Guide

How to show FPS in any game — every way that works in 2026

You don't need to install anything sketchy to see your frame rate. Windows gamers have four solid free options, one paid power tool, and one newcomer focused on looks. Here's each one, honestly: how to turn it on, what it shows, and where it falls short.

UPDATED JULY 2026 · 6 MIN READ

01Pulse — the one that's designed to be looked at

FREE OPEN BETA COMING · ANY GPU · THE GOOD-LOOKING ONE

Full disclosure: this one is ours. Every option below puts plain grey text on top of a rig you spent real money on — Pulse is an FPS + hardware overlay that's actually designed. Pick a skin that fits your setup (clean mono, retro CRT, competitive cyan...), see FPS, 1% lows, temps and load in a layout made for a half-second glance, and get a clean shareable recap card when your session ends — average FPS, peak temps, playtime. No other overlay does the recap.

The catch: it's not out yet — the free open beta is in development. If you need a counter right now, use one of the five below. If you want the one that looks right, the waitlist gets you in first.
Join the free beta waitlist

02Steam's built-in FPS counter

FREE · ANY GPU · STEAM GAMES ONLY
  1. Open Steam → Settings → In Game
  2. Find In-game Overlay Performance Monitor
  3. Pick a detail level (1 = just FPS, 4 = FPS + CPU/GPU/RAM) and a corner

That's it — it shows in every game you launch through Steam. Higher detail levels add CPU and GPU usage, GPU temperature and RAM. It can even tell real rendered frames apart from AI-generated ones (DLSS/FSR frame generation), which almost nothing else does.

The catch: it only works for games launched through Steam, it doesn't show CPU temperature, and it's the plainest-looking of the bunch — grey text, two color choices, zero styling.

03The NVIDIA App overlay

FREE · NVIDIA GPUs ONLY
  1. Install the NVIDIA App (replaced GeForce Experience)
  2. Settings → enable the In-Game Overlay
  3. Press Alt+R in game to toggle the stats overlay

Shows FPS, frame-rate percentiles, GPU temperature and usage, CPU usage, and render latency — genuinely useful numbers, and the cleanest-looking of the free options since its redesign.

The catch: NVIDIA cards only, and it still won't show CPU temperature or RAM usage — the most-requested missing numbers. Styling is take-it-or-leave-it grey.

04AMD Adrenalin metrics overlay

FREE · AMD GPUs ONLY
  1. Open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition → Performance tab
  2. Under Metrics, toggle Show Metrics Overlay (or press Ctrl+Shift+O)

Strong on GPU numbers: FPS, frame time, GPU temperature and hotspot temperature, fan speed, power draw, VRAM, CPU usage and RAM. You can change text color and size.

The catch: AMD cards only, no CPU temperature, and it's a plain text block — configurable, not designed.

05RTSS + MSI Afterburner — the classic

FREE · ANY GPU · POWER-USER SETUP

The tool benchmarkers use. Install MSI Afterburner (RTSS comes bundled), then in Afterburner's Monitoring tab, tick every sensor you want and enable "Show in On-Screen Display" for each one, one at a time.

It can show basically everything — FPS, 1% lows, frametime graphs, per-core CPU data, voltages, clocks — on any GPU, in any game.

The catch: it's two programs, the setup is a wall of checkboxes, and the default overlay is plain colored text from another era. Making it look nice means hunting down community skins and editing them yourself. Powerful, not pleasant.

06FPS Monitor — the paid power tool

$9.95 ONE-TIME · ANY GPU · BUILD-IT-YOURSELF

The main paid option out there. FPS Monitor can track 40+ sensors and lets you customize everything — fonts, colors, sizes, even add your own images — through a built-in overlay editor, with saved layouts you can switch between.

The catch: for $9.95, you're the designer. It hands you an editor and a dated default, and making it look good is your job — think "easier RTSS," not "looks great out of the box." If you enjoy building layouts, it's capable. If you just want it to look right when you press play, that's not what you're buying.
TL;DR — which one should you use?
FastestSteam's counter — on in 30 seconds, works on any GPU, Steam games only
NVIDIA cardNVIDIA App overlay — cleanest free look, includes latency
AMD cardAdrenalin overlay — best GPU thermal detail
Maximum dataRTSS + Afterburner — everything, if you'll tolerate the setup
Paid, DIY lookFPS Monitor — $9.95, 40+ sensors, but you design the overlay yourself
Looks matterPulse (option 01) — the only one designed to be looked at. Free beta waitlist ↓
Made it this far?

Pulse — for people who care what it looks like

The free counters above all work. They also all look like debug text. Pulse is the overlay that's actually designed — pick a skin that fits your setup, play, and get a clean shareable recap card when your session ends. Works on any GPU.

The open beta is free — waitlist members get it first, plus the first skin pack free at launch.

Join the free beta waitlist