Stats vs iStat Menus: which Mac system monitor?

The short answer

Checked 13 October 2026 against the Stats GitHub page and source code, Bjango's website and help pages, Bjango's checkout and the Mac App Store. Prices are in US dollars, before tax.

What each one is

Stats is a free, open-source menu bar monitor by Serhiy Mytrovtsiy, published on GitHub under the MIT license. The current release is 3.0.21 (11 October 2026), and it supports macOS 12 or later, but not beta versions of macOS (Stats on GitHub). You download it from GitHub or install it with Homebrew.

iStat Menus is a long-running paid monitor from Bjango Pty Ltd. The direct version is 7.5, needs macOS 13 or later and has a 14-day free trial; it's also sold on the Mac App Store, which needs macOS 14 or later, and included in Setapp (Bjango, iStat Menus; Mac App Store).

Side by side

iStat Menus is a trademark of Bjango Pty Ltd. Stats is developed by Serhiy Mytrovtsiy. Tend isn't affiliated with either.

Where iStat Menus is stronger

• Depth. Per-app network and disk use, per-core CPU history, memory pressure and swap, disk S.M.A.R.T. status, and more sensor types.
• Customization. Separate menu bar items with their own layouts, or one combined item, and detailed dropdowns.
• Alert rules on almost any reading, including power and weather.
• Fan control that's still developed (direct version). It can raise fan speeds, follow a custom curve or hold a manual speed, but Bjango notes it "can't lower fans below the speed the system would normally use", and manual settings don't survive a restart (Bjango, Fans).
• Extras: weather from several providers, world clocks, a calendar and a new astronomy item in 7.5.

Where Stats is stronger

• Price. It's free, with no trial or license to manage.
• Openness. The source code is public, so you, or anyone, can see exactly what it reads and sends.
• Homebrew. One command installs it, and Homebrew keeps it updated alongside your other tools.
• Older Macs. It supports macOS 12, one version further back than iStat Menus.
• Simplicity. Fewer options means less to set up if you only want a few numbers.

Sensors and fans on Apple silicon

Both apps read the same kind of hardware sensors, and both are honest that Apple silicon makes this harder. Stats' documentation explains that its CPU and GPU sensors are "simply thermal zones" on the chip, not individual cores, and that Apple changes the sensor keys with each new chip, so mapping them takes time after every release (Stats FAQ). Bjango marks some sensor and GPU details as available only "where supported" or on "supported Macs". Expect labels and the number of sensors to differ between M-series generations in both apps.

Fan control is where they differ most. Stats' FAQ says its fan control "is in legacy mode. It does not receive any updates or fixes", and is kept because it works acceptably on older Macs. iStat Menus' direct version maintains fan control, but the Mac App Store version can't control fans at all (Bjango, Mac App Store version). If fan control is the reason you're shopping, read whether you need a fan control app on Apple silicon first: macOS already manages the fans, and iStat Menus can't make them quieter than macOS would.

Setting them up

Stats

Download Stats.dmg from the project's GitHub releases page and drag the app to Applications, or with Homebrew installed:

brew install stats

Stats can install a helper for the SMC, the system management controller that handles power, sensors and fans; its bundled uninstall script removes it and needs an administrator password (Stats README). Only get Stats from the links in its GitHub README or from Homebrew.

iStat Menus

Download the trial from Bjango's site and buy a license in the app, buy it on the Mac App Store, or use it through Setapp. Weather works differently in each: the direct version includes some weather data with the purchase and then sells one-off data packs from US$2.49 for 12 months (Bjango, Weather), while the App Store version sells weather as a subscription at US$0.99 a month or US$4.99 a year. Some readings need the separate iStat Menus Helper.

On macOS 26 and 27: allow the menu bar items

macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 27 let you choose which apps can show menu bar items. If a monitor is running but its icons don't appear, open System Settings › Menu Bar and turn the app on under Allow in the Menu Bar (Apple, Change Menu Bar settings).

How much CPU a menu bar monitor uses

A monitor has to read the system regularly, so it always costs something. We haven't measured either app on the same Mac, so we won't quote figures. Stats' own FAQ says each module has its own "price", that Sensors and Bluetooth are the most expensive, and that turning them off can cut its CPU use substantially in some cases.

Check yours in a minute: open Activity Monitor, click CPU, and search for the app's name; then look at Energy Impact on the Energy tab (how to read Activity Monitor). To bring it down in either app, turn off modules you don't look at, and lower how often readings update.

If you want something calmer

Tend isn't a menu bar dashboard. It's a window-first monitor with one menu bar readout and a panel, built around explanations: which app is using your battery in estimated watts, how your battery's health is changing, and what's making the Mac hot, with Pro adding sensors, fan speeds (read-only) and alerts. If that sounds closer to what you want, Tend vs iStat Menus compares them directly. You can also run a menu bar monitor and Tend side by side.

Questions

Related guides

Sources

• Stats, GitHub repository and README (version 3.0.21, MIT license, macOS 12 or later, fan control FAQ), checked 13 October 2026
• Bjango, iStat Menus (version 7.5, macOS 13 or later, 14-day trial, Setapp), checked 13 October 2026; prices from Bjango's checkout the same day
• Bjango, iStat Menus 7: Fans, Mac App Store version differences and Weather
• Apple, iStat Menus 7 on the Mac App Store (US$11.99, weather subscription, macOS 14 or later), checked 13 October 2026
• Apple, Change Menu Bar settings on Mac

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