How to Open the Performance Monitor in Windows 11

Option One

Open Performance Monitor from Windows Search

This is the quickest method for most people, and the one I use daily.

1. Press Win+S to open Windows Search, or open the Start menu⊞. A search box🔍 appears.
2. Type perfmon into the search🔍 box. Performance Monitor should appear as the top result.
3. Click Open, or press Enter. The Performance Monitor window opens, with a live graph of processor activity in the middle of the window.

If you want to run it as administrator, right-click the result and choose Run as administrator instead.

Option Two

Open Performance Monitor from Task Manager

This method is handy when your PC is slow and the Start menu is not responding well. Task Manager usually still opens.

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager📊.
2. Click Run new task on the command bar at the top. A Create new task box appears.
3. Type perfmon in the Open field, then click OK. Performance Monitor opens.

If you need administrator rights, tick Create this task with administrative privileges in the same box before you click OK.

Option Three

Open Performance Monitor from Windows Tools

Windows Tools is a folder that collects the administrative utilities in one place, so you don’t need to remember any command.

1. Open Windows Tools. The quickest way is to click Start⊞, select All apps, and choose Windows Tools from the list. You can also search for Windows Tools. A File Explorer📁-style window opens, listing the tools.
2. Double-click Performance Monitor. The tool opens.

The entries are sorted alphabetically, so Performance Monitor sits near the middle of the list.

Option Four

Open Performance Monitor from Run

If you like keyboard shortcuts, this is the fastest route.

1. Press Win+R to open the Run dialog.
2. Type perfmon in the Open box.
3. Click OK, or press Enter. Performance Monitor opens.

If you press Ctrl+Shift+Enter instead of Enter, Windows will try to start it with administrator rights.

Option Five

Open Performance Monitor from System Configuration (msconfig)

This is a roundabout way to get there, but it works. It is useful if you already have msconfig open while troubleshooting startup problems.

1. Open System Configuration. Press Win+R, type msconfig, and press Enter. The System Configuration window opens.
2. Click the Tools tab. You will see a list of Windows utilities.
3. Select Performance Monitor in the list.
4. Click the Launch button. Performance Monitor opens in its own window.
5. Click OK to close msconfig.

Option Six

Open Performance Monitor from Command Line

This works the same in PowerShell and in Command Prompt, so use whichever you prefer.

1. Open Terminal. Right-click the Start button⊞ and select Terminal. Then pick either Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt from the tab dropdown, or just use the profile that opens by default.
2. Type perfmon into Terminal, and press Enter. The Performance Monitor window opens, and the prompt returns to you.

For administrator rights, open Terminal as administrator first (right-click Start and select Terminal (Admin)), then run the same command.

That’s it. Once the window is open, Performance Monitor under Monitoring Tools in the left pane shows the live chart. Use the green + button on the toolbar to add more counters, such as memory or disk.

Summary

This tutorial covers six simple ways to open the Performance Monitor tool in Windows 11, ranging from using Windows Search and the Run dialog to Task Manager, Windows Tools, System Configuration, and the command line.