How to check your Mac's temperature on Apple Silicon

macOS does not show your chip temperature anywhere in the menu bar or Activity Monitor. Here is what you can do.

By Andrew Wilson · Updated 2026-10-26

Short answerTo check temperature on an Apple Silicon Mac you need an app that reads the chip's thermal sensors, such as WhoIsCooking, Stats or iStat Menus. Without an app, run sudo powermetrics --samplers thermal -n 1 in Terminal to see the thermal pressure level (Nominal, Moderate, Heavy), which tells you if the Mac is being throttled.

Option 1: Terminal (no install)

Apple does not expose a plain temperature number in Terminal on Apple Silicon, but it does report thermal pressure, which is what matters for speed:

sudo powermetrics --samplers thermal -n 1

Look for the line Current pressure level. It reads Nominal when all is well. Moderate, Heavy or higher means the Mac is limiting its speed to cool down.

You can also see whether the CPU is being limited with:

pmset -g thermlog

If nothing is limiting the chip, this prints that no thermal warning level has been recorded.

Option 2: A menu bar or notch app

Apps read the same IOHID temperature sensors the system uses and show degrees Celsius. Common choices:

WhoIsCooking ($5, one time): shows temperature in the notch or menu bar, and which app or AI agent is causing the heat, with a one-click cool-down.
Stats (free, open source): a broad system monitor with a temperature module.
iStat Menus (paid): a long-running full system monitor with sensors and fan readouts.

If you only want a number, any of them works. If your goal is to find out why the Mac is hot while you code, see the comparison.

What temperatures are normal?

Apple does not publish a single safe number, and values vary by chip and Mac model. As a rough guide for Apple Silicon:

Reading	What it usually means
Under about 50°C	Idle or light use
50°C to 80°C	Normal under load
80°C to 95°C	Heavy sustained work; fans spin up on a MacBook Pro, a MacBook Air may start slowing down
Above about 100°C	The chip will throttle itself to protect the hardware

These are typical ranges, not Apple specifications. The thermal pressure level from powermetrics is the more reliable signal that the Mac is actually slowing down.

Intel Macs

The IOHID temperature sensors that these apps read exist on Apple Silicon (M1 to M5). Intel Macs use a different sensor system, so Apple Silicon tools may show CPU use but no temperature on them.

What to do if the Mac is hot

Find what is using the CPU (Activity Monitor, CPU tab, sort by % CPU).
Stop or slow the work if you can. See how to cool a Mac without stopping your work.
Give it airflow and avoid soft surfaces.

Frequently asked questions

Does macOS have a built-in temperature display?

No. Activity Monitor shows CPU load but not temperature. You need Terminal commands such as powermetrics (which shows thermal pressure) or a third-party app that reads the chip sensors.

What is a normal CPU temperature for an M1, M2, M3 or M4 Mac?

Roughly 30°C to 50°C idle and 50°C to 90°C under load. Apple does not publish exact limits, and the thermal pressure level reported by powermetrics is the better indicator of throttling.

Can I check temperature on an Intel Mac with these tools?

Not reliably. Tools that read Apple Silicon IOHID sensors do not show temperature on Intel Macs.