A minimal system monitor for the Mac menu bar
MenuMonitor shows CPU, memory and network as three small bars next to the clock. Click them to see which apps are using your Mac, and quit the one that’s slowing it down.
Three bars, no reading required
Each bar is one measure: processor, memory, network. They take the color of your menu bar like the system’s own icons and turn orange only when something needs a look.
Prefer numbers? Switch to a two-line readout, a small graph or a single ring in Settings.
Find the app that’s slowing things down
The panel lists the top three apps for processor, memory and network, refreshed every two seconds. The line at the top says what’s going on in plain words, for example that one app has kept the processor busy for four minutes.
Click the app and quit it right there.
Memory, measured the way macOS sees it
A Mac fills spare memory with cache on purpose, so “16 GB used of 16” is often fine. MenuMonitor shows memory pressure, the measure Activity Monitor uses, and tells you when your Mac starts swapping to disk and which app would free the most.
Good to know
Nothing leaves your Mac
MenuMonitor measures network traffic but never uses the network itself. There’s no account and no analytics.
No admin password
It reads the same counters Activity Monitor reads. It installs nothing into the system and runs no helper as root.
Quiet by design
With the panel closed it used about 0.3% of one processor core on our test Mac. It reads the list of apps only while the panel is open, or now and then when the processor is busy, and alerts stay off unless you turn them on.
Light and dark menu bars
The bars take the color of your menu bar, so they sit next to Wi‑Fi and the battery like they belong there.
Opens at login
Turn it on once and MenuMonitor is there every time you start your Mac.
Activity Monitor is one click away
For energy, disk and the full list of processes, the panel opens Activity Monitor.
Questions
How much does it cost?
$4.99, once, plus sales tax or VAT where it applies. No subscription, and you can install it on every Mac you use.
Is it a replacement for Activity Monitor?
No. It answers the quick questions: is something busy, and which app is it. For energy use, disk activity and the full list of processes, the panel opens Activity Monitor.
Why does it show memory pressure instead of free memory?
macOS fills spare memory with cache on purpose, so a Mac with little free memory is usually fine. Memory pressure, the measure Activity Monitor uses, goes up only when apps need more memory than there is. MenuMonitor tells you when it turns high and your Mac starts using swap.
Does it show temperature, fans or the GPU?
Not in this version. It shows processor, memory and network, and tells you when macOS reports that your Mac is running hot.
Will it slow my Mac down?
With the panel closed, MenuMonitor used about 0.3% of one processor core on our test Mac. While the panel is open it reads the list of apps every refresh, which costs a little more, and stops as soon as you close it.
Which Macs does it run on?
Any Mac with macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple silicon or Intel.
Why does macOS warn me the first time I open it?
MenuMonitor is sold directly from this site and isn’t notarized by Apple, so macOS asks you to confirm once in System Settings. The download page shows the four steps.
Get MenuMonitor
One payment, no subscription. If it isn’t for you, ask for a refund within 14 days.
Coming soon for MacComing soon · $4.99 once · macOS 14 Sonoma or later