Network monitor for Mac
The network monitor for Mac that shows where the problem is
PeakHour watches your connection from your Mac to your router, your ISP and the wider internet, all the time. When something slows down or drops, you see where and when it happened.
Free to download, with a free trial. Requires macOS 14.6 or later.
Activity Monitor is a snapshot. PeakHour is a monitor.
macOS already includes Activity Monitor. Its Network tab lists how much data each app has sent and received since you last restarted. That's useful for a quick check, but it stops there: it doesn't keep history, doesn't measure latency or packet loss, can't see your router or ISP, and won't tell you when your internet goes down.
| Capability | Activity Monitor | PeakHour |
|---|---|---|
| Live bandwidth | This Mac only | This Mac, your router, and other devices on your network |
| Latency, jitter, packet loss | — | Per hop: router, ISP, internet |
| Outage alerts | — | Notified when it drops and when it's back |
| History | Since last restart | Long-term bandwidth, latency and downtime charts |
| Menu bar | — | Live speed, latency and status |
See the whole path, not just your Mac
Most slowdowns aren't caused by your Mac. PeakHour's Internet Dashboard lays out every step between your Mac and the internet, including Wi-Fi, your router, your ISP's gateway and the hosts beyond it, and measures each one live. Latency-coloured connection lines show where things go wrong, whether it's weak Wi-Fi, a congested router or trouble at your ISP.
An internet connection monitor that tells you when it drops
PeakHour pings your router, your ISP and internet hosts continuously and measures latency, jitter and packet loss on each. If your connection drops, you get a notification straight away, and another when it comes back, so you know how long it lasted. Critical alerts can break through Focus modes when you need them to.
It recovers on its own, too. PeakHour falls back to TCP and HTTP probes when ping is blocked, and it picks back up after sleep, Wi-Fi changes and outages without you touching it.
Always in your menu bar
Live upload and download speed, latency and connection status sit in your menu bar, and you can split them into separate items. PeakHour works with Bartender and Ice. Click once for the full dashboard or to run a speed test.
History that proves it
Intermittent problems are hard to explain to an ISP. PeakHour keeps long-term bandwidth, latency and downtime history, so you can point to the exact nights your connection dropped or the hours latency spiked.
A plain-English second opinion
The on-device AI Network Advisor grades your connection with a letter score and explains what's wrong in plain language, such as "packet loss is starting at your ISP, not your Wi-Fi". It's built with Apple Intelligence and runs on your Mac.
What PeakHour can monitor
- Your internet connection: latency, jitter and packet loss to your router, ISP and any internet host.
- Your router's bandwidth: live throughput and data usage from routers that support UPnP or SNMP. Most home routers support UPnP. See therouter & ISP monitor.
- Other devices: Macs, Windows and Linux PCs, NAS boxes, firewalls, switches and access points that support SNMP. PeakHour Enabler sets up other Macs for you.
- This Mac: its own network interfaces, with no router support needed.
- Speed tests that include Apple's RPM responsiveness score, on demand or on a schedule.
PeakHour measures throughput by device and interface. It isn't a packet sniffer and doesn't break traffic down by app or website. For bandwidth and data caps, see thebandwidth & data usage monitor for Mac.
Frequently asked questions
How do I monitor network activity on my Mac?
Open Activity Monitor (Applications → Utilities) and choose the Network tab to see data sent and received by each app since your last restart. For continuous monitoring with history, latency, packet loss and outage alerts, install a network monitor app such as PeakHour from the Mac App Store.
What is the best network monitor for Mac?
It depends on what you need to see. For per-app firewall-style control, Little Snitch is the usual choice. To monitor your internet connection, Wi-Fi, router and ISP over time, with bandwidth, latency, packet loss, outage alerts and history, PeakHour is built specifically for that and runs natively in the macOS menu bar.
How can I monitor my internet connection for drops?
Use a monitor that checks your connection continuously and logs outages. PeakHour pings your router, your ISP and internet hosts around the clock, notifies you the moment the connection drops and again when it's restored, and keeps a downtime history you can show your ISP.
Can PeakHour tell whether the problem is my Wi-Fi, my router or my ISP?
Yes. PeakHour measures latency and packet loss separately for each hop between your Mac and the internet. If the losses start at your ISP's gateway rather than at your router, the Internet Dashboard shows that, and the AI Network Advisor explains it in plain language.
Does PeakHour show which apps are using my network?
No. PeakHour measures throughput for your Mac, your router and other network devices, plus latency and packet loss. For a per-app view, use Activity Monitor's Network tab alongside it.
Is PeakHour free?
PeakHour is free to download from the Mac App Store and includes a free trial. After that, it's $19.99 a year or a one-time purchase of $59.99.
What macOS version does PeakHour need?
macOS 14.6 Sonoma or later, on Apple silicon or Intel Macs.