Taskglass vs Activity Monitor
By Junaid, maker of Taskglass · Updated · I make Taskglass, so weigh it accordingly
Short answer
Activity Monitor is free, accurate and already on your Mac, so it's the right tool for a quick look. Taskglass is for when you want answers instead of a list: it groups helper processes under their app, explains each process in plain English, and keeps 30 days of history so you can see what happened while you were away.
Choose Activity Monitor if…
- You only need an occasional look at what's running.
- You want zero cost and zero installs.
- You need Apple's diagnostic tools like spindump and process sampling.
Choose Taskglass if…
- You want to know what a process is and whether it's safe, not just its PID.
- You want an app's helpers added up into one row.
- You want to scrub back through the last 30 days and see why the fans spun up.
- You want per-app battery drain, temperatures and alerts.
Side by side
| Feature | Taskglass | Activity Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | From $5 one-time (launch ladder), then $14 | Free, built in |
| Helper processes grouped under their app | Yes, totals per app | Hierarchical view nests processes but doesn't total an app's helpers |
| Plain-English process explanations | 214 processes | No |
| "Is this safe?" signature badge | Yes | No (signature info is not shown in the main list) |
| History | 30 days, with automatic event markers | Short live graphs; recent power on the Energy tab |
| Memory | Pressure first, plus a RAM Advisor | Memory pressure graph and raw counters |
| Battery drain by app | Measured watts on Apple Silicon | Energy Impact score |
| Alerts | Runaway apps, leaks, heat | No |
| Temperatures | 40+ sensors on Apple Silicon | No |
| Menu bar | Popover with live stats | Dock icon graphs only |
Activity Monitor details checked November 5, 2026. Products change, so check with Apple for the latest.
What Activity Monitor does well
- Free and preinstalled on every Mac, with nothing to download.
- Made by Apple, so it works with every new macOS release on day one.
- Accurate CPU, memory, energy, disk and network numbers, plus a memory pressure graph.
- Power-user tools: sample a process, run a spindump, inspect open files and ports.
- The Energy tab shows each app's Energy Impact and recent power use on laptops.
Where it falls short
- Hundreds of processes with cryptic names and no explanations.
- Helper processes (like a browser's renderers) appear as separate rows, so an app's real total is hard to see.
- Little history: you can't scroll back to see what heated your Mac an hour ago.
- No alerts for runaway apps, memory leaks or heat.
- No temperature or fan readings.
At a glance
- Price
- Free (Built into macOS)
- Made by
- Apple
- Get it from
- Preinstalled on every Mac
Questions
Is Taskglass a replacement for Activity Monitor?
It can be for everyday use. Taskglass covers what most people open Activity Monitor for (what's using CPU, memory and battery) and adds explanations, history and alerts. Activity Monitor is still useful for Apple's low-level diagnostics like spindump.
Why does Activity Monitor show so many processes?
macOS splits work into many small background processes, and apps like browsers run dozens of helpers. Activity Monitor lists each one separately. Taskglass groups helpers under their app, so a browser shows up as one row.