DisplayFusion vs Twinkle Tray

DisplayFusion

• Windows users working across two or more monitors
• Ultrawide owners who want to split one screen into virtual monitors
• IT teams deploying one license key across a site with MSI and ADMX templates

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

DisplayFusion

• Windows only: the current version needs Windows 11, Windows 10 (1607 or higher) or Windows Server 2016, 2019 or 2022.
• The Free version is licensed for personal use only; company use needs a Pro license.
• Multi-monitor taskbars, Monitor Profiles, monitor splitting, Triggers, monitor fading and Window Position Profiles are Pro features.
• The vendor notes that full-screen videos and games cannot currently be constrained to monitor splits.

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.

DisplayFusion

Multi-monitor taskbars

Pro adds a taskbar to every monitor, showing all windows or only those on that monitor, with button grouping, pinned items, a clock and system tray icons.

Wallpaper per monitor

Sets a different image on each monitor or spans one across several, from local files or online sources. Wallpaper Profiles and random image rotation need Pro.

Monitor configuration and splitting

Sets resolution, colour depth, refresh rate and orientation. Pro saves Monitor Profiles and splits a monitor into smaller virtual monitors, with padding for bezel compensation.

Functions and TitleBar Buttons

More than 30 pre-configured Functions move, size and span windows from key combinations or extra title bar buttons. Custom Functions and C# or VB.net scripted ones need Pro.

Triggers

Pro listens for events such as window creation, window focus, desktop unlock or system idle, then moves or resizes the window, shows a notification or runs a Function.

Window profiles and remote control

Pro saves and reloads window layouts as Window Position Profiles, and can be controlled from an iPhone, iPad or Android device to change wallpaper or toggle monitors.

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.

DisplayFusion

• Free$0

  Personal use only. Per-monitor wallpaper, monitor configuration, TitleBar Buttons, key combinations and window snapping, without the Pro features.

• Pro Standard$34

  one-time purchase per machine, lifetime license

  All Pro features on 1 computer, for personal or company use. Valid for all future versions.

• Pro on Steam$39.99

  one-time purchase through Steam, lifetime license

  All Pro features wherever the buyer's Steam account is installed. The Steam desktop client is needed to install it, not to run it.

• Pro Personal$49

  one-time purchase, lifetime license

  All Pro features on any number of personal computers in one household, plus 1 company computer that only the buyer uses.

• Pro Site$899

  one-time purchase per site, lifetime license

  Unlimited machines at 1 site under a single license key, with no license server.

• Pro Enterprise$3,899

  one-time purchase, lifetime license

  Unlimited computers at an unlimited number of company-owned sites.

Twinkle Tray

• Twinkle Tray$0

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

DisplayFusion

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime license for all future versions

  Every Pro license is a one-time purchase that the vendor describes as a lifetime license, valid for all future versions.

• Other savings

  Discount for owners of other Binary Fortress apps

  The purchase page says buyers save money if they already own ClipboardFusion, FileSeek, LogFusion, TrayStatus or VoiceBot. The amount is not stated.

Twinkle Tray

No public discounts listed.