Work · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Shades

Controlling the brightness of your 2nd screen, the easy way

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Shades launched in 2016; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Screen Tint▲82

   Reduce the brightness of your Mac’s screen

   2016 · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Shade▲105

   Super easy color contrast insights and recommendations

   2017 · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Window Focus▲134

   Highlight active apps & dim your screen

   2016 · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Shady for Mac▲94

   Pull a virtual shade over your screen, rest your eyes

   2015 · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Lumen▲185

   Magic auto brightness based on screen contents

   2016 · its alternatives →

6. 6
   NightTone▲121

   Colored light filter, screen dimmer & brightness control

   2016 · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Shades▲72

   A zen like game of colors

   2015 · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Easily▲126

   Control volume, brightness & desktop clutter

   2025 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Better Window Manager▲233

   A tiny window management app for the Mac

   2015 · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Screens 4.0▲95

    Control your Mac from anywhere in the world

    2017 · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Look Up for Mac▲269

    Reduce eye strain & exhaustion with the 20-20-20 Rule

    2015 · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Snaplight for iOS and Mac▲115

    Spotlight the most important part of an image in seconds

    2025 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Lightpack▲255

    Ambient backlight synced to your TV or monitor

    2015 · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Focusdim▲137

    A simple Mac app to enhance your visual focus

    2025 · privdev.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Focus▲221

    A Mac app to block distracting websites

    2014 · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Screen Flow▲116

    Screen recording and editing for Mac

    2014 · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Divvy▲89

    Simple Mac window management

    2014 · its alternatives →

18. 18
    ScreenFloat▲124

    Harness the power of screenshots to be more productive

    2017 · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Spylight▲130

    Shop the screen. Buy clothes you see on TV.

    2015 · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Menubar Auto Brightness▲100

    Auto adjust brightness when switching apps for Mac

    2020 · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Smart Brightness for Dark Mode▲80

    Don't let white pages hurt your eyes

    2019 · its alternatives →

22. 22
    BenQ ScreenBar▲120

    e-Reading Lamp for digital screen time

    2018 · its alternatives →

23. 23
    lightgallery▲146

    A modern image viewer for Mac, Windows and Linux.

    2016 · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Screen Shader▲7

    decrease eye-strain and fatigue while working

    2015 · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →