Best Alternatives to WhoIsCooking in 2025
WhoIsCooking is a focused Mac menu bar utility that answers a very specific question: which AI coding agent is driving up your Apple Silicon chip temperature, and how do you cool it down without stopping work? At a one-time $5, it is a niche tool for developers running Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and similar agents locally. If you want broader system monitoring, process-level control, or cross-platform support, these alternatives are worth considering.
iStat Menus
The most comprehensive Mac system monitor in the menu bar, covering CPU, GPU, temperature sensors, fans, memory, disk, and network. It gives you the raw thermal data WhoIsCooking surfaces, but you will need to correlate spikes to AI agents yourself. Best for users who want deep telemetry across the whole system rather than an AI-agent-specific view.
Stats
A free, open-source menu bar monitor for macOS with CPU, GPU, memory, disk, network, and sensor readouts. It is a strong no-cost substitute for the temperature-visibility half of WhoIsCooking, though it lacks agent identification and the one-click efficiency-core migration feature.
TG Pro
Specializes in temperature monitoring and fan control on Macs, with detailed sensor graphs and custom fan curves. If your goal is actively cooling the machine rather than identifying which agent is responsible, TG Pro offers more direct thermal management, especially on Intel and fan-equipped Apple Silicon models.
App Tamer
A long-standing Mac utility that throttles CPU-hungry background apps and can move processes to efficiency cores automatically. It overlaps with WhoIsCooking's core cooling mechanic but works at the app level rather than identifying specific AI agents, making it better for general background-process management.
Activity Monitor
Apple's built-in tool shows CPU usage per process and includes an energy impact column, so you can spot a runaway Claude Code or Codex process without paying anything. It lacks menu bar temperature display and one-click core migration, but it is the zero-install baseline every Mac user already has.
asitop
An open-source command-line tool built on Apple's powermetrics that shows CPU, GPU, and ANE power and thermal pressure on Apple Silicon. It appeals to terminal-centric developers who want precise efficiency-core versus performance-core utilization data, though it requires sudo and offers no menu bar UI or agent labeling.
CleanMyMac (Menu app)
Includes a menu bar monitor with CPU, memory, and temperature views plus one-click optimization features. It is a broader maintenance suite rather than an AI-agent thermal tool, but users who want an all-in-one Mac utility with some cooling controls may find it a convenient, if heavier, substitute.
WhoIsCooking wins on specificity: it names the AI agent heating your Mac and moves it to efficiency cores in one click for a flat $5. Choose iStat Menus or Stats for richer general telemetry, TG Pro or App Tamer for stronger active cooling and throttling, Activity Monitor or asitop for free and terminal-friendly options, and CleanMyMac if you prefer an all-in-one suite. If your main pain point is AI agents specifically, none of these replicate WhoIsCooking's agent-aware workflow exactly.