DisplayBuddy AlternativesScreen Dimmers and other similar apps like DisplayBuddy

DisplayBuddy is described as 'Lets you control external displays connected to your Mac right from your menu bar! No need to touch your clunky monitor buttons!' and is a Screen Dimmer in the system & hardware category. There are more than 10 alternatives to DisplayBuddy for a variety of platforms, including Mac, Windows, Linux, openSUSE and Python apps. The best DisplayBuddy alternative is Twinkle Tray, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like DisplayBuddy are MonitorControl, Monitorian, ddcutil and Brightintosh.

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DisplayBuddy alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Twinkle Tray icon
     43 likes
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    Twinkle Tray enables brightness control on external displays in Windows 10 & 11. Even th Windows is capable of adjusting the backlight on most monitors, it doesn't support external monitors natively.

    28 Twinkle Tray alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
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    1
    Comments about Twinkle Tray as an Alternative to DisplayBuddy
    anonymousaccounts
    Positive
    0

    Great except on my Dell S2721DGF the screen will go black after it wakes from sleep a lot of the time and will not respond until I fully pull the power plug to hard reset the monitor. Dev has no fix unfortunately.

    DisplayBuddy Icon
    Twinkle Tray icon
    • Twinkle Tray is the most popular Windows alternative to DisplayBuddy.

    • Twinkle Tray is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to DisplayBuddy.

    • Twinkle Tray is Free and Open SourceDisplayBuddy is Paid and Proprietary
    • Twinkle Tray is LightweightDisplayBuddy is not according to our users
  2. MonitorControl icon
     19 likes
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    🖥 Control your external monitor brightness & volume on your Mac.

    15 MonitorControl alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
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    1
    Comments about MonitorControl as an Alternative to DisplayBuddy
    st4334fv
    Positive
    -1

    It is free + has way more features than DisplayBuddy.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    DisplayBuddy Icon
    MonitorControl icon
    • MonitorControl is the most popular Mac alternative to DisplayBuddy.

    • MonitorControl is Free and Open SourceDisplayBuddy is Paid and Proprietary
  3.  2 likes
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    Most monitors, other than laptop displays, have a Virtual Control Panel (VCP), which implements features defined in the Montor Control Command Set (MCCS). Typically, ddcutil communicates with the monitor's VCP over an I2C bus, as per the Display Data Channel/Command...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
     
    • ddcutil is the most popular Linux alternative to DisplayBuddy.

    • ddcutil is Free and Open SourceDisplayBuddy is Paid and Proprietary
  4. Brightintosh icon
     4 likes
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    BrightIntosh is lightweight, works system-wide, has optional launch-at-login functionality and includes a global hotkey to toggle the extra brightness.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  5. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Windows implementation of the ddcutil Linux program for querying and changing monitor settings, such as brightness and color levels.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  6. Lunar icon
     7 likes
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    Intelligent adaptive brightness for your external display.

    15 Lunar alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  7. DDCcontrol icon
     2 likes
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    DDCcontrol is software for controlling monitor parameters such as brightness, contrast, and RGB color levels. It includes a command-line tool and a GUI tool.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • openSUSE
    • Fedora
    • Ubuntu
    • Debian
     
  8. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    The app lets you control the brightness of all your screens (both laptop and desktop) by a single click on a tray icon. Its look goes nicely with the system icons and it supports both light and dark mode.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  9. BetterDisplay icon
     3 likes
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    Unlock your displays on your Mac! Smooth scaling, HiDPI unlock, XDR/HDR extra brightness upscale, DDC, brightness and dimming, virtual screens, PIP and lots more!.

    16 BetterDisplay alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  10. QuickShade icon
     2 likes
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    A macOS app to quickly change the brightness of your Mac.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  11. TotalXDR icon
     1 like
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    TotalXDR is a macOS menubar app that removes the brightness limit of your MacBook Pro display and keeps XDR/HDR brightness always on.

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
    • TotalXDR is the most popular commercial alternative to DisplayBuddy.

    • TotalXDR is Paid and ProprietaryDisplayBuddy is also Paid and Proprietary
12 of 15 DisplayBuddy alternatives