MonitorControl Alternatives

MonitorControl is described as '🖥 Control your external monitor brightness & volume on your Mac' and is an app in the audio & music category. There are more than 10 alternatives to MonitorControl for a variety of platforms, including Mac, Windows, Linux, openSUSE and Python apps. The best MonitorControl alternative is Twinkle Tray, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like MonitorControl are Dimly, Crisp - Monitor Control, Monitorian and ddcutil.

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Alternatives
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Alternatives list

  1. Twinkle Tray icon
     50 likes

    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.

    33 Twinkle Tray alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Good alternative?
     
  2. Dimly icon
     8 likes

    Open-source macOS menu utility for unified brightness, blackout, and sleep control of external monitors, using hybrid DDC/CI and software overlays, per-display settings, custom profiles, hotkeys, panic shortcut, privacy by design, and secure signed builds.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  3. Open-source macOS menu bar app enabling HiDPI scaling on external monitors, DDC brightness with software dimming, icon-based display presets, virtual displays, drag-to-arrange multi-monitor layouts, ICC profile switching, auto-brightness sync, and quick access toggles for display modes.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  4.  2 likes

    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

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  5. Brightintosh icon
     4 likes

    BrightIntosh is lightweight, works system-wide, has optional launch-at-login functionality and includes a global hotkey to toggle the extra brightness.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  6. Lunar icon
     7 likes

    Intelligent adaptive brightness for your external display.

    22 Lunar alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary (MIT)

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  7. DisplayBuddy icon
     2 likes

    DisplayBuddy lets you control external displays connected to your Mac right from your menu bar! No need to touch your clunky monitor buttons!

    22 DisplayBuddy alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  8. BetterDisplay icon
     4 likes

    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!.

    24 BetterDisplay alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  9. DDCcontrol icon
     2 likes

    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

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • openSUSE
    • Fedora
    • Ubuntu
    • Debian
    Good alternative?
     
  10. Lumino icon
     2 likes

    Lumino is a Mac utility that automatically controls the brightness of connected external displays based on ambient light. It uses the built-in light sensor of supported Macs and works with DDC/CI when available, with fallback options for displays that don’t fully support...

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
12 of 20 MonitorControl alternatives