Shady Alternatives

Shady is described as 'Puts a shade over your screen to help soothe your tired or dazzled eyes. You can use it to reduce your Mac's brightness far below the usual minimum, without any risk of damage to your screen' and is an app. There are more than 25 alternatives to Shady for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and Android Tablet apps. The best Shady alternative is f.lux, which is free. Other great apps like Shady are Redshift, LightBulb, Red Moon and BlinkMore.

Shady iconShady
  5
  • FreeOpen Source
  • ...

Shady puts a shade over your screen to help soothe your tired or dazzled eyes. You can use it to reduce your Mac's...

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Shady alternatives page was last updated Mar 27, 2025
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  1. f.lux icon
     962 likes
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    Software that makes the color of your computer's display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.

    57 f.lux alternatives

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Blue light filter
    2.  Color temperature modes
    3.  Time Scheduling
    4.  Colour control
    5.  Color Temperature
    6.  Simple installation
    7.  No registration required
    8.  Ad-free
    9.  Dark Mode
    10.  Backlight brightness control
    11.  Reduce Eyestrain
    12.  Display Management

    f.lux VS Shady

     
    • f.lux is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Shady.

    • f.lux is the most popular free alternative to Shady.

    • f.lux is Free and ProprietaryShady is Free and Open Source
    • f.lux is LightweightShady is not according to our users
  2. Redshift icon
     256 likes
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    Redshift adjusts the color temperature according to the position of the sun. A different color temperature is set during night and daytime.

    48 Redshift alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Country of Origin

    • DK flagDenmark
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Discontinued

    No longer working on modern systems, and no longer updated.

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Blue light filter
    2.  Color correction
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Command line interface
    5.  Portable
    6.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  Display Management
    9.  Cross-Platform
    10.  Fedora Repository
    11.  Debian package compatible
    12.  System management

    Redshift VS Shady

     
    • Redshift is the most popular Open Source alternative to Shady.

    • Redshift is Free and Open SourceShady is also Free and Open Source
    • Redshift is LightweightShady is not according to our users
  3. LightBulb icon
     104 likes
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    Background application that adjusts screen gamma, making the colors appear warmer at night, reducing strain on your eyes.

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Windows

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Customizable
    3.  Optimal performance
    4.  Configurable

    Features

    1.  Color Temperature
    2.  Blue light filter
    3.  Portable
    4.  Support for Hotkeys
    5.  Automatic Lighting Control
    6.  Fullscreen Pause
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  Dark Mode
    9.  Application Whitelist
    10.  Color correction
    11.  Auto Update
    12.  Graphical User Interface

    LightBulb VS Shady

     
  4. Red Moon icon
     50 likes
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    The app is free on F-Droid and on GitHub but you can buy it on the Google Play Store to support the developer.

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Country of Origin

    • International

    Platforms

    • Android
    • F-Droid

    Red Moon Features

    1.  No Tracking
    2.  Time Scheduling
    3.  Automatic brightness dimming
    4.  Color correction
    5.  Blue light filter

    Red Moon VS Shady

     
    • Red Moon is the most popular Android alternative to Shady.

    • Red Moon is Free and Open SourceShady is also Free and Open Source
  5. BlinkMore icon
     3 likes
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    BlinkMoreFree is an open source macOS menu bar application that helps reduce eye strain by fading your screen when you stare at it for too long without blinking. Using automated eye-tracking and customized settings to encourage you to blink more.

    License model

    • FreemiumOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  No Tracking
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Works Offline
    4.  No registration required
    5.  Sits in the MenuBar
    6.  Reduce Eyestrain

    BlinkMore VS Shady

     
  6. RedshiftGUI icon
     91 likes
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    RedshiftGUI changes the color temperature of your monitor to better match that of your surrounding. This means that it sets a cooler color temperature during the daytime (due to natural lighting) and sets a warmer temperature at night (due to indoor lighting). Similar to f.

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • CN flagChina

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Discontinued

    The project seems to be no longer developed. Last version, 0.2.4, released in August 2014, can be still downloaded from GitHub.

    RedshiftGUI Features

    1.  Color management
    2.  Reduce Eyestrain

    RedshiftGUI VS Shady

     
  7. Dimmer icon
     29 likes
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    Adjust the brightness of all monitors, screens and displays.

    60 Dimmer alternatives

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • PT flagPortugal
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows

    Dimmer Features

    1.  Adjusting brightness
    2.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    3.  Dims background windows
    4.  Portable
    5.  Automatic brightness dimming

    Dimmer VS Shady

     
  8. PangoBright icon
     18 likes
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    Screen dimming software that allows you to control the brightness of your screens as well as external monitors.

    53 PangoBright alternatives

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows

    PangoBright Features

    1.  Dimmer
    2.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    3.  Portable
    4.  Dark Mode

    PangoBright VS Shady

     
  9. Twilight icon
     54 likes
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    The app filters the blue spectrum on your phone or tablet after sunset and protects your eyes with a red filter. The filter intensity is smoothly adjusted to the sun cycle based on your local sunset and sunrise times.

    42 Twilight alternatives

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Android

    Twilight Features

    1.  Dark Mode
    2.  Color correction
    3.  Blue light filter
    4.  Display Management
    5.  Automatic brightness dimming

    Twilight VS Shady

     
  10. Gammy icon
     23 likes
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    Adaptive screen brightness and temperature for Windows and Linux.

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Country of Origin

    • International

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Discontinued

    The project is no longer being worked on and the repository has been archived

    Gammy Features

    1.  Automatic brightness dimming
    2.  Backlight brightness control
    3.  Blue light filter
    4.  Automatic Lighting Control
    5.  Graphical User Interface
    6.  Color correction

    Gammy VS Shady

     
  11. Iris mini icon
     18 likes
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    Enjoy free cross-platform blue light reduction and PWM flicker-free brightness control with Iris mini. Minimalistic design, portable, and automatic for no-hassle, eyestrain-relief across all devices. Simply double-click to activate, perfect for every lighting condition.

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • BG flagBulgaria
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Iris mini Features

    1.  Blue light filter

    Iris mini VS Shady

     
  12. SunsetScreen icon
     34 likes
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    Whether you're a morning lark or night owl, SunsetScreen allows you to set the time of the sunset and sunrise, so you can have full control over your sleep cycle.

    License model

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Windows

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Customizable shortcuts
    3.  Display Management
    4.  Temperature Monitoring
    5.  Reduce Eyestrain
    6.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts

    SunsetScreen VS Shady

     
    • SunsetScreen is the most popular commercial alternative to Shady.

    • SunsetScreen is Paid and ProprietaryShady is Free and Open Source
    • SunsetScreen is LightweightShady is not according to our users
12 of 47 Shady alternatives