# MacPulse vs Stats Published January 1, 2026 · Updated August 10, 2026 Stats is the top pick for most Mac users looking at system monitors. It is free and open-source and installs in one Homebrew command. MacPulse is the stronger choice if you want system monitor. As of October 2026, both install with brew install --cask macpulse and brew install --cask stats. For most Mac users in 2026, Stats is the better choice for system monitors because it is free and open source, so you can inspect, self-host, and trust the code. Both install with a single Homebrew command, so the switching cost is low. Choose MacPulse instead if you want system monitor. ## Head to head | Factor | MacPulse | Stats | | --- | --- | --- | | Price | Free | Free | | Open Source | No | Yes | | Replaces | — | iStat Menus ($12) | | Best for | system monitor, dashboard, analytics | system, monitor, menu bar | | Install | brew install --cask macpulse | brew install --cask stats | | Category | System Utilities | System Utilities | ## MacPulse System monitoring dashboard with historical analytics Install: `brew install --cask macpulse` [MacPulse on Bundl](https://bundl.run/apps/macpulse) ## Stats System monitor for the menu bar Install: `brew install --cask stats` [Stats on Bundl](https://bundl.run/apps/stats) ## Features - **Monitoring scope (real-time).** Stats covers more live dimensions out of the box, especially network jitter and per-core CPU. - **Historical analytics and retention.** Historical trends are MacPulse's main job; clear winner there. - **Dashboard and presentation.** MacPulse for presentation; Stats for minimalism. - **Menu-bar footprint and lightness.** Stats wins on lightness and fanless credentials. - **Customization.** Stats for tinkerers; MacPulse for curated defaults. - **Apple Silicon and Tahoe support.** Tie. Both are native, notarized, and Tahoe-ready. - **Pricing and openness.** Stats wins on cost and openness; MacPulse wins if you value paid support and analytics retention. ## FAQ ### Is MacPulse free? No. MacPulse is €14.99 lifetime (one year of updates included, you keep your version). Stats is free and MIT-licensed. MacPulse occasionally bundles a T-shirt tier around $35. ### Does Stats keep history? Only transient sparklines while running. Stats does not persist historical analytics to disk. After quit or reboot, past weeks are gone. MacPulse persists history for trend charts. ### Which is lighter on battery and fan? Stats, by design. At 20-50 MB and <1% CPU (configurable even lower), it is the benchmark for fanless monitoring. MacPulse uses 120-180 MB at idle due to history caching. ### Do they work on Tahoe 26.x Apple Silicon? Yes. Both ship universal, notarized binaries for Apple Silicon and Intel and are tested on Tahoe 26.x. Stats via brew cask stats, MacPulse via dmg from macpulse.app. ### Which has better charts? MacPulse for historical charts, with daily/weekly overlays you can export and share. Stats for inline sparklines: compact per-module history lines inside the dropdown. ### Can I use them together? Yes. Many users run Stats permanently in the menu bar and open MacPulse's dashboard when they need to review a week-long trend. Resource overhead together remains modest. ### Who maintains each? Stats is open source by Serhiy Mytrovtsiy (GitHub exelban) with community contributions. MacPulse is an indie commercial product with a small team and GitHub mirror under ai798-lab. ### Which should a newcomer install first? Start with Stats for free, instant signal. If you find yourself wishing you could see last week's timeline, add MacPulse's one-time license. ## Sources - [MacPulse: Mac System Monitor & Activity Monitor Alternative](https://macpulse.app/) - [ai798-lab/macpulse: Native macOS menu bar monitor](https://github.com/ai798-lab/macpulse) - [Pulse: System Monitor (macOS): Price History](https://appagg.com/macos/utilities/pulse-system-monitor-41360384.html?hl=en) - [exelban/stats: macOS system monitor in your menu bar](https://github.com/exelban/stats) - [Homebrew: stats cask](https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/stats) - [Stats vs iStat Menus Comparison](https://github.com/exelban/stats) - [macOS Tahoe at Apple](https://www.apple.com/macos/tahoe/) - [VideoLAN Organization](https://www.videolan.org/) ## Related - [Stats vs eul](https://bundl.run/compare/stats-vs-eul) - [Stats vs iStats Menus](https://bundl.run/compare/stats-vs-istat-menus) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://bundl.run/#organization", "name": "Bundl.run", "url": "https://bundl.run", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://bundl.run/og-image.png", "width": 1200, "height": 630 }, "description": "The Ninite for Mac. Install all your essential Mac apps with one terminal command.", "sameAs": [ "https://github.com/abhiofficial/bundl-mac-setup", "https://x.com/bundlrun", "https://www.producthunt.com/products/bundl-run" ], "foundingDate": "2024", "contactPoint": { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "customer support", "url": "https://bundl.run/faq" } }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://bundl.run/#website", "name": "Bundl.run", "url": "https://bundl.run", "description": "The Ninite for Mac. Install all your essential Mac apps with one terminal command.", "publisher": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-US" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://bundl.run/authors/alex-chen#person", "name": "Alex Chen", "jobTitle": "Senior Developer Tools Specialist", "url": "https://bundl.run/authors/alex-chen", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/#organization" }, "description": "Alex Chen has been evaluating developer tools and productivity software for over 12 years, with deep expertise in code editors, terminal emulators, and development environments. As a former software engineer at several Bay Area startups, Alex brings hands-on experience with the real-world workflows these tools are meant to enhance. Alex tests each application extensively on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, documenting performance metrics, integration capabilities, and workflow efficiency. When not reviewing software, Alex contributes to open-source projects and writes technical tutorials for the developer community.", "knowsAbout": [ "Code Editors & IDEs", "Terminal Emulators", "Version Control Tools", "DevOps & CI/CD", "API Development", "Performance Benchmarking" ], "image": "https://bundl.run/authors/alex-chen.svg" }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://bundl.run/compare/macpulse-vs-stats#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://bundl.run" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Apps", "item": "https://bundl.run/apps" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Compare", "item": "https://bundl.run/compare" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "MacPulse vs Stats", "item": "https://bundl.run/compare/macpulse-vs-stats" } ] }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://bundl.run/compare/macpulse-vs-stats", "url": "https://bundl.run/compare/macpulse-vs-stats", "name": "MacPulse vs Stats", "description": "For most Mac users in 2026, Stats is the better choice for system monitors because it is free and open source, so you can inspect, self-host, and trust the code. Both install with a single Homebrew command, so the switching cost is low. Choose MacPulse instead if you want system monitor.", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/#website" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "datePublished": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z", "dateModified": "2026-08-10T13:34:04.000Z", "image": "https://bundl.run/og-image.png", "author": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/authors/alex-chen#person" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/compare/macpulse-vs-stats#article" }, "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/compare/macpulse-vs-stats#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://bundl.run/compare/macpulse-vs-stats#article", "headline": "MacPulse vs Stats — Which is Better in 2026?", "description": "For most Mac users in 2026, Stats is the better choice for system monitors because it is free and open source, so you can inspect, self-host, and trust the code. Both install with a single Homebrew command, so the switching cost is low. Choose MacPulse instead if you want system monitor.", "image": "https://bundl.run/og-image.png", "speakable": { "@type": "SpeakableSpecification", "cssSelector": [ "h1", ".quick-answer", ".tldr-summary" ] }, "author": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/authors/alex-chen#person" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/#organization" }, "datePublished": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z", "dateModified": "2026-08-10T13:34:04.000Z", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://bundl.run/compare/macpulse-vs-stats" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/#website" }, "about": [ { "@type": "SoftwareApplication", "name": "MacPulse", "url": "https://bundl.run/apps/macpulse" }, { "@type": "SoftwareApplication", "name": "Stats", "url": "https://bundl.run/apps/stats" } ], "mentions": [ { "@type": "SoftwareApplication", "name": "MacPulse", "url": "https://bundl.run/apps/macpulse" }, { "@type": "SoftwareApplication", "name": "Stats", "url": "https://bundl.run/apps/stats" } ] }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://bundl.run/compare/macpulse-vs-stats#faq", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is MacPulse free?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. MacPulse is €14.99 lifetime (one year of updates included, you keep your version). Stats is free and MIT-licensed. MacPulse occasionally bundles a T-shirt tier around $35." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does Stats keep history?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Only transient sparklines while running. Stats does not persist historical analytics to disk. After quit or reboot, past weeks are gone. MacPulse persists history for trend charts." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which is lighter on battery and fan?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Stats, by design. At 20-50 MB and <1% CPU (configurable even lower), it is the benchmark for fanless monitoring. MacPulse uses 120-180 MB at idle due to history caching." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do they work on Tahoe 26.x Apple Silicon?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Both ship universal, notarized binaries for Apple Silicon and Intel and are tested on Tahoe 26.x. Stats via brew cask stats, MacPulse via dmg from macpulse.app." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which has better charts?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "MacPulse for historical charts, with daily/weekly overlays you can export and share. Stats for inline sparklines: compact per-module history lines inside the dropdown." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can I use them together?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Many users run Stats permanently in the menu bar and open MacPulse's dashboard when they need to review a week-long trend. Resource overhead together remains modest." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Who maintains each?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Stats is open source by Serhiy Mytrovtsiy (GitHub exelban) with community contributions. MacPulse is an indie commercial product with a small team and GitHub mirror under ai798-lab." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which should a newcomer install first?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Start with Stats for free, instant signal. If you find yourself wishing you could see last week's timeline, add MacPulse's one-time license." } } ], "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/compare/macpulse-vs-stats" } }, { "@type": "ItemList", "name": "MacPulse vs Stats Video Tutorials", "description": "Tutorial videos for learning MacPulse vs Stats on Mac", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "How To Find Mac CPU Specs", "description": "Thanks for watching and please feel free to like and subscribe if you found value in this video. 😃 Any Comments or Questions will ALWAYS be respectfully answered in kindness so don’t be shy. I sincer", "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MHAm3tWZAdM/mqdefault.jpg", "uploadDate": "2023-06-12T19:00:15Z", "duration": "PT19S", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/MHAm3tWZAdM", "interactionStatistic": { "@type": "InteractionCounter", "interactionType": "https://schema.org/WatchAction", "userInteractionCount": 190318 } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "Apple Silicon Explained in 56 seconds", "description": "Send this to a confused friend", "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OltS40EjSxk/mqdefault.jpg", "uploadDate": "2025-03-16T00:20:59Z", "duration": "PT57S", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/OltS40EjSxk", "interactionStatistic": { "@type": "InteractionCounter", "interactionType": "https://schema.org/WatchAction", "userInteractionCount": 2549312 } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "NEW TO MAC? Mac Tutorial for Beginners 2025", "description": "Here’s everything you need to know about your new Mac in 2025 - this is the ultimate beginner's guide to macOS! I spend weeks writing, filming and editing every new video. If you enjoy the concise sty", "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ag3NWYr5CD8/mqdefault.jpg", "uploadDate": "2025-03-16T22:38:41Z", "duration": "PT11M20S", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ag3NWYr5CD8", "interactionStatistic": { "@type": "InteractionCounter", "interactionType": "https://schema.org/WatchAction", "userInteractionCount": 1267210 } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "How to Monitor Mac Temperature for FREE! (Quick & Easy Guide) 💻", "description": "💻 Want to check and monitor your Mac’s temperature? Here’s a quick & easy way to do it using a FREE program! ✔ The best tool? A program called Stats, which lets you monitor CPU temperature, fan speed", "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eN5036_Tjvc/mqdefault.jpg", "uploadDate": "2025-02-10T21:30:06Z", "duration": "PT32S", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/eN5036_Tjvc", "interactionStatistic": { "@type": "InteractionCounter", "interactionType": "https://schema.org/WatchAction", "userInteractionCount": 26746 } } } ], "numberOfItems": 4 } ] } ```