Stats vs iStat Menus
Two good menu bar monitors. Pick by how you’ll use it.
Stats is free and open source. iStat Menus is a paid app with deeper detail, alert rules, and extras like weather. Both put hardware readings in your menu bar. Spare is a third option for a different job: seeing which apps, projects, and agents are behind the load.
Spare is free. No subscription. No account. Apple silicon · macOS 14+.
Which one fits?
Choose Stats if you want solid CPU, GPU, memory, disk, network, battery, and sensor readings at no cost, with source you can read. Choose iStat Menus if you want the most configurable menu bar, detailed history, notification rules across many metrics, fan control, and weather, and you’re happy to pay for a license.
A familiar moment
Your CPU graph spikes. Now what?
Both apps will show you the spike. iStat Menus also lists the apps using the most CPU and memory, and it can notify you when a rule is met, like CPU above a threshold for a set time. Stats keeps its readings focused on each hardware module.
If what you need next is “which project is that?”, neither is built around that question. That’s where Spare fits. It groups activity into apps with their helpers, development projects with ports, and AI agent sessions by folder.
See Spare’s illustrated workflow →Stats and iStat Menus, side by side.
Both are well-made. The differences are price, depth, and how much you want to configure.
| What matters | Stats | iStat Menus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | US$11.99 single license or US$14.99 family pack (up to 5 people), before tax; 14-day free trial; also in Setapp |
| Source code | Public, under the MIT license | Not published |
| Version at review | 3.0.20 (released October 4, 2026) | 7.5 |
| macOS requirement | macOS 12 or later | macOS 11 or later |
| Monitoring | CPU, GPU, memory, disk, network, battery, sensors, Bluetooth devices, and clocks | CPU, GPU, memory, disks, network, sensors, battery and power, Bluetooth device batteries, weather, and clocks |
| Apps using resources | Not listed among its documented features | Lists the apps using the most CPU and memory, plus per-app disk and network usage |
| Alerts and history | Not listed among its documented features | Notification rules across many metrics, and history graphs |
| Fan control | Legacy mode that its developer no longer maintains | Supported, including temperature-based rules |
| Install | Download from GitHub or brew install stats | Download from Bjango, or use Setapp |
Sources: Stats’ official repository and release list; Bjango’s iStat Menus page (prices as shown by its US checkout) and iStat Menus 7 upgrade notes. Prices and versions change. Reviewed October 6, 2026. This is a documentation-based comparison, not a performance test.
Choose Stats for free, broad coverage
Stats covers the hardware most people want to watch, and its source is public. Install it with Homebrew or a DMG and turn modules on or off to keep your menu bar tidy. Its developer notes that the Sensors and Bluetooth modules use the most energy, so you can disable them if you don’t need them.
Choose iStat Menus for depth and control
iStat Menus goes further on detail: per-core CPU, memory pressure with compressed memory and swap, S.M.A.R.T. disk status, per-app network usage, and notification rules. It also adds weather and world clocks. Bjango has been making it for many years.
A third option
Where Spare fits.
Spare is not a hardware monitor. It covers CPU and memory only, with no GPU, disk, network, battery, temperature, or fan readings. What it adds is context: Google Chrome counted together with its helper processes, a dev server listed under its project folder with its port, and agent sessions from Claude Code, Codex, Aider, Ollama, and OpenCode grouped by folder.
When memory pressure rises, you can review what an app, project, or agent includes, then send a graceful quit or stop request. Nothing closes automatically. You can run Spare alongside Stats or iStat Menus.
Spare for AI coding agents →Before you choose
A few practical details.
Is Stats really free?
Yes. Stats is free to download and its source is available under the MIT license. Its README notes it is maintained by a single developer and is not open to unsolicited contributions.
Is iStat Menus a subscription?
You can buy a license directly from Bjango, or get it as part of a Setapp subscription. Bjango says all licenses include six months of weather. If you own iStat Menus 6, discounted upgrade pricing is available.
Do they collect data?
Stats says it collects no telemetry and contacts its own server only for update checks and your public IP address. Bjango says iStat Menus has no ads, analytics, or tracking.
Can I run Spare alongside either one?
Yes. They answer different questions. Use Stats or iStat Menus for hardware readings and Spare to see which apps, projects, and agents are using CPU and memory.
Does Spare free up memory?
No. Spare shows memory pressure and what’s using memory, so you can decide what to close. It doesn’t clean or purge memory. Here’s why you usually don’t need to.
Explore another comparison.
Get Spare
Free to use. Yours to explore.
Download Spare for Apple silicon, or explore the MIT-licensed source on GitHub. Free to use, with no subscription or account.
macOS 14+ · Apple silicon · Signed and notarized