Built for macOS 14 Sonoma and later
v1.3.0.3 — What's new

MacPulse — Mac System Monitor & Activity Monitor Alternative Your Mac,
decoded.

MacPulse is a Mac system monitor with a rule-based Insights Engine that explains your Mac in plain English — the modern Activity Monitor and iStat Menus alternative. Record performance sessions, get actionable recommendations, and watch CPU, memory, GPU, thermal, fan, and battery in the menu bar.

Download Free Trial See what's inside
MacPulse Dashboard — CPU, Memory, Network, Disk, Thermal, Battery, and GPU monitoring in one view
CPU 24%
Memory 68%
Network 2.4 MB/s
Thermal 52°C
// Intelligence

Your Mac,
explained.

Insights Engine

Automatic analysis of your system patterns with plain-English summaries and actionable recommendations. No jargon, no confusion — just clear explanations of what's happening and what to do about it.

CPU Analysis — Detect thermal throttling, identify peak usage hours, flag overnight activity
Memory Pressure — Track compression ratios, sustained high usage, week-over-week trends
Disk Health — SSD performance warnings, growth rate predictions, heavy write detection
Thermal Events — Sustained heat periods, fan curve effectiveness, throttling alerts
Battery Intelligence — Drain rate anomalies, cycle count milestones, temperature warnings
Memory — Pressure reached "warning" 4 times today. 78% of samples show usage above 85%.
CPU — Peak usage between 2-4 PM (avg 72%). Thermal throttling detected for 3 minutes during compile.
Disk — SSD at 68% capacity. At current growth rate, you have ~180 days before performance impact.
Learn more about the Insights Engine

Performance Sessions

Record everything during intensive tasks. Whether you're gaming, rendering, or debugging a performance issue, capture high-resolution data at 1-second intervals for detailed post-analysis.

1-Second Resolution — Capture every spike, drop, and anomaly with precision
Comprehensive Metrics — CPU, GPU, memory, thermals, fan speeds, and FPS
FPS Monitoring — Frame rate and frame time tracking for gaming and video work
Session Management — Name, save, and compare multiple recording sessions
CSV Export — Full data export for external analysis in Excel, Numbers, or Python
Performance session recording with CPU, GPU, FPS, and temperature charts
Duration
12:34
Avg FPS
94.2
Peak Temp
78°C
Max GPU
96%
Learn more about Performance Sessions
// 01 Modules

Nine modules.
One dashboard.

CPU

Per-core usage with P-core and E-core differentiation. User/system breakdown on Apple Silicon.

Per-core · P/E clusters

Memory

Wired, compressed, cached, and free composition. Swap usage and memory pressure level.

Composition bar · Pressure

Network

Per-interface throughput with upload and download rates. Wi-Fi signal, noise, channel and link rate. Latency, jitter and packet loss. Private and public IP addresses.

Wi-Fi · Latency · IP addresses

Disk

Volume usage with I/O read/write rates. SMART health status for NVMe and SATA drives. External drive detection with eject support.

SMART · I/O rates · External

Thermal

SMC temperature sensors for the CPU, GPU, battery and more. System, CPU, GPU, and memory power consumption in watts.

SMC sensors · Power in watts

Fans

Speed and RPM for every fan. Custom fan curves with Silent, Balanced, Performance and Full Speed presets, plus a thermal watchdog that steps in if temperatures climb.

Fan curves · Presets · Watchdog

Battery

Charge, health, cycles and temperature. Live power flow and energy used per app. Batteries for AirPods, Bluetooth accessories, iPhone and iPad, including their battery health.

Energy by app · Power flow · Devices

GPU

Utilization via IOKit, memory via Metal, device name, and temperature. Unified memory on Apple Silicon.

Metal · IOKit · Utilization

Processes

Every running app with live CPU, memory, and threads. Group by App merges each app’s helper processes into one row, like Task Manager. End or force-quit from the list or the menu bar.

Group by App · End & Force Quit
// Deep Dive

Every module,
beautifully detailed.

CPU module with P-core and E-core breakdown, per-core bars, and history chart CPU
Memory module with composition bar, pressure level, and usage chart Memory
Network module with download and upload chart, latency monitor with jitter and packet loss, Wi-Fi signal, channel and link rate, router and DNS Network
Disk module with volume usage and I/O rate charts Disk
Thermal module with sensor readings and temperature history Thermal
Battery module with live power, energy used per app in watt-hours, and batteries for AirPods, keyboard, mouse, iPhone with battery health, and Apple Watch Battery
GPU module with utilization, memory, and device info GPU
// 02 Features

Not just monitoring.
Understanding.

Historical Analytics

Trends over time

Every data point persisted to SQLite. Browse 24 hours, 7 days, or 30 days of history with intelligent downsampling.

History & Trends view showing CPU, Memory, Network, and Disk charts over time
Menu Bar Status Item

Always there

Four display modes: Icon Only, Text, Sparkline, or Text + Sparkline. Show CPU, Memory, or Network speeds directly in your menu bar with mini polyline charts.

MacPulse menu bar status item showing CPU, Memory, and Network with sparkline charts
Fan Control

Custom curves

Drag control points to create your perfect fan profile. Four presets included.

Temperature °C RPM %
WidgetKit

Desktop widgets

Small, medium, and large widgets showing system averages. Updated every 5 minutes with averaged data for a meaningful picture of system health.

MacPulse
24CPU
System Overview
24CPU
68RAM
87DISK
Avg 5m
↓ 1.2 MB/s ↑ 340 KB/s
Insights Engine

Your Mac, explained

The Insights Engine analyzes 30 days of historical data to surface patterns and anomalies you'd never spot yourself. Thermal throttling, memory pressure trends, battery drain anomalies, disk growth predictions — all explained in plain English with actionable recommendations.

CPU Throttling Detection Memory Pressure Tracking SSD Growth Prediction Thermal Event Analysis Battery Drain Anomalies Network Throughput Spikes
Memory — Pressure reached "warning" 4 times today. Week-over-week usage up 8% (62% → 70%).
CPU — Thermal throttling detected: frequency dropped to 78% for 3 min during afternoon compile.
Disk — SSD at 76% capacity. At current growth rate (~2.1 GB/day), ~85 days until performance impact.
Thermal — Fan curve "Performance" reduced avg temp by 12°C. Sustained heat periods down 40%.
Performance Sessions

Record & analyze

Start a recording session during intensive tasks — gaming, rendering, compiling, or debugging performance issues. Capture comprehensive metrics at 1-second intervals, then analyze the data to find bottlenecks and optimize your workflow.

Resolution
1 second
Metrics
CPU, GPU, FPS, Temp
Export
CSV
Sessions
Unlimited
Performance session recording with FPS, frame time, CPU/GPU utilization, and temperature charts
Menu Bar Popover

Compact overview

Click the status item for a complete system overview. Mini gauges for CPU, Memory, Disk. Network throughput with private IP. Thermal status, GPU utilization, battery level, and Bluetooth device batteries.

MacPulse menu bar popover showing system overview with CPU, Memory, Disk gauges, Network throughput, Thermal status, GPU, and Bluetooth device batteries
Bluetooth Batteries

Every accessory

Track battery levels for AirPods (Left/Right/Case), Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, trackpads, and game controllers. Low battery warnings highlighted in red.

🎧
AirPods Pro
L 85% R 82% C 45%
🖱
Magic Mouse
72%
⌨️
Magic Keyboard
94%
🎮
DualSense
15%
Network Intelligence

IP & alerts

Private and public IP addresses displayed in the popover. Get notified when your IP changes or connectivity drops.

Private IP 192.168.1.42
Public IP 203.0.113.1
SMART Health

Disk vitals

Monitor SMART status for NVMe and SATA drives. Verified, Failing, or Unknown indicators with media type detection.

APPLE SSD AP0512Q
NVMe
Verified
Power Sensors

Real-time watts

SMC power readings: system total, CPU, GPU, memory, and DC input. Voltage and current for advanced diagnostics.

System
18.4W
CPU
8.2W
GPU
4.1W
Memory
2.8W
Top Processes

What's eating your CPU

Real-time delta-based measurement shows actual current CPU usage (not lifetime average). Top 5 processes by CPU in the menu bar popover, refreshed each time you open it.

#1
Google Chrome
34.2%
#2
Xcode
18.7%
#3
Swift Compiler
12.4%
#4
Slack
5.1%
#5
Finder
2.3%
Per-App Breakdown

Who's using your bandwidth

See which apps are consuming the most network bandwidth and disk I/O. Top 10 apps aggregated by process name with delta-based measurement.

#1 Chrome
↓ 4.2 MB/s ↑ 890 KB/s
#2 Dropbox
↓ 1.8 MB/s ↑ 2.1 MB/s
#3 Spotify
↓ 320 KB/s ↑ 12 KB/s
Extended Notifications

Never miss a warning

Alerts for GPU utilization and temperature, low battery, a charger that can’t keep up, low battery on your AirPods, mouse or iPhone, fan failure, and fans at max. Each with configurable thresholds.

GPU temperature exceeded 90°C
Battery below 20% on battery power
GPU sustained above 90% for 5 min
Energy by App · Direct & Setapp

What's draining your battery

Real watt-hours per app over 24 hours or 7 days, from the energy counters macOS keeps. Not an estimate. Filter to time on battery, with helper processes grouped under their app.

#1 Google Chrome
4.2 Wh
#2 Xcode
2.8 Wh
#3 Slack
610 mWh
Wi-Fi & Latency

How's your connection

Wi-Fi signal and noise, channel, band, link rate and security, plus your router and DNS (Direct & Setapp). A latency monitor, in every edition, tracks jitter and packet loss and marks outages.

Wi-Fi Signal · 5 GHz, ch 100
−57 dBm
Link Wi-Fi 6 · 160 MHz
1729 Mbps
Ping Latency · jitter · loss
24 ms · 2 ms · 0%
“Activity Monitor shows you numbers. The Insights Engine tells you what they mean.”
// New in 1.2.2 · Direct only · macOS 26 Tahoe

Ask your Mac,
anything.

Questions in plain English. Answered entirely on-device by Apple Intelligence — nothing leaves your Mac. No API keys, no cloud, no telemetry.

— You “How high did CPU go yesterday?”
— You “Which apps used the most energy today?”
— You “What’s been writing to disk most?”
— You “Did Xcode slow me down today?”
Ask Insights grounds every answer in real data from your Mac’s history — the same database the Insights Engine has been maintaining all along. The model translates your question into the right lookup and summarizes the result; visible tool-call chips show you exactly which data the answer was built from. If there’s no matching data, it tells you — it won’t invent a number.
Requires macOS 26 Tahoe on an Apple-Intelligence-eligible Mac with Apple Intelligence enabled in System Settings. On older macOS the rest of MacPulse works exactly as before — the feature simply doesn’t appear. Not available in the Mac App Store edition.
// 03 Technical

Engineered to be
invisible.

<1%
CPU Usage
<50MB
Memory Footprint
5s
Poll Interval
30d
History Retention
Swift & SwiftUI Universal Binary SQLite + GRDB macOS 14+
// 04 Pricing

Start free.
Upgrade when ready.

Trial
$0
14 days, full access
  • All 9 monitoring modules
  • Insights Engine
  • 30-day historical analytics
  • Menu bar companion
  • Desktop widgets
Start Free Trial
Personal
€14.99
One-time · 1 Mac
  • Everything in Trial
  • Unlimited usage
  • Performance session recording
  • Fan speed control
  • CSV data export
  • Lifetime updates
Buy MacPulse — €14.99
Family
€49.99
One-time · 5 Macs · save 33%
  • Everything in Personal
  • 5 licenses to share
  • Use across your own Macs
  • Or share with family/team
  • Lifetime updates
Get Family — €49.99
Also available on
Download on the Mac App Store
Feature Availability

The Direct (LemonSqueezy) version includes all features. The Mac App Store version has some limitations due to sandboxing restrictions.

✓ Insights Engine
✓ Performance Sessions (FPS Direct only)
✓ Menu bar status modes
✓ Network notifications
✓ Latency monitor
✓ Power flow & slow-charger alert
● Thermal sensors & fan control (Direct only)
● Bluetooth batteries (Direct only)
● SMART disk health (Direct only)
● Power sensors (Direct only)
● Top processes (Direct only)
● Bluetooth churn alerts (Direct only)
● Ask Insights chat (Direct, macOS 26+)
● Per-process history (Direct only)
● Energy by App (Direct only)
● Power breakdown (Direct only)
● Wi-Fi details (Direct only)
● iPhone & iPad battery health (Direct only)
● Device low-battery alerts (Direct only)

New in 1.3.0: Latency monitor and power flow in every edition. Direct edition adds Energy by App with real per-app watt-hours, power breakdown, Wi-Fi details, iPhone & iPad battery health, and low-battery alerts for your devices.

// 05 The lineup

vs iStat Menus, Stats, TG Pro
& Activity Monitor.

Where MacPulse fits in the Mac system monitor landscape — honest about where the others win. Last verified May 2026.

Feature MacPulse iStat Menus 7 Stats TG Pro Activity Monitor
Plain-English Insights EngineYesNoNoNoNo
Performance session recording (1s, CSV)YesNoNoNoNo
History retention30 days (SQLite)28 daysNoLimitedNo
Menu bar live monitoringYesYes (signature feature)YesYesNo
Fan curves & thermal presetsYesNo (read-only)NoYes (specialty)No
Apple Silicon P/E-core breakdownYesYesYesN/ABasic
Open sourceNoNoYes (MIT)NoNo (Apple)
Mac App StoreYes (as System Insights)No (direct)No (GitHub)YesBuilt in
Pricing€14.99 once · lifetime$11.99 onceFree / MIT~$20 onceFree (built-in)
Deep dive · 01
vs iStat Menus →
28-day vs 30-day history. Insights Engine vs raw widgets. $11.99 vs €14.99 one-time.
Deep dive · 02
vs Stats →
Free open-source vs paid with Insights. When to pick each.
Deep dive · 03
vs TG Pro →
Thermal/fan specialist vs all-system monitor. Pick TG Pro for fans alone, MacPulse for the full picture.
// 06 FAQ

Things people
ask first.

Quick answers about Mac system monitoring, the Insights Engine, and how MacPulse compares to Activity Monitor and iStat Menus. More at ~/faq.

Q. Is Activity Monitor enough on Mac?
Activity Monitor shows what’s running right now, but it doesn’t keep history, doesn’t surface trends, doesn’t read SMC thermal sensors, and doesn’t explain what its numbers mean. MacPulse adds a 30-day SQLite history with intelligent downsampling, a plain-English Insights Engine, performance session recording at 1-second resolution, fan curves, and menu bar sparklines — covering everything Activity Monitor leaves on the table.
Q. What is the best iStat Menus alternative for Mac?
MacPulse is the modern iStat Menus alternative for macOS. iStat Menus 7 is a polished, mature menu-bar-first system monitor at $11.99 one-time (not subscription) with 28-day graphs. MacPulse adds a unique rule-based Insights Engine that explains performance patterns in plain English, performance session recording with CSV export, fan curves and thermal presets, and is available on the Mac App Store, Setapp, and direct (€14.99 Personal / €49.99 Family). If you want a menu-bar widget kit and don’t need analysis, iStat Menus is excellent. If you want your Mac to explain itself, pick MacPulse. Full head-to-head →
Q. What does memory pressure mean on Mac?
Memory pressure is macOS’s signal of how hard it’s working to keep your apps in RAM. Green means plenty of free memory; yellow means macOS is starting to compress and swap; red means active swapping to disk that hurts performance. MacPulse tracks compression ratios over time, flags sustained pressure events, and shows week-over-week trends — so you know whether to add RAM, close apps, or just ignore it.
Q. Why is my Mac slow?
Common causes: thermal throttling (CPU dropping speed because it’s hot), memory pressure (macOS swapping to SSD), background processes hogging CPU, Spotlight indexing, or a failing SSD. MacPulse’s Insights Engine flags all of these in plain English — for example: “Thermal throttling detected for 3 minutes during compile” or “Memory pressure reached warning 4 times today, 78% of samples above 85%” — so you can act instead of guess.
Q. How do I check Mac performance?
Open Activity Monitor for a real-time snapshot, but for sustained checking install a dedicated system monitor. MacPulse runs in the menu bar with sparkline charts, records 30-day history, lets you start a performance session at 1-second resolution to capture a specific event (compile, render, gaming), and the Insights Engine reads the data and explains what’s happening. Free 14-day trial.
Q. Does MacPulse work on Apple Silicon?
Yes — universal binary, native on Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4) and Intel. macOS 14 Sonoma or later. CPU monitoring shows P-core and E-core breakdown on Apple Silicon. The Ask Insights on-device chat (via Apple Intelligence) requires macOS 26+ and is Direct-edition only.
Q. Does MacPulse have a menu bar mode?
Yes. MacPulse can run as a full app, as a menu bar status item with sparkline charts, or both at once. The menu bar mode shows live CPU, memory, network, GPU, and thermal at a glance — click to see the full popover with Bluetooth batteries, top processes, and quick controls.
Q. Is MacPulse a subscription?
No. MacPulse is a one-time purchase: €14.99 Personal (1 Mac) or €49.99 Family (5 Macs). Lifetime updates included. Also available on the Mac App Store (as “System Insights”) for €14.99 one-time, and on Setapp as part of your subscription.
MacPulse — Mac system monitor and Activity Monitor alternative for macOS

Understand your
machine.

Download MacPulse and let the Insights Engine explain your Mac. 14-day free trial, no account required.

Download for macOS
v1.3.0.3 · macOS 14 Sonoma or later · Apple Silicon & Intel