Best indie Mac apps for

Display & Monitor Control

Display utilities make external monitors, brightness, volume, HiDPI modes, and screen control feel more native on Mac.

Our pick

BetterDisplay

Advanced display control for Mac.

Best for
HiDPI and display control
Mac support
Mac
Free option
Yes
One-time purchase
Yes
Made by
Istvan Toth

A powerful display utility for HiDPI modes, virtual screens, brightness, display overrides, and monitor tweaks.

Best free option

Lunar

Control external monitor brightness and display behavior.

Best for
External monitor brightness
Mac support
Mac
Free option
Yes
One-time purchase
Yes
Made by
Alin Panaitiu

A thoughtful display utility for brightness sync, adaptive brightness, DDC controls, and monitor shortcuts.

Power pick

MonitorControl

Control external display brightness and volume.

Best for
Free monitor controls
Mac support
Mac
Free option
Yes
One-time purchase
No
Made by
Open source

A free open-source utility for controlling external monitor brightness, contrast, and volume from macOS.

Lightweight pick

DisplayBuddy

Control external displays from your Mac.

Best for
Simple display controls
Mac support
Mac
Free option
No
One-time purchase
Yes
Made by
Indie team

A friendly display controller for brightness, contrast, volume, presets, and menu bar access.

Alternative

Vivid

Unlock extra brightness on supported Mac displays.

Best for
Extra display brightness
Mac support
Mac
Free option
No
One-time purchase
Yes
Made by
The Browser Company?

A focused utility for boosting brightness on compatible MacBook and Apple displays.