DisplayBuddy and BetterDisplay are two popular apps that allow users to control monitors on Macs. BetterDisplay is an alternative to DisplayBuddy that has been appreciated for it’s display mirroring features and support for creating dummy HiDPi screens on Mac. However, if the previous sentence does not make sense to you, it’s very likely DisplayBuddy is the much better and full featured app for you.
DisplayBuddy is a powerful alternative to BetterDisplay and it lets you control the brightness and constrast of all the monitors connected to your Mac, along with your Macbook’s built-in screen. It also offers advanced features while maintaining a simple user interface that does not interfere with the Mac experience.
DisplayBuddy users have received 50+ free updates in the past year, adding support for the latest Apple Silicon chips (M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max), support for Siri and Mac Shortcuts (“Hey Siri, set all my displays to 50% brightness”), as well as several useful features such as making your monitor follow the brightness of your Macbook’s screen, saving all your display settings as presets and restoring them easily with the single click, controlling display resolution and rotation, as well as a beautiful macOS Sonoma widget.
To help users choose between DisplayBuddy vs BetterDisplay, here is a detailed comparison of their capabilities:
| Feature | DisplayBuddy | BetterDisplay |
|---|---|---|
| Control the real brightness and contrast of monitors Native brightness control for all monitors without touching the buttons |
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| Control displays made by Includes the Apple Pro Display XDR, Studio Display & Thunderbolt Display |
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| Use keyboard brightness and volume keys Use the keys you’re already used to |
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| Multi-monitor support Manage all your displays at a glance |
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| Control display resolution and rotation | ||
| Sync controls across multiple displays Make all monitors follow one monitor’s brightness or contrast |
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| Create Presets Save settings across multiple displays and restore them with a single click |
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| Control Samsung Smart Monitors Full volume, input source and remote control of Samsung Smart Monitors like the M5, M7, M8 and ViewFinity S9 |
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| Use Siri to control your monitors “Hey Siri, set all my displays to 80% brightness” |
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| Supports Mac Shortcuts Setup automations on the Shortcuts app to control your monitors as part of your workflow |
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| Beautiful macOS Sonoma Widget Activate saved monitor settings directly from your desktop |
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| Simple, intuitive design |
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| Works on macOS Big Sur and above |
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| Display EDID Override |
DisplayBuddy is an essential tool if you’re using external displays with your Mac. Here’s the big list of things you can do with DisplayBuddy.
