amount of system resources and provides quality of life benefits by tuning the fan frequency curve and optimizing performance.
Sensei – best for performance monitoring and optimization
Pricing: Free — Trial version with limited features, $29 per year — Full package
Unlike most other tools on this list, Sensei is a complete suite to monitor and optimize your Mac for maximum performance. It comes with a wide range of advanced cleaning and monitoring features. Recently, the developers have included a feature called the Sensei Monitor, which lets you monitor system activities and statistics, and added support for many new temperature sensors and other hardware found in M1 and M2 Macs.
Despite being only a part of a full suite, the Sensei Monitor can compete with other options we have mentioned. Before we explore the Sensei Monitor in detail, we shall look at the core features of the Sensei package.
Sensei lets you:
- Keep track of system performance
- Clean up your system
- Uninstall apps completely
- Check the health status of your HDD or SSD drive
- Monitor all the temperature sensors and fans in your Mac in real-time
- Check the health of your MacBook battery easily
- Optimize the system
In other words, the package offers everything you need to keep your Mac running at full speed. The newly-added Monitor is a great addition, indeed.
About the Sensei Monitor
Once you have installed the app, you can access the Monitor feature from the left menu bar. A simple click on the Monitor tab will launch the interface on the right-hand side of the screen.
As you can see, the area is split into two sections: CPU and Widgets. This section is quite interactive and expansive. You can use it to monitor and track different aspects of your macOS device. Featuring a broad range of metrics ranging from software to hardware, it is built to give you powerful insights into the performance and health of your Intel or Apple Silicon Mac in real time.
Storage/CPU/Memory
In this section, you can get an overview of how the storage space on your Mac is being used. For instance, you can get to know the health and temperature of your Mac’s SSD. There is also a chart that shows you what is taking up the storage space.
Sensei also gives you insights about the RAM and CPU. You can also see the amount of pressure on the RAM, along with the top consumers. There is also an option to immediately quit the apps that consume a lot of resources.
When it comes to CPU stats, you can find one chart that tells you about CPU consumption. Right below, you can track the system uptime and temperature of the CPU. As we saw in the case of memory, the CPU pane will also show top consumers. And you can quit the apps from the same menu.
Battery/Cooling
Last but not least, the Battery/Cooling section of Sensei will provide you with all the basic details. For instance, you can view fan speed, sensor temperatures, even detect a faulty or failing battery in advance. There is also a way to know the current percentage and the number of charge cycles.
Pros and Cons of using Sensei
Pros
- Intuitive and effortless to use
- Integrates options for performance-boosting
- Provides an overview of the system
Cons
- It does not offer scheduling features
In short, Sensei is a great option if you need actionable monitoring data. Instead of giving you a lot of raw data, Sensei integrates optimization with the app. So, in a single click, you can free up RAM, cut down CPU usage, and improve storage space on your Mac.
iStatistica Pro – best for advanced system monitoring
Pricing: Free – Trial Version with limited features, $5.99 – Full Package
iStatistica Pro is an excellent alternative for iStat Menus, but it lacks the customization options that iStat Menus provide. It also includes a widget and a status bar menu that comes in handly while displaying a lot of information at once. So, if you don’t need the customization settings and don’t mind downloading a plugin for additional features, then, by all means, get iStatistica Pro.
The full version for iStatistica Pro has a lot of features and can help you manage the following:
- A complete System Monitor dashboard
- Bluetooth device battery information
- Sensors and Fans data
- Network activity monitoring
- Remote access through your iPhone
- Widgets and instant notifications
Note: You can access all the device information on a single screen, which can be a little clunky, but after a bit of experience, you would easily be able to navigate the entire UI and understand all the information.
App Management
App Management is simple and straightforward, with the main features directly being listed on the app’s home page. Here you can manage all the settings and even kill misbehaving or performance-hogging apps running in the foreground or the background.
You also get a detailed analysis report for all the performance hits and CPU and Memory utilization. Finally, it has graphs and other information related to battery and temperature that can help you better analyze and monitor your Mac apps.
Alerts and Notifications
Alerts and Notifications are a big part of monitoring and getting crucial information right at your fingertips, and iStatistica Pro has a robust alert management system that allows you to get notifications regarding the CPU utilization limit and memory utilization limit instantly notify you if your device hits that threshold.
Finally, you also get a companion app for your iPhone, and it lets you remotely access all the monitoring data right on your phone. It also has webhook commands and additional notification plugins, but it can get a little confusing for beginners, so try that when you get comfortable using the app.
Widgets
Widgets are a big thing for macOS, and iStatistica makes full use of them. It has multiple widgets that go on your home screen and provide you with crucial information regarding app, CPU, and memory utilization. It also helps track your storage data and network connectivity and bandwidth.
You can also add additional devices for monitoring, such as your Bluetooth-connected Apple Watch and headphones for easier access and battery management on the home screen.
Pros and cons of using iStatistica Pro
Pros
- Easy and seamless widget integration
- Powerful alerts and notification options
- A clubbed intuitive app management and data monitoring system
Cons
- The initial experience using the app may feel a little clunky
- Most features are locked behind a payment
In Short, iStatistica Pro is a great activity monitor app that helps you keep track of all the data and apps on your device. It also comes with an easy-to-use widget that integrates well with your system for quicker management and impressive performance boosts. Hence, making it perfect for people that look for convenience and an overall better UI design.
XRG for Mac – best for free performance monitoring
Talking about open sources, XRG for Mac is a functional system monitor tool that you could try if you do want to monitor your Mac’s performance for free.
Yes, it is free to use and comes with almost all the features that a performance monitoring app should have. This app lets you monitor your CPU and GPU activity, memory usage, machine temperature, battery status, network activity, disk I/O, stock market data, and current weather.
There are also a handful of settings that you can customize to personalize your experience with this app, change units and modify the way data and graphs are displayed.
However, the way the numbers are displayed on it can get cluttered and cannot be compared to the visual aesthetics of iStat Menus, and it could take a while for you to figure things out with this app.
Nonetheless, it is a must-have if you are looking for a free tool to monitor your Mac’s performance and don’t mind spending some time figuring out the interface.
Other alternatives
In addition to the picks above, I tested a number of other tools that offer performance checking solutions. For example:
App Tamer ($14.95) – helps you tame the apps that hog your CPU. It’s a lightweight menu bar utility with the ability to detect the average percentage of your processor(s) being used by each app or access a graphical history of your CPU usage.
Monit (free) – A versatile open-source app that tracks various system metrics, including temperature, network activity, CPU, and battery. It offers a customizable interface and unobtrusive monitoring. Unfortunately, Monit is not compatible with macOS Big Sur or Monterey, which may be a deal-breaker for many users.
coconutBattery (free) – This basic app has been around the battery monitoring space since 2005 and does a fine job displaying the health of your Mac’s battery. It also comes with a companion app for your iPhone and iPad to track and manage their batteries as well. However, it is strictly a battery-monitoring app and cannot work as a fully functional activity manager.
MenuBar Stats ($4.99) – MenuBar Stats helps you monitor the performance of your Mac in a clean, sleek and straightforward interface. It has been ‘completely re-written from the ground’ and comes with modules such as CPU, disk, network, Bluetooth, fan, and more. Each of these modules can be accessed in the menu bar and/or the notification center of your Mac OS.
SMART Utility ($25) – All new Macs come with faster SSDs with high data transfer speeds and fantastic read and write rates, sometimes leading to drive management issues. SMART Utility is built to keep track of the health of all your drives and to diagnose any problem that may arise. It can also get information such as drive temperature, capacity, and health, making it great for Disk Utility software.
AlDente (free) – Finally, take a look at AlDente, which looks like a tiny yet powerful charge limiter app for MacBooks. Its Pro version offers advanced features like heat protection and custom charging limits, ensuring optimal battery health and longevity. By preventing overheating and limiting excessive charging, you can extend the lifespan of your MacBook battery.
FAQs
TheSweetBits’ final advice
After spending over 20 years working with Macs, both old and new, there’s a premium tool I think would be useful to every Mac owner who is experiencing performance issues.
If you are looking for an all-in-one tool to monitor and optimize your Mac, we still recommend going for the Sensei package. However, if you are into in-depth statistics and features, you may have better luck with iStat Menus. On the other hand, if you want maximum control over your Mac, TG Pro is worth trying.
