We make Multimeter. We put iStatistica on this page because people search for both, and we tried to say plainly where iStatistica is the better choice.
Side by side
| Multimeter | iStatistica | iStat Menus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 one-time | $5.99, Pro $9.99 | $11.99 one-time |
| Open source | No | No | No |
| CPU, memory, disk, network | Yes (no per-app lists) | Yes, with per-app CPU and memory | Yes, with per-app CPU, memory and bandwidth |
| Temperature sensors and GPU | Thermal pressure only, no temperatures or GPU | 40+ sensors (plug-in) and GPU | Yes, temperatures, voltages, GPU |
| Fan speed | Speed (read only) | Speed (plug-in) | Speed and fan control |
| Battery and Bluetooth accessory batteries | Yes, keyboards, mice and trackpads | Yes, AirPods and Magic accessories | Yes, AirPods and Magic accessories |
| Power draw in watts | Yes, on laptops | Not on its feature page | Yes (sensors: power) |
| Timers, countdowns, day progress | Yes | Uptime only | Clocks, world clocks, calendar |
| Your own numbers (script, web address, file, link) | All four | Not on its feature page | Not on its feature page |
| Custom looks you can build yourself | 35 built in, build your own | Customizable menu bar items, widgets | Colors, layouts, combined item |
| Runs on | macOS 13+ | macOS 10.11+ | macOS 13.5+ |
| Latest release | 1.0.0, October 2026 | 7.1.3, Sep 2026 | 7.5 |
iStatistica: A system monitor with menu bar items, Notification Center widgets, alerts and a web dashboard, in a standard and a Pro edition. $5.99 one-time on the Mac App Store; iStatistica Pro $9.99 (US). Temperature, fan and disk I/O readings need its free Sensors plug-in. Runs on macOS 10.11 El Capitan or later. Latest release: 7.1.3 (September 21, 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 iStatistica is better
- It costs much less: $5.99, or $9.99 for Pro, against Multimeter’s $19.99.
- More hardware detail: over 40 temperature sensors and fan speeds (with its free Sensors plug-in), GPU, disk I/O and per-app CPU and memory, with history in Pro.
- A web dashboard and a JSON REST API, so you can check your Mac from a phone on the same network.
- Network detail: external, local and router IP addresses, the country of your external IP and a network map.
- Battery cycles, health and capacity, and Bluetooth batteries including AirPods, which Multimeter 1.0 does not read.
- Notification Center widgets, CSV export, and it runs back to macOS 10.11 El Capitan.
Where Multimeter is different
- Every meter has a face you can pick or build: 35 built in (needle gauge, LCD readout, sparkline, ring, hearts...) and any you make yourself.
- Your own numbers: a shell script, a JSON web address, a file, or a multimeter:// link from Terminal, Shortcuts or a build script. iStatistica’s alerts can run a command, but its feature page lists no way to show your own number.
- Power draw in watts on laptops, and timers, countdowns and day, week, month and year progress.
- Light on the Mac: about 3% CPU for five live meters in our tests, and meters pause while the displays sleep.
Which one to pick
Choose iStatistica if you want a cheap, deep system monitor with sensors, GPU, per-app usage and a web dashboard. For hardware detail per dollar, iStatistica is hard to beat.
Choose Multimeter if you want a handful of numbers drawn the way you like them, including ones that aren’t about hardware: a build status, a countdown, a number from a JSON API, or the output of a script. Browse the 35 built-in faces to see what they look like.
Moving from iStatistica
- List the iStatistica menu bar items you actually read: CPU, memory, disk, network, battery, GPU or sensors.
- Add one Multimeter meter for each one it has: CPU, Memory, Disk Space, Network (one per direction), Battery, Bluetooth Accessory, Power Draw, Fan Speed.
- Pick a face per meter. Sparkline is closest to iStatistica’s charts; Label & Value to its plain text items.
- Move your iStatistica alerts over: set warning and critical levels in Customize This Meter… and turn on the notification.
- Keep iStatistica for temperatures, GPU, per-app usage and the web dashboard. The two run side by side fine.
More detail in switching to Multimeter from another menu bar monitor.
Questions
Is iStatistica cheaper than Multimeter?
Yes. As of October 2026 iStatistica is $5.99 and iStatistica Pro is $9.99 on the US Mac App Store, both one-time. Multimeter is $19.99 one-time from multimeterapp.com.
What’s the difference between iStatistica and iStatistica Pro?
By ImageTasks’ App Store listings, Pro adds storage visualization, a network interfaces dashboard, per-app CPU and memory history, chart comparison and passkey protection for its web access. Both have menu bar monitors, alerts and the web dashboard.
Can Multimeter show CPU temperature like iStatistica?
No. Multimeter shows thermal pressure (Nominal, Fair, Serious, Critical), the state macOS uses to decide when to slow down. iStatistica reads temperature sensors with its free Sensors plug-in.
Can iStatistica show my own numbers?
Its alerts can run a terminal command or a workflow when a threshold is crossed, but its feature page lists no way to put your own number in the menu bar, as of October 2026. Multimeter takes numbers from a multimeter:// link, a web address (plain or JSON), a file or a shell script.
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 25 to 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.
- iStatistica: imagetasks.com/istatistica (features, macOS, Sensors plug-in)
- iStatistica: Mac App Store: iStatistica ($5.99 US, version 7.1.3)
- iStatistica: Mac App Store: iStatistica Pro ($9.99 US, feature list)
- iStat Menus: bjango.com/mac/istatmenus (features, version, macOS)
- iStat Menus: Bjango’s Paddle checkout prices (US, before tax)
- iStat Menus: Weather data packs help page
- iStat Menus: Mac App Store listing ($11.99 US)