We make Multimeter. We put Stats on this page because people search for both, and we tried to say plainly where Stats is the better choice.
Side by side
| Multimeter | Stats | iStat Menus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 one-time | Free | $11.99 one-time |
| Open source | No | Yes, MIT | No |
| CPU, memory, disk, network | Yes (no per-app lists) | Yes, with per-process lists | Yes, with per-app CPU, memory and bandwidth |
| Temperature sensors and GPU | Thermal pressure only, no temperatures or GPU | Yes, temperature, voltage, power, GPU | Yes, temperatures, voltages, GPU |
| Fan speed | Speed (read only) | Fan control, marked not maintained | Speed and fan control |
| Battery and Bluetooth accessory batteries | Yes, keyboards, mice and trackpads | Battery and Bluetooth devices | Yes, AirPods and Magic accessories |
| Power draw in watts | Yes, on laptops | Yes (sensors: power) | Yes (sensors: power) |
| Timers, countdowns, day progress | Yes | Multiple time zone clock | Clocks, world clocks, calendar |
| Your own numbers (script, web address, file, link) | All four | Not in its README | Not on its feature page |
| Custom looks you can build (HTML/CSS/JS) | 13 built in, build your own | Built-in widget styles | Colors, layouts, combined item |
| Runs on | macOS 13+ | macOS 12+ | macOS 13.5+ |
| Latest release | 1.0.0, October 2026 | v3.0.23, Oct 2026 | 7.5 |
Stats: A free, open-source system monitor for the menu bar with modules for CPU, GPU, memory, disk, network, battery, sensors, Bluetooth devices and clocks. Free. Runs on macOS 12 Monterey or later. Latest release: v3.0.23 (October 25, 2026).
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 Stats is better
- It’s free and open source (MIT). You can read every line, build it yourself and install it with brew install stats.
- More hardware data: temperature, voltage and power sensors, GPU, and a multiple time zone clock.
- Very active: 42,800+ GitHub stars and a release on the day we checked.
- It supports macOS 12 Monterey; Multimeter needs macOS 13.
Where Multimeter is different
- Faces: each meter is drawn by an HTML, CSS and JavaScript file you can swap, restyle or write from scratch, with 13 built in.
- Your own numbers from scripts, JSON web addresses, files and multimeter:// links, which Stats’ README doesn’t list.
- Timers, countdowns and day, week, month and year progress meters.
Which one to pick
Choose Stats if you want a free, open-source hardware monitor with sensors and GPU. Most people who only want CPU, memory and network numbers should start with Stats.
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 Stats
- Note which Stats modules you keep turned on.
- Add the same meters in Multimeter: CPU, Memory, Disk Space, Network, Battery, Bluetooth Accessory, Power Draw, Fan Speed.
- Pick a face per meter. Sparkline is closest to Stats’ line chart widget; Label & Value to its Mini widget.
- Use the sources Stats doesn’t have: a timer, a countdown, day progress, or your own numbers.
- Keep Stats for sensors and GPU if you use them. Quit its modules that Multimeter now covers so you aren’t measuring twice.
More detail in switching to Multimeter from another menu bar monitor.
Questions
Why pay for Multimeter when Stats is free?
For system numbers alone, you may not need to. Multimeter is worth $19.99 if you want faces you can choose or build, timers and countdowns, alerts per meter, or your own numbers from links, web addresses, files and scripts next to the system ones.
Is Multimeter open source?
The app is not. Every face is: the 13 built-in faces are plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript files you can read and copy, and the meter data they receive is documented on the Creating Meters page.
Does Multimeter show GPU usage or temperatures?
No. Stats does both. Multimeter shows thermal pressure instead of temperatures, and has no GPU meter in version 1.0.
Which uses less CPU?
We haven’t measured Stats ourselves. Stats’ own README says its sensors and Bluetooth modules are the most expensive to run. For Multimeter we measured five live meters at about 2% to 3% CPU on our test Mac, and a battery meter alone at about 0.03%.
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.
- Stats: github.com/exelban/stats (README, license, stars)
- Stats: Stats releases
- 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)