MacStats vs Activity Monitor

Activity Monitor gives you the list.MacStats gives you the answer.

Activity Monitor is a genuinely powerful tool, and it is free with every Mac. But seeing kernel_task at 400% CPU is alarming and not very useful on its own. MacStats sits in the menu bar and explains what is actually happening, in plain English.

Activity Monitor

  • Built into macOS, nothing to install
  • Complete process list with detailed columns
  • Can force-quit and sample processes
  • Cryptic process names with no explanation
  • You have to search the web to find out what is safe
  • Lives in the Applications folder, not the menu bar

MacStats

  • Always one click away in the menu bar
  • Explains what a process is and whether to worry (Pro)
  • History over 24 hours, 7 days and 30 days (Pro)
  • Records slowdowns so you can look at them afterwards (Pro)
  • Apple silicon only, macOS 13 or later
  • Not a replacement for Activity Monitor's deep developer tooling

Details for other apps reflect their publicly documented capabilities and may change between releases, so check their own sites for what is current. MacStats is not affiliated with them. The full three-way table is on the comparison overview.

Do not search the web for process names. Just tap them.

Download MacStats free

macOS 13 Ventura or later · Apple silicon · No subscription