Vitals

What is Vitals?

Vitals is a Mac system monitor that groups helper processes under the app they belong to. Instead of adding up several Chrome helpers or background processes yourself, you can see one resource-use figure for the app. It combines live readings with 30 days of local history, alerts and a customizable menu bar.

Understand which app is responsible

The app tracks CPU, memory, energy, disk and network use by app, alongside system readings such as GPU activity, battery health, temperatures and fan speeds. Browser processes can be divided into tabs, extensions, graphics and the browser itself, but the roadmap explicitly says it does not identify memory use for each individual browser tab.

History, alerts and developer projects

Vitals keeps 30 days of history on your Mac and can flag high CPU use, growing memory, and heavy disk or network activity. The Projects view groups processes by their working folder and shows listening ports. Docker containers and idle development servers can be inspected in that project context. Quitting apps, processes or servers requires a user request and confirmation; force-quitting can still lose unsaved work.

More than resource graphs

Each menu-bar readout can show a value, graph or both, and the dropdown and main window can be rearranged. Other tools include per-app volume control, Bluetooth accessory batteries, temperature readings and fan control. The optional Full System Metrics helper extends monitoring to system processes and runs with administrator rights. Vitals works without it.

Compatibility and pricing

Vitals requires macOS 15 Sequoia or later and supports Apple silicon and Intel Macs. The vendor says power and temperature readings are most detailed on Apple silicon. A one-time license covers the number of Macs purchased and includes future updates. The official site checked October 5, 2026 showed a $9 USD launch price for one Mac and a $29 regular price. Launch pricing changes with license sales, so check the live pricing card before buying. The live pricing card showed $18 for 2 Macs, $45 for 5, $90 for 10, $225 for 25 and $450 for 50, all one-time launch totals. These are time-sensitive offers. The FAQ describes different regular bundle discounts, so future bundle prices should be checked on the live card rather than inferred from the crossed-out totals.

Privacy and limits

The privacy policy says app names, process names, project paths, readings and history stay on the Mac. License activation does send the license key, Mac name, operating-system and app versions, and a hashed hardware identifier. Update checks and optional reviews also use the network. The website has analytics even though the app does not. There is no free plan or free trial, but the vendor offers a 14-day refund.

Current features versus roadmap

An MCP server, command-line interface, AI-agent view, storage map and cleanup tools are planned, not current features. Vitals also does not copy every specialist Activity Monitor tool, such as process sampling. It is best judged as a clearer everyday view of app-level resource use rather than a replacement for all diagnostic tools.

Editorial review by Deepika Pandey. This is a desk-research assessment using official product, privacy, terms, refund, roadmap and founder pages checked October 5, 2026. We did not install the app, benchmark its resource overhead or verify sensor accuracy. The interactive website uses simulated figures and is not evidence of a hands-on test.