MacoolerHow to Check Your MacBook Temperature (2026 Guide)
macOS doesn't show you your Mac's temperature anywhere — no menu, no widget, nothing. Here are the three reliable ways to see your CPU and GPU temperature in 2026, and how to tell a normal reading from a dangerous one.
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Why macOS hides the temperature
Every Mac has a dozen or more internal temperature sensors — on the CPU, GPU, battery, SSD and chassis. Apple reads them constantly to manage the fans and performance, but it never surfaces a single one of them to you. There is no Activity Monitor tab, no Control Center tile, and no Terminal command that Apple officially documents for it.
That's why every Mac user who wants to watch their temperature reaches for one of the two approaches below: a small app that reads the sensors for you, or a Terminal command.
Method 1: Use a menu-bar app (easiest)
The simplest way to check your MacBook's temperature is a lightweight app that reads the sensors and shows the number right in your menu bar. You install it once and the live temperature is always a glance away — no commands, no password prompts.
Macooler is a free, native, notarized app that does exactly this: it shows your live CPU and GPU temperature, CPU and memory load, and battery health, and — on Macs that have fans — it lets you take manual control of the fans to cool things down. Other well-known options include iStat Menus and TG Pro, which are paid.
Fastest pathDownload Macooler, open it, and your temperature appears in the menu bar within seconds. It's a universal build for Apple Silicon and Intel and needs macOS 13 or later.
Check your Mac's temperature in one click
Macooler shows live CPU & GPU temperature right in your menu bar — free, native, notarized.
Download Macooler free Universal · macOS 13 Ventura+ · Apple Silicon & IntelMethod 2: The Terminal (no app)
If you'd rather not install anything, macOS ships with powermetrics, a
command-line tool that can print some thermal data. Open Terminal
(Applications → Utilities) and run:
sudo powermetrics --samplers smc -i1 -n1 | grep -i temp |
Enter your admin password when prompted. You'll see one or more temperature lines. The catch: it asks for your password every time, prints a wall of raw data, and on Apple Silicon the sensor coverage is limited compared with a dedicated app. It's fine for a one-off check, but not for watching the temperature over time.
Heads upThird-party "temperature" websites or browser extensions can't read your Mac's sensors — hardware sensors are only accessible to native software. Anything promising a temperature reading from a web page is not real.
What's a normal MacBook temperature?
Macs are built to run warm, and Apple Silicon in particular is comfortable at temperatures that would alarm a Windows-laptop owner. Here's a realistic reference for how hot your Mac should run:
| Situation | Apple Silicon (M-series) | Intel Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Idle / light browsing | 30–50 °C | 45–65 °C |
| Everyday multitasking | 50–70 °C | 65–85 °C |
| Heavy load (export, gaming, compiling) | 80–100 °C | 90–100 °C |
| Thermal throttling begins | ~100–108 °C | ~100 °C |
So an M-series MacBook hitting 95 °C while exporting a video is completely normal — it is not damaging your Mac. What matters is not the peak number but how long your Mac sits near the throttle point.
When your Mac is too hot
Temperature becomes a problem when your Mac is stuck near its throttle point for long stretches. At that point macOS slows the chip down to protect it, and everything gets laggy. Warning signs:
- Fans running at full speed for long periods (on Macs that have fans)
- The chassis is uncomfortably hot to touch, not just warm
- Apps stutter, video export slows down, games drop frames after a few minutes
- The temperature sits above ~95 °C continuously rather than in short spikes
If that sounds familiar, the fix is a mix of monitoring and control: watch the temperature so you know when it's climbing, and — on a MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio or Mac Pro — take manual control of the fans to spin them up sooner. Our MacBook overheating fix guide walks through every step, and the Mac fan control guide covers cooling it down directly.
Frequently asked questions
Does macOS show CPU temperature?
No. macOS has no built-in screen or menu-bar readout for CPU or GPU temperature. You need a third-party app such as Macooler, or a Terminal command, to read the sensors.
What is a normal MacBook temperature?
On Apple Silicon Macs, 30–50 °C at idle and 80–100 °C under heavy load is normal. The chip only begins to throttle around 100–108 °C. Intel MacBooks run hotter and often sit at 90–100 °C under load.
How do I check my Mac's temperature without an app?
Open Terminal and run sudo powermetrics --samplers smc -i1 -n1 and look for the temperature lines. It works but is limited on Apple Silicon and asks for your admin password every time, so a dedicated app is easier.
Is it bad if my MacBook gets hot?
Warmth under load is normal and safe — Macs are designed to run hot. It only becomes a problem if the Mac stays near its throttle point for long periods, which slows it down. Monitoring the temperature and controlling the fans keeps performance up.