Stats for Mac shows the graph. MacStats reads it back to you.
Stats is an excellent open-source system monitor for the Mac menu bar, and if you want accurate graphs at no cost, you should use it. MacStats is for the next question: what does this reading actually mean, and do I need to do anything about it?
The short answer: Stats vs MacStats
- Choose Stats if you want accurate menu bar graphs for free, value open source, want individual temperature and fan sensors or GPU readings, or are on an Intel Mac.
- Choose MacStats if you want the monitor to tell you what a reading means: plain-English explanations of processes, history over 24 hours, 7 days and 30 days, and alerts when something is unusual for your Mac rather than over a fixed threshold. History, alerts and explanations are part of Pro.
- Use both if you like the graphs in Stats and want the explanations too. They are separate apps and run side by side.
Looking for Stats itself? It is a different app from a different developer, and MacStats is not affiliated with it.
Stats
- Free and open source under the MIT licence
- Native Swift, with a low resource footprint
- Runs on Intel Macs as well as Apple silicon
- Individual temperature and fan sensors
- GPU monitoring
- Shows the readings, leaves the interpretation to you
- No per-process explanations
MacStats
- Native Swift, roughly 1% CPU and 65 MB while monitoring
- Plain-English explanation of what a process is doing (Pro)
- History over 24 hours, 7 days and 30 days (Pro)
- Alerts based on your own baseline, not a fixed threshold (Pro)
- Incident recording, so a slowdown is still there an hour later (Pro)
- Apple silicon only, macOS 13 or later
- Thermal state rather than individual sensors, and no GPU readings
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.
| Feature | MacStats | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, Pro $14.99 once | Free |
| Open source | No | MIT licensed |
| Native (not Electron) | Yes | Yes |
| Subscription required | No | No |
| Menu bar display | Yes | Yes |
| CPU, memory, disk and network | Yes | Yes |
| GPU | No | Yes |
| Battery health & cycle count | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth devices | Yes | Yes |
| Temperature & fan sensors | Thermal state only | Yes |
| Historical trends (24h/7d/30d) | Pro | Partial |
| Alerts against your own baseline | Pro | No |
| Plain-English AI explanations | Pro | No |
| Intel Mac support | No | Yes |
| Minimum macOS | macOS 13 Ventura | macOS 12 Monterey |
MacStats figures were measured directly. Stats details were checked against the project's README on 7 October 2026 and can change between releases, so check its GitHub page for what is current.
What Stats is
A free, open-source menu bar monitor for macOS, written in Swift and released under the MIT licence. It has modules for CPU, GPU, memory, disk, network, battery, sensors, Bluetooth devices and a clock with multiple time zones, and it runs on Intel and Apple silicon Macs with macOS 12 or later.
What a graph leaves open
A graph shows that something is busy. It does not say what the process is, whether that level is normal for your Mac, or whether you should do anything about it. Stats leaves that part to you, which is fine if you already know.
What MacStats adds
The answer. MacStats explains what a process is and whether it matters, keeps 24-hour, 7-day and 30-day history, alerts you when something is unusual for your Mac rather than over a fixed threshold, and records incidents so a slowdown is still there to inspect later. All of it is in Pro; the free version covers live monitoring.
What the numbers actually say
This Mac has 16GB of physical RAM and is currently holding 11.7GB of it, which leaves roughly 4.32GB free and only 0.18GB pushed out to swap. That swap figure is the important one. macOS only leans on the swap file once it has genuinely run short of clean pages, so 178MB of swap on a 16GB machine is background noise, not a signal of pressure.
Why nothing here is a problem
The single heaviest process is Google Chrome at 375MB, followed by one of its helpers at 144MB and two renderers at 245MB and 187MB. For a Chromium browser with multiple tabs and extensions, that is a modest footprint, not a leak.
Available RAM above 4GB on a 16GB machine is a healthy buffer. A system under real pressure would show this number under 1GB, swap in the multiple gigabytes, and pressure reported as warning or critical.
Recommended Actions
- No action neededWith 4.32GB free, 0.18GB of swap, and pressure reported as normal, the system is well inside its limits and any change would be cosmetic.
- Recheck the Memory tab if free RAM falls below 1GBThat is the threshold where macOS begins compressing and swapping noticeably, and it is the point at which quitting an app is genuinely worthwhile.
297 of 300 AI explanations left this month
What people ask about Stats.
Is MacStats the same app as Stats?
No. They are separate apps from different developers, and MacStats is not affiliated with Stats. Stats is the free, open-source menu bar monitor published on GitHub as exelban/stats. MacStats is a different app that adds plain-English explanations, history and baseline alerts to the readings.
Is Stats free?
Yes. Stats is fully free and open source under the MIT licence. MacStats is free to download and use for live monitoring, and a one-time Pro upgrade, $14.99 for a personal licence or $39.99 for a family licence, adds the AI explanations, history and trends, smart alerts, and session and incident recording. Neither one is a subscription.
Does Stats work on Intel Macs and Apple silicon?
Yes. Stats runs on both, on macOS 12 Monterey or later. MacStats is built for Apple silicon only and needs macOS 13 Ventura or later, so on an Intel Mac, Stats is the better choice.
Does Stats show CPU temperature and fan speed?
Yes. Stats reads the Mac's sensors, including temperatures, voltages and power, and shows fan readings. Its fan control feature is in legacy mode, and the project's README says it no longer receives updates or fixes. MacStats reports the macOS thermal state (nominal, fair, serious or critical) instead of individual sensors or fan RPM.
What does MacStats do that Stats does not?
It explains what the numbers mean. Click one of your processes under Top CPU or Top RAM and MacStats tells you in plain English what it is and whether you need to do anything about it. It also keeps 24-hour, 7-day and 30-day history, learns what is normal for your Mac and alerts you when something is unusual against that baseline, and records incidents so a slowdown is still there to look at later. All of this is part of Pro; the free version covers live monitoring.
Can I run Stats and MacStats at the same time?
Yes. They are separate apps and both sit in the menu bar. If space is tight, each one lets you turn individual readings off, so you can keep the graphs from one and the explanations from the other.
Which one uses fewer resources?
Both are native apps, so both are far lighter than Electron-based tools. MacStats measures at about 1% CPU and 65 MB of memory while monitoring on an Apple silicon Mac. Stats is lightweight too, and its figures vary with how many modules and sensors you turn on.
Data is good. Understanding is better.
Try MacStats free alongside StatsmacOS 13 Ventura or later · Apple silicon · No subscription