We make Multimeter. We put MenuMeters on this page because people search for both, and we tried to say plainly where MenuMeters is the better choice.
Side by side
| Multimeter | MenuMeters | Stats | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 one-time | Free | Free |
| Open source | No | Yes, GPL 2.0 | Yes, MIT |
| CPU, memory, disk, network | Yes (no per-app lists) | CPU, disk activity, memory, network | Yes, with per-process lists |
| Temperature sensors and GPU | Thermal pressure only, no temperatures or GPU | No | Yes, temperature, voltage, power, GPU |
| Fan speed | Speed (read only) | No | Fan control, marked not maintained |
| Battery and Bluetooth accessory batteries | Yes, keyboards, mice and trackpads | No | Battery and Bluetooth devices |
| Power draw in watts | Yes, on laptops | No | Yes (sensors: power) |
| Timers, countdowns, day progress | Yes | No | Multiple time zone clock |
| Your own numbers (script, web address, file, link) | All four | No | Not in its README |
| Custom looks you can build (HTML/CSS/JS) | 13 built in, build your own | Its own meter styles | Built-in widget styles |
| Runs on | macOS 13+ | macOS 10.11+ | macOS 12+ |
| Latest release | 1.0.0, October 2026 | 2.1.6.1, Nov 2021 | v3.0.23, Oct 2026 |
MenuMeters: The classic CPU, disk activity, memory and network meters for the menu bar, kept running on newer macOS by Yuji Tachikawa’s fork. Free. Runs on El Capitan 10.11 or later (the fork’s README lists through Big Sur). Latest release: 2.1.6.1 (November 2021).
Multimeter: Live meters for anything in the Mac menu bar, each drawn by a face you pick or build with HTML, CSS and JavaScript. $19.99 one-time, 30-day refund. Runs on macOS 13 Ventura or later.
Where MenuMeters is better
- Free and open source (GPL 2.0).
- Runs on much older Macs, back to El Capitan.
- Does four things and nothing else, which is exactly what some people want.
Where Multimeter is different
- Battery, Bluetooth accessory batteries, power draw in watts, fan speed and thermal pressure, which MenuMeters doesn’t have.
- Timers, countdowns, day progress and your own numbers from scripts, web addresses, files and links.
- Faces you can pick or build, instead of fixed graph styles.
- Current: Multimeter 1.0 shipped in October 2026. The MenuMeters fork’s last release was November 2021, and its own README now points people to Stats and other actively maintained monitors.
Which one to pick
Choose MenuMeters if you run an older Mac or want only the four classic meters, free.
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 13 built-in faces to see what they look like.
Moving from MenuMeters
- MenuMeters’ CPU, memory and network meters map to Multimeter’s CPU, Memory and Network meters (one meter per direction: download or upload).
- MenuMeters’ disk meter shows disk activity. Multimeter’s Disk Space meter shows how full a volume is instead; there is no disk activity meter in 1.0.
- For MenuMeters’ graph look, use the Sparkline face; for its text look, Label & Value.
- Quit MenuMeters once your meters are set up, so you don’t measure everything twice.
More detail in switching to Multimeter from another menu bar monitor.
Questions
Does MenuMeters work on the latest macOS?
We haven’t tested it. Its fork’s README lists support from El Capitan through Big Sur, and its latest GitHub release is 2.1.6.1 from November 2021. Multimeter 1.0 needs macOS 13 Ventura or later.
Is there a free MenuMeters alternative?
Yes. Stats is free and open source and is the one MenuMeters’ own README recommends first. Multimeter is paid ($19.99 one-time).
Can Multimeter show disk activity like MenuMeters?
Not in version 1.0. It shows disk space used for any volume, checked every minute.
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, 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.
- MenuMeters: MenuMeters for El Capitan and later (fork homepage)
- MenuMeters: github.com/yujitach/MenuMeters (README, releases, license)
- MenuMeters: Original MenuMeters page (meter list)
- Stats: github.com/exelban/stats (README, license, stars)
- Stats: Stats releases