Comparison
AlDente vs MacBookBatteryMonitor
AlDente is the established name in charge limiting. MacBookBatteryMonitor also limits charge, and started from a different problem: seeing what is draining the battery. Here is how the two stack up.
What AlDente does
AlDente, by AppHouseKitchen, is a charge-control app. Its job is to keep your battery between two charge percentages so it spends less time at the extremes that wear it out. The free tier sets a charge limit and holds it. Pro, sold as a yearly subscription of €11.49 or a €23.99 lifetime license, adds the features people tend to actually want: Sailing Mode, which lets the battery drift down inside a band while plugged in instead of holding it pegged; Calibration Mode, which runs a full charge, discharge, and recharge cycle to re-sync the fuel gauge (important if you hold a charge below 100% for months); and Heat Protection, which pauses charging above a temperature threshold. It runs on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs back to roughly 2013, on macOS 12 and up. What it does not do is process monitoring. There is no per-app power draw, no breakdown of where watts are going, and no way to throttle or kill a runaway app. AlDente controls how the battery charges. It does not look at what is discharging it.
What MacBookBatteryMonitor does
MacBookBatteryMonitor is the inverse priority. It matches AlDente on charge control: a charge limit from 50% to 100% over SMC, a Sailing Mode that actively discharges to your limit while plugged in, and a Low Power Mode that switches itself on below a threshold you set, enforced by a daemon that survives reboots. Where it goes further is the entire monitoring half of the problem. It shows each app’s power draw in real-time watts, a component breakdown (CPU, GPU, RAM, display, USB), and hidden drain from Docker, cloudflared, and launchd. It also has per-app actions AlDente lacks: a CPU throttle, an E-core offload toggle, and a one-click kill for runaway processes. It is Apple-Silicon-only on macOS 14.6 and up, and it is a one-time purchase with no subscription. Two things AlDente has that we do not, yet, are Calibration Mode and Heat Protection. Both are on the roadmap.
Feature comparison
MacBookBatteryMonitorTry MacBookBatteryMonitor on your own Mac
It runs a free 7-day trial with no card and no subscription.
Which one should you pick?
AlDente is the right pick if your problem is purely battery longevity, especially on an Intel Mac, and you value Calibration Mode and Heat Protection today. MacBookBatteryMonitor is the right pick if your problem is battery life rather than longevity: you want to see what is actually draining the battery, and you want to act on it, without giving up charge control or paying a yearly fee. If you care about both, and you are on Apple Silicon, MacBookBatteryMonitor covers more of the problem in one app.
Frequently asked questions
Does MacBookBatteryMonitor have Sailing Mode like AlDente?
Yes, though the two behave differently. AlDente holds the battery in a passive drift band. MacBookBatteryMonitor actively discharges to your set limit over SMC keys and reports a "Sailing to N%" state. The goal is the same: spend battery instead of cycling it while plugged in.
Is AlDente still worth it now that macOS has a native charge limit?
For a fixed 80% cap, the macOS Tahoe charge limit is probably enough on its own. AlDente still wins on limits below 80%, Heat Protection, and Calibration. MacBookBatteryMonitor goes further than either: the same charge control plus live per-app watts and the ability to throttle or kill the apps causing drain.
Why pick MacBookBatteryMonitor over AlDente?
If your only problem is battery longevity, AlDente is a reasonable choice. If your problem is battery life, you need to know what is actually drawing power, and you need controls to act on it. That is the half of the problem AlDente does not touch.