DisplayBuddy

Control the brightness of monitors directly from your Mac

No need to touch the clunky buttons on your monitor
Buy now Get it on SetApp
Refund anytime within 7 days of your purchase. Also available on discount for students.
Fully updated for macOS Sequoia
Image of DisplayBuddy app opened in macOS Sonoma Menu Bar
Tested on displays built by
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dell logo
samsung logo
acer logo
prism+ logo
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First class support for third party displays

Get the ultrafine experience, with any monitor

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Take control of your monitors

Control brightness, contrast, volume, and much more.

Lifetime license, 7-day refunds no questions asked.

Questions? Answers.

Will it work with my display?

DisplayBuddy talks to your monitor using the DDC/CI specification. If you've a monitor that was manufactured in the last 10 years or so, there's a very high chance it will work great with DisplayBuddy! Most users using monitors from brands like Dell, LG, BenQ, Acer and Samsung use DisplayBuddy to control their displays. DisplayBuddy also works with Samsung smart monitors like the Samsung M5, M7, M8 and ViewFinity S9.

If by chance it doesn't work, we'll refund your DisplayBuddy purchase within 7 days of your order.

Do you offer a free trial?

You can purchase and try DisplayBuddy risk-free, and it doesn't work for you, we'll refund your purchase, no questions asked.

You can also try DisplayBuddy & 220 other top class Mac apps free for 7 days on SetApp.

How many Macs can I run this on?

Your license is valid for use on upto 1 Macs you own with the Single license. There are also Personal (2 Macs) and Team (5 Macs) licenses available.

Are Apple Silicon Macs supported?

Yes, Apple Silicon (M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra & M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max) Macs are supported, and can control external display brightness, contrast and volume using DDC. You can also use DisplayBuddy to adjust the iMac screen brightness or the Apple Studio Display / Pro Display XDR Brightness.

Note: DDC on the HDMI port in M1 Macs doesn't work yet, because it doesn't forward DDC commands to the display for a currently unknown reason. Displays connected to the Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports work fine with DDC, and the HDMI port of M2 Macs also work fine.

How can I download the latest version?

You can click the settings icon in the bottom right of DisplayBuddy and select "Check for Updates" to automatically get the latest version. You can also get the latest version of DisplayBuddy here.

If you're using an older macOS version like High Sierra, Mojave or Catalina (10.13 -> 10.15) you candownload and use DisplayBuddy 1.45, which supports these older macOS versions.

Can I adust brightness automatically based on time of day?

Yes, you can adjust brightness and other controls of your displays using DisplayBuddy actions with the Shortcuts app on Mac. You can save your required display settings as a DisplayBuddy preset, and then activate that preset automatically using a Shortcuts automation.

Can I make my external monitor follow the brightness of my Macbook screen?

Yes! You can use the sync feature in DisplayBuddy to make any screen follow the brightness of another screen on Mac. This is especially useful when you want your external monitor's brightness to follow the built-in display of your Macbook Pro or Air. You can enable this by clicking your Display name > Sync to this display.

Why would I need something like this?

I sometimes work during the night, and I don't want my two monitors at full blast hurting my eyes in dim light. I use DisplayBuddy to quickly switch my displays to the correct brightness without physically touching the buttons on my monitor at all.

You can use DisplayBuddy to effortlessly increase brightness or dim your macbook screen and external monitors. The app can easily handle adjusting the brightness of multiple displays at once, and is a great tool to adjust the brightness of a second monitor on Mac. A lot of users also use DisplayBuddy to easily brighten their screen based on the time of day to reduce eye strain.

It's not working for my monitor!

A lot of monitors have built-in presets for brightness and contrast, like Game, Movie, Reading etc, which lock your monitor's brightness & contrast to predefined levels. I highly recommend you set this mode to Custom, so that DisplayBuddy can then control these values.

Some monitors also have a DDC/CI setting: make sure this is set to enabled. You can find more troubleshooting steps here.

Is there a Windows app?

Yes! DisplayBuddy is also available on Windows.

I lost my license key, how can I recover it?

No worries, you can look for an email from LemonSqueezy or Gumroad in your mailbox to find your original license key. If you can't find the email, just contact me at support@displaybuddy.app and I'll help you out.

How can I control my screen brightness on Mac?

DisplayBuddy can also control the screen brightness of your Macbook screen, along with external monitor. You can brighten or dim your Macbook Air or Pro's screen directly from DisplayBuddy, as well as create presets for these settings and restore them later with one click.

What additional features does DisplayBuddy have?

DisplayBuddy is a full fledged display manager for Mac - it can even control your display resolution and input sources for your monitors, supports keyboard shortcuts, and also supports macOS features like Shortuts and Siri.

How is this different from Dell Display Manager?

DisplayBuddy does everything Dell Display Manager does like controlling the brightness and contrast of your Dell monitor on a Mac, plus a lot more like saving presets, controlling resolution and rotation and syncing your monitor brightness to your Macbook screen.

DisplayBuddy also has a much simpler and intuitive UI, and supports a wide variety of monitors along with your Dell monitor - so it's especiallly useful if want to control a multiple monitor setup where not all montors have been made by Dell.