BetterDisplay vs Twinkle Tray

BetterDisplay

• Controlling an external monitor's brightness, volume and input from the Mac
• Running scaled HiDPI resolutions on external displays
• Headless Macs that need a virtual screen for remote access
• Scripting display changes through the CLI or macOS Shortcuts

Twinkle Tray

• Windows desktop users who want to dim external monitors from the taskbar
• Multi-monitor setups whose screens differ in brightness
• People who script brightness changes or bind them to hotkeys

BetterDisplay

• macOS only. The current v5 release requires macOS 26.3 or later; older releases for earlier macOS versions are still listed for download.
• Flexible HiDPI scaling, XDR and HDR upscaling, Picture in Picture and display disconnection all need the $21.99 Pro license.
• Businesses must buy a Pro license to use any feature, free or Pro, beyond the 14-day trial.
• A license covers the current major version plus at least one year of updates; a later major version may need a new or upgrade license.

Twinkle Tray

• Windows 10 and Windows 11 only.
• Monitors must support DDC/CI, which can be switched off by default in a monitor's own menu; VGA and DVI connections may not be compatible.
• USB, Thunderbolt and Surface docks with HDMI or DisplayPort may not work, and the AMD Radeon Control Panel can interfere.
• The README warns that DDC/CI commands such as brightness and power state can make certain monitor models behave poorly.

BetterDisplay

DDC monitor control

Changes brightness, volume, contrast, input and power on external monitors over DDC, using sliders, the native keys or custom shortcuts. These controls are in the free feature set.

Flexible HiDPI scaling

Converts built-in and natively connected external displays to flexibly scaled HiDPI screens. The resolution slider is free; flexible scaling needs Pro.

XDR and HDR brightness upscaling

Raises brightness beyond the standard range, up to 1600 nits on XDR displays, with display-dependent boosts on external HDR screens. A Pro feature.

Virtual screens and Picture in Picture

Creates virtual screens with chosen aspect ratios and resolutions, and shows any display in a Picture in Picture window. Basic virtual screens are free; Picture in Picture and streaming need Pro.

Disconnect and configuration protection

Disconnects and reconnects displays without unplugging them, and protects a display's resolution, refresh rate, rotation and color profile from changing. Both need Pro.

CLI, Shortcuts and HTTP integration

Offers a command-line interface, macOS Shortcuts actions, a custom URL scheme and an HTTP interface. Access is free, but operations that change Pro features still need Pro.

Twinkle Tray

Brightness sliders in the tray

A system tray icon opens a flyout with a slider for each compatible monitor, similar to the Windows volume flyout. Sliders can move one display or all of them together.

Time-of-day and idle adjustments

Brightness can change automatically at set times of day, or when the computer has been idle.

Backlight normalization

Levels can be evened out across monitors of different models. Version 1.17.2 added calibration points for a custom brightness curve on each display.

Hotkeys

Keyboard shortcuts can be bound to raise or lower the brightness of a specific display or of all displays at once.

Other DDC/CI controls

Beyond brightness, the app can control DDC/CI features such as contrast, volume and power state, and the default slider can be swapped for a custom VCP code.

Command-line arguments

From version 1.13.0, a running copy accepts commands that list displays, set or offset brightness for one monitor or all, and send a specific VCP code.

BetterDisplay

• Free$0

  For non-business users: DDC brightness, volume and input control, software dimming, resolution slider, refresh rate selector and basic virtual screens.

• Pro License$21.99

  one-time purchase per license (€19.99), tax may apply

  All Pro features for the current major version on up to two personal Macs, with at least one year of updates including major upgrades.

Twinkle Tray

• Twinkle Tray$0

  All features, from the GitHub installer (which the site recommends), the Microsoft Store or winget. MIT licensed.

BetterDisplay

• Education

  25% student discount via Student App Centre

  The purchase guide says Student App Centre offers 25% off BetterDisplay through its membership, which has a seven-day free trial and then renews as a paid yearly subscription.

• Nonprofit

  Free features open to nonprofits

  The license terms do not treat nonprofits, charities, churches and similar entities as businesses, so they may use the free version without buying Pro.

• Other savings

  Volume licensing for 25 or more computers

  For deployments of 25 or more computers, the vendor asks businesses to contact the developer about volume licensing.

Twinkle Tray

No public discounts listed.