We make Multimeter. We put coconutBattery on this page because people search for both, and we tried to say plainly where coconutBattery is the better choice.
Side by side
| Multimeter | coconutBattery | AlDente | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 one-time | Free, Plus $12.95 one-time | Free, Pro paid |
| Open source | No | No | No |
| CPU, memory, disk, network | Yes (no per-app lists) | No | No |
| Temperature sensors and GPU | Thermal pressure only, no temperatures or GPU | Battery temperature ranges (Plus) | Battery temperature for Heat Protection |
| Fan speed | Speed (read only) | No | No |
| Battery and Bluetooth accessory batteries | Yes, keyboards, mice and trackpads | Mac, iPhone and iPad battery health | Charge limits, hardware percentage (Pro) |
| Power draw in watts | Yes, on laptops | Charge and discharge rate ranges (Plus) | Power Flow diagram |
| Timers, countdowns, day progress | Yes | No | No |
| Your own numbers (script, web address, file, link) | All four | No | No |
| Custom looks you can build yourself | 35 built in, build your own | No | Custom menu bar icons (Pro) |
| Runs on | macOS 13+ | macOS 12+ | macOS 12 to 27 |
| Latest release | 1.0.0, October 2026 | 4.4, Sep 2026 | 1.40.1, Oct 2026 |
coconutBattery: The long-running battery health app for the Mac (since 2005): battery diagnostics for your Mac, iPhone and iPad, with details in the menu bar and a paid Plus edition. Free; coconutBattery Plus is $12.95 one-time, or $17.95 for the Lifetime Edition with all future Plus updates (US, before tax), with a 10-launch Plus trial. Sold only on coconut-flavour.com, not the App Store. Runs on macOS 12 Monterey or later. Latest release: 4.4 (September 9, 2026).
Multimeter: Live meters for anything in the Mac menu bar, each drawn by a face you pick or build yourself. $19.99 one-time, no subscription. Runs on macOS 13 Ventura or later.
Where coconutBattery is better
- Battery health is its whole job: a Mac battery diagnostic, health info you can save over time and a history view. Multimeter shows the battery live but keeps no health report or history.
- iPhone and iPad batteries too, with their details in the Mac menu bar, and over Wi-Fi in the Plus edition. Multimeter only reads the Mac and its Bluetooth keyboards, mice and trackpads.
- The Plus Battery Lifetime Analyzer shows temperature, voltage and charge and discharge rate ranges, and how long the battery has been in use.
- The standard edition is free, and Plus costs less than Multimeter: $12.95, or $17.95 lifetime.
- It runs on macOS 12 Monterey; Multimeter needs macOS 13.
Where Multimeter is different
- Multimeter is a live meter, not a report: percent, time left, time until full and power draw in watts, always in the menu bar, drawn by the face you pick (a battery glyph, Time Until, Hearts, a sparkline of watts).
- Low-battery warning and critical levels on every battery meter, with an optional notification. coconutBattery’s low-battery notifications are a Plus feature.
- Bluetooth keyboard, mouse and trackpad batteries as their own meters.
- Everything else that fits in a menu bar: CPU, memory, network, fan speed, timers, countdowns and your own numbers from scripts, web addresses, files and links.
Which one to pick
Choose coconutBattery if you want to know how healthy your battery is and how it has aged, or you want your iPhone and iPad batteries on your Mac. Multimeter doesn’t do health reports.
Choose Multimeter if you want the battery live in the menu bar all day: percent and time left, power draw in watts and your mouse and keyboard batteries, drawn by a face you pick. Browse the 35 built-in faces to see what they look like.
Using Multimeter next to coconutBattery
- Keep coconutBattery for health checks and your iPhone and iPad. Multimeter doesn’t report battery health.
- In Multimeter, the battery meter is there on first launch. Pick a face: Time Until shows time left instead of percent.
- Add a Power Draw meter to see watts, with a Sparkline face for recent history.
- Set the low-battery warning and critical levels (20% and 10% by default) and turn on the notification.
- Add a Bluetooth Accessory meter for your Magic Mouse, Keyboard or Trackpad.
More detail in switching to Multimeter from another menu bar monitor.
Questions
Does Multimeter show battery health or cycle count?
Not in its built-in faces, and it keeps no battery history. The battery data every face receives includes cycle count and health, so a face you build can show them. For health and aging over time, coconutBattery is the better tool.
Is coconutBattery free?
The standard edition is. coconutBattery Plus is a one-time $12.95, or $17.95 for the Lifetime Edition, on coconut-flavour.com (US prices before tax, October 2026). It isn’t on the App Store.
Can Multimeter warn me when the battery is low?
Yes. Every battery meter has warning and critical levels, 20% and 10% by default, and an optional notification when it goes critical. In coconutBattery, low-battery notifications are part of Plus.
Can Multimeter show my iPhone battery?
No. It reads the Mac’s battery and the Bluetooth keyboards, mice and trackpads that report theirs to macOS. coconutBattery shows iPhone and iPad batteries.
How we checked
We make Multimeter, so read this with that in mind. Competitor facts come from each maker’s own site, README or store listing, checked on October 30, 2026, and are linked below. "Not on its feature page" means we looked and didn’t find it, not that it can’t be done. Multimeter’s numbers are measured on our own Macs. Spot something out of date? Email hello@greatwork.company and we’ll fix it.
- coconutBattery: coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery (features, editions, version, macOS)
- coconutBattery: coconut-flavour’s FastSpring checkout prices (US, before tax)
- AlDente: AlDente pricing page (free and Pro features, prices, macOS)
- AlDente: AlDente features page
- AlDente: github.com/AppHouseKitchen/AlDente-Charge-Limiter (releases)