Live rates and session totals
See current upload and download rates, plus current-session upload and download totals, for each application or service shown.
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Native macOS menu-bar utility
Bandwidth Beacon
Live network activity in your menu bar, now with optional Per-App Network Insights.
Bandwidth Beacon keeps live download and upload activity visible in your Mac's menu bar. Open the expanded panel for a combined 30-minute graph, session totals, and optional visibility into which applications and services are using the connection.
It measures actual activity through the active routed network interface without deliberately generating traditional speed-test downloads or uploads.
Optional Per-App Network Insights
See what's using your network
Per-App Network Insights is now available in Bandwidth Beacon. This optional feature shows live upload and download activity by application, helper, or system service. It is off until you enable it and approve its one-time macOS setup.
Search and sort
Search by application name and sort the list by upload, download, recent activity, or name.
Friendly process identification
Recognise applications, helpers, shared web processes, system services, and command-line tools through clear, friendly classifications.
Shared processes shown honestly
Some applications use shared networking processes. When macOS cannot reliably identify the parent application, Bandwidth Beacon displays the shared process rather than guessing. Web Activity may represent Safari or another WebKit-based application.
Optional from start to finish
Enable the feature with a one-time macOS approval, disable it at any time, or leave it off. Ordinary Bandwidth Beacon monitoring continues to work without it.
Measurements stay on your computer
Apple's Network Extension framework provides aggregate traffic statistics and local application or process identity. Bandwidth Beacon processes that information locally and does not transmit measurements to Stephen Kavazos, SKAV Digital, or third parties.
No content inspection
Per-App Network Insights does not inspect packet contents, websites, domains, URLs, filenames, or transferred file contents. It does not collect browsing history or network credentials.
Insight without traffic control
Its pass-through content-filter provider always allows all traffic. The feature does not block, pause, redirect, proxy, tunnel, or modify traffic, DNS, or routing. It is not a VPN, firewall, antivirus product, malware scanner, or packet analyser.
At a glance
Clear readings without the clutter
Choose how Bandwidth Beacon looks and how often it updates, while its expanded panel remains responsive and scrollable when space is limited.
Live menu-bar readings
See current download and upload activity in a compact menu-bar display, with an optional download-only mode.
Mbps or MB/s
Select megabits per second or megabytes per second to suit the way you prefer to read network activity.
Control the presentation
Choose a 1, 2, or 5-second update interval and instantaneous, 3-second, or 5-second smoothing for steadier readings.
Thirty-minute graph
Follow separate download and upload lines in a combined rolling 30-minute view of the current app session.
Session statistics
Review peak rates and the total downloaded and uploaded since the current session began.
Fits your Mac
Use Launch at Login, Light or Dark appearances, optional colour accents, and a fixed-width menu-bar layout.
Light and Dark Mode
Clear in either appearance
Bandwidth Beacon follows your Mac's appearance while keeping download, upload, graph, session, and settings information easy to distinguish.
Cyan and purple accents keep download and upload activity distinct against the dark interface.
The same live readings and controls adapt to the Mac's lighter appearance.
Existing network monitoring
Whole-interface activity through your Mac's active route
For ordinary whole-interface monitoring, Bandwidth Beacon reads aggregate byte counters made available by macOS for the active routed network interface, such as Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or USB Ethernet. It measures traffic passing through that selected interface.
That can include internet transfers, local network and NAS transfers, traffic between computers, application background activity, and protocol overhead.
No test files
No speed-test servers
No content inspection
Current activity and history
See what is happening now and across the session
Live readings and smoothing
View download and upload rates in Mbps or MB/s. Instantaneous presentation reacts quickly, while three-second or five-second smoothing averages recent samples for steadier display.
Sampling and presentation are separate
Update Interval selects 1, 2, or 5-second sampling. Display Smoothing selects instantaneous, 3-second, or 5-second presentation.
Thirty-minute graph
Separate download and upload lines show combined recent activity, while session peak rates help put the current reading in context.
Session totals
See the total amount downloaded and uploaded during the current app session. Graph history and session measurements remain local to the Mac.
Menu-bar flexibility
A compact display that stays readable
Show both download and upload activity or keep only the download reading visible. A fixed-width layout helps prevent neighbouring menu-bar icons from shifting as the figures change. Choose your preferred unit and start Bandwidth Beacon automatically with Launch at Login.
Privacy first
Your measurements stay on your Mac
Bandwidth Beacon needs no account and includes no advertising, third-party analytics, telemetry, or behavioural tracking. Overall and optional per-app measurements are not sent to Stephen Kavazos, SKAV Digital, or third parties.
It does not inspect packet contents, websites, domains, URLs, filenames, or transferred file contents, and it does not collect browsing history or network credentials. Temporary graph history and session measurements are maintained locally for the current app session.
No account
No cloud storage
No telemetry
Local networks
Local transfers can appear too
Bandwidth Beacon can display local transfers when they pass through the active monitored Wi-Fi or Ethernet interface, including some NAS and computer-to-computer transfers.
Traffic may not appear when it stays entirely within the same Mac, uses an excluded internal Apple interface, travels through a different interface from the selected active route, or uses some AirDrop, VPN, or virtual-interface configurations.
Understanding the figures
Why readings may differ from Speedtest
Bandwidth Beacon measures network-interface throughput. A browser speed test usually measures application-level payload throughput over its own averaging window.
Protocol overhead, background activity, smoothing, sampling timing, browser activity, VPN behaviour, and local network traffic can all affect the comparison. A difference does not necessarily mean either result is wrong.
Requirements and pricing
Available as a one-time purchase
System requirements
- The current released version requires macOS 15.6 or later
- Normal Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections
- Mac menu-bar application
- No separate account required
Available on the Mac App Store
One-time purchase
- No subscription
- No in-app purchases
- No advertising
Frequently asked questions
Helpful details before you begin
Is Bandwidth Beacon an internet speed test?
No. It observes activity through the Mac's active network interface. It does not deliberately transfer test files or contact speed-test servers.
Does it use extra internet data?
Bandwidth Beacon does not generate speed-test traffic. Its ordinary whole-interface monitoring reads aggregate byte counters that macOS already makes available, though normal app and system traffic continues as usual.
Does it measure local network transfers?
Yes, when a local transfer passes through the monitored active interface. Some internal, AirDrop, VPN, or virtual-interface traffic may not appear.
Does it work with Wi-Fi and Ethernet?
Yes. It is designed for normal Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and USB Ethernet connections and follows the Mac's selected active route.
Why can its reading differ from Speedtest?
The tools measure at different levels and may use different averaging windows. Protocol overhead, other activity, smoothing, timing, VPNs, and local transfers can affect the comparison.
Does it collect or send my network data?
No measurements are sent to Stephen Kavazos, SKAV Digital, or third parties. The app does not inspect packet contents, websites, domains, URLs, filenames, or transferred file contents, and it does not collect browsing history or network credentials.
Do I have to enable Per-App Network Insights?
No. It is off until you enable it, requires a one-time macOS approval, and can be disabled at any time. Ordinary whole-interface monitoring continues without it.
Does Per-App Network Insights control my traffic?
No. All traffic is always allowed. It does not block, pause, redirect, proxy, tunnel, or modify traffic, DNS, or routing, and it is not a VPN or firewall.
Can I display only the download speed?
Yes. You can choose the standard download-and-upload layout or an optional download-only menu-bar display.
What do Mbps and MB/s mean?
Mbps means megabits per second. MB/s means megabytes per second. One byte contains eight bits, so the numerical values use different scales for the same activity.
Does it work through a VPN?
It may show VPN-related traffic, but results depend on the VPN and interface configuration. Some virtual-interface traffic may not appear or may be represented differently.
What happens when the Mac sleeps or changes networks?
Readings pause when network activity is unavailable. After waking or changing networks, the app resumes using the active routed interface; the displayed rate may briefly settle as new samples arrive.
About Bandwidth Beacon
Live network activity made easy to understand
Bandwidth Beacon is a lightweight Mac menu-bar utility created to make live network activity easy to understand. It monitors the Mac's active network interface and presents current rates, recent history, and session statistics in a compact native interface. The current release includes optional Per-App Network Insights for application and service activity.
Bandwidth Beacon is developed by Stephen Kavazos under the SKAV Digital software brand.