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ProcessActivityView vs FSMonitor: catalog facts
ProcessActivityView	FSMonitor
Best for: Seeing which files a specific Windows program touches	Best for: Developers and Mac admins who need to see what software changes on disk
Free Freeware from NirSoft, free to use and redistribute unmodified.	Paid Paid app with a free 14-day trial.
Windows	macOS, Command line
Per-file counts of opens, reads, writes and bytes Shows which DLL opened each file All 4 strengths for ProcessActivityView Per-file counts of opens, reads, writes and bytes Shows which DLL opened each file Can launch a process and trace it from the start Command-line options for scripted runs	Captures creations, deletions, renames and attribute changes Filtering by path, event type or process All 4 strengths for FSMonitor Captures creations, deletions, renames and attribute changes Filtering by path, event type or process Export to JSON or plain text Command-line tool for automation
The published requirements list versions through Windows 8 Injects a DLL into the inspected process All 3 limitations for ProcessActivityView The published requirements list versions through Windows 8 Injects a DLL into the inspected process Separate builds are needed for 32-bit and 64-bit targets	macOS only Paid after the trial
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Not open source	Not open source
License: Freeware	License not stated
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for ProcessActivityView nirsoft.net/utils/process_activity_view.html Catalog checked October 8, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for FSMonitor fsmonitor.com Catalog checked October 2, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.