How to Check GPU Usage on a Mac
To check GPU usage on a Mac, open Activity Monitor and choose Window › GPU History (⌘4) for a live graph of each GPU. For per-app numbers, use the CPU tab’s % GPU and GPU Time columns. For exact utilisation, frequency and power, run sudo powermetrics --samplers gpu_power -i 1000 -n 5 in Terminal.
TL;DR
| Want | Use | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| A quick graph | Activity Monitor › Window › GPU History (⌘4) | Built in |
| Which app | Activity Monitor › CPU tab › % GPU column | Built in |
| Exact %, MHz, watts | sudo powermetrics --samplers gpu_power | Built in |
| Always visible | A menu bar monitor such as FavTray System | FavTray’s GPU glance is free |
How do you check GPU usage in Activity Monitor?
The graph: open Activity Monitor (Spotlight, then “Activity Monitor”) and choose Window › GPU History, or press ⌘4. You get a scrolling history for each GPU in your Mac. Apple’s guide suggests checking it “if your Mac feels hot or the battery drains quickly”. It’s a shape, not a number, so use it to spot spikes.
Per app: in the CPU tab, find the % GPU and GPU Time columns. If they’re hidden, right-click any column header and tick them.
- % GPU is the share of the GPU a process is using right now. Click the header to sort.
- GPU Time is how much GPU time the process has used since it launched. It shows which app has been heavy over the day, not just this second.
On Macs with two GPUs (some Intel MacBook Pros), the Energy tab’s Graphics Card column shows which apps force the high-performance GPU on.
How do you check GPU usage in Terminal?
powermetrics is Apple’s built-in power sampler. It needs sudo:
sudo powermetrics --samplers gpu_power -i 1000 -n 5--samplers gpu_powerlimits it to the GPU.-i 1000samples every 1,000 ms;-n 5stops after five samples (leave it out and press Ctrl+C to stop).
On Apple silicon each sample includes the GPU’s active residency (how busy it was, as a percentage), its frequency, and GPU power in milliwatts. The exact fields vary by chip.
A few other useful commands:
system_profiler SPDisplaysDataType # GPU model, cores and connected displays
pmset -g therm # thermal warnings macOS has recordedWhy is my Mac’s GPU usage high?
Common reasons, roughly in order:
- An external display, especially a high-resolution or high-refresh one, or several at once.
- Browser tabs with video, WebGL, animated ads or a stuck canvas. Check the browser’s own task manager.
- Video calls with background blur or effects.
- Creative and ML work: video export, 3D, games, local AI models.
- WindowServer is macOS drawing the screen. It always shows some GPU use and climbs with more displays and more transparency.
If the GPU is busy while you’re doing nothing, sort by % GPU and quit the top app to see if it drops.
How much GPU memory does an Apple silicon Mac have?
There’s no separate video memory. Apple silicon Macs use unified memory: the CPU and GPU share the same RAM, so the GPU can use a large part of it. Metal gives each Mac a recommended working set size, the amount the GPU should use for best performance, and that’s the most useful “VRAM” figure on these Macs. If memory is tight, the Memory tab in Activity Monitor tells you more than any GPU number.
How do you monitor GPU usage from the menu bar?
FavTray’s System tool has a GPU section with:
- GPU load and the GPU memory in use.
- The Metal device, its GPU family and its recommended working set.
- The app using the GPU most right now. Per-app GPU time is available on Apple silicon Macs.
- 1-hour and 24-hour history.
You can put GPU load in the menu bar next to CPU and memory, and the Thermal section shows the thermal state macOS reports with today’s minutes in each state. FavTray doesn’t show GPU temperature or GPU watts, because macOS doesn’t give apps a reliable public source for them.
Free vs Pro: the GPU glance, including the top app, is free. Pro, a one-time Lifetime licence, lists every app on the GPU, keeps 7-day and 30-day history, and adds alerts such as thermal throttling. If you only want a system monitor, compare the options in Stats vs iStat Menus vs FavTray.
Sources (checked 28 September 2026): Apple’s Activity Monitor User Guide: View GPU activity and View energy consumption; man powermetrics on macOS 26.6.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check GPU usage on a Mac?
Open Activity Monitor and choose Window › GPU History (Command-4) for a live graph of each GPU. For per-app numbers, go to the CPU tab and look at the % GPU and GPU Time columns; right-click a column header to add them if they're hidden. For exact figures, run sudo powermetrics --samplers gpu_power -i 1000 -n 5 in Terminal.
Can I see which app is using the GPU on a Mac?
Yes. Activity Monitor's CPU tab has a % GPU column for each process, and GPU Time for how much GPU time it has used since it started. Sort by % GPU to see the heaviest app. WindowServer, which draws the screen, always uses some.
How much GPU memory does my Mac have?
Apple silicon Macs have no separate video memory. The CPU and GPU share unified memory, so the GPU can use a large part of your total RAM. macOS sets a recommended working-set size for the GPU, which you can see in apps that read it from Metal, such as FavTray's System GPU section. Intel Macs with a discrete GPU list its VRAM in System Information › Graphics/Displays.
Is high GPU usage on a Mac bad?
Not by itself. Games, video export, 3D, machine learning and even an external high-resolution display use the GPU heavily. It's worth looking into when the Mac is hot, the battery drains fast, or GPU use stays high while you aren't doing anything, which usually points to a browser tab, a stuck animation or a background app.
Can I see GPU temperature on an Apple silicon Mac?
Not with Apple's tools. macOS doesn't expose a GPU temperature in Activity Monitor, and powermetrics reports GPU power and frequency rather than temperature. macOS does report an overall thermal state, which you can check with pmset -g therm or in a monitor such as FavTray's System › Thermal section.