Roundup · 2026
The best battery charge limiters for Mac in 2026
Six ways to stop a MacBook charging to 100%, from free built-in macOS settings to paid apps, compared on price, features and macOS 27 support.
Quick picks
All six compared
| Feature | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 once | Free; Pro €11.49/yr or €23.99 | $15 once | Free | Free | Free |
| Lowest limit | 50% (80% on macOS 27) | Below 80% (toggle on 27) | 50%, any on 27 | 80% | 10% on 27 | Your choice |
| macOS 27 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No release yet |
| Intel Macs | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Heat pausing | Yes | Pro | Before macOS 27 | No | No | No |
| Full at a set time | Full by, schedules | Pro (Schedule) | Rules by time | Guessed by macOS | No | No |
| Drain down while plugged in | Yes | Yes | Not listed | No | Yes | Yes |
| Health history | Yes | Not listed | Live readings | No | No | No |
| Notarized app | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Built in | No | No |
| Open source | No | Early versions | On GitHub (MIT) | No | GPL-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
Each app’s facts are from its own site, GitHub page or release notes; prices as shown there. “Not listed” or “Not stated” means we didn’t find it on the developer’s pages.
The list
1. Best all-in-one for a one-time price
Chargeberry
Good
- A limit from 50 to 100%, with Desk, Daily and Travel presets
- Heat pausing at the temperature you choose
- Full by a time or every weekday, planned from your charger’s real speed
- Drain down, calibration, a live power diagram, a daily health history and Battery Wrapped
- Notarized, fails safe to normal charging, works offline
Not so good
- Apple silicon only, macOS 14 or later
- On macOS 27, limits are 80–100% and drain, calibration and heat pausing are off
- New (first released October 2026), English only
2. Best for Intel Macs, and the best-known free tier
AlDente
Good
- A free charge limiter and manual discharge
- The widest support: most Intel MacBooks from 2013 and macOS 12 to 27
- Pro adds heat protection, Sailing Mode, MagSafe LED, schedules, sleep control and Shortcuts
- Long track record and a big community
Not so good
- Most features are in Pro, by subscription or a higher one-time price
- Pro checks its license online at least every 30 days
3. Best for rules by time and place
BatFi
Good
- Rules that change the limit by time and by place
- Holds any limit, below 80% too, on macOS 27 (BatFi 4)
- Shows the apps using the most power, plus cycles, temperature and health
- Source on GitHub (MIT); installs with Homebrew
Not so good
- Its heat pause works only on Macs that have never had macOS 27
- No Full by deadline planning or drain down listed
4. Best if 80% is enough
macOS Charge Limit
Good
- Nothing to install: System Settings › Battery › Charging
- Charge Limit from 80 to 100%, plus Optimized Battery Charging
- Made and supported by Apple
Not so good
- No limits below 80%, no heat pause, no schedule you set
- Still charges to 100% now and then to keep its estimates accurate
5. Best free option on macOS 27, and for the Terminal
batt
Good
- Free and open source (GPL-2.0), actively maintained
- Sets 10–99% on macOS 27 (version 0.9.0, November 2026)
- Scriptable, with MagSafe LED control and an opt-in adapter mode
Not so good
- Mostly a command line tool; its app isn’t notarized
- No heat pausing, schedules or health history
6. Simple, free and open source (macOS 26 and earlier)
Battery Toolkit
Good
- Free and open source (BSD-3-Clause)
- Upper and lower limits, and turning the charger off while plugged in
- Small and focused
Not so good
- Not notarized; you allow it by hand
- Keeps the Mac awake while it charges
- No release since 1.8 (August 2025), before macOS 27
According to Chargeberry’s own measurements, the app uses about 0.1% CPU (0.13% on average, 0.4% at its busiest moment) and 13 MB of memory while it sits in the menu bar, and its helper about 0.03% CPU and 7 MB.
How to choose
- Check your Mac. Intel MacBook? AlDente is the only one here that runs on it.
- Check your macOS. On macOS 27, want less than 80%? batt (free), BatFi or AlDente. Happy with 80–100%? macOS’s setting, or Chargeberry for the extras.
- Decide what you’ll actually use. Just a cap: use something free. Heat, a full charge by a time, draining back down, calibration or a health record: that’s where Chargeberry earns its $5.99. Rules by place: BatFi.
- Use only one. Two limiters, or a limiter plus Optimized Battery Charging, work against each other.
- Health
- 83%
- Cycles
- 349 of 1000
- Temperature
- 30.8 °C
- Charger
- 30 W
A working model of Chargeberry, not a video, running the same charging rules as the app. Plug the charger in and out, change the limit, turn up the heat, try Charge to 100% and Full by. Time runs fast here: two minutes every second, and faster with S.
Why limit charging at all?
Lithium-ion batteries age fastest when they’re held at a high charge and kept warm, which is exactly the life of a MacBook that sits on its charger all day. Apple’s own Optimized Battery Charging exists for this reason: it’s designed to reduce the time your Mac spends fully charged. A limit around 80% does the same thing, every day, on your terms. Read more in is it bad to keep a MacBook plugged in?
Questions about Mac charge limiters
What is a battery charge limiter?
An app (or a macOS setting) that stops a MacBook charging at a level you choose, such as 80%, while the charger keeps running the Mac. Batteries wear faster when they sit full and warm, so a limit slows that wear for Macs that spend most of their time plugged in.
What is the best free charge limiter for Mac?
On macOS Tahoe 26.4 or later, macOS’s own Charge Limit (80–100%) is free and built in. For lower limits or older macOS: AlDente Free (charge limiter and manual discharge), batt (open source, command line, macOS 27 too) and Battery Toolkit (open source, last release August 2025).
Which charge limiters work on macOS 27?
Chargeberry (80–100%), AlDente 1.39 (lower limits with a toggle), BatFi 4 (any limit), batt 0.9.0 (10–99%) and macOS’s own Charge Limit (80–100%). Battery Toolkit has no release for macOS 27 yet.
Which charge limiter works on Intel Macs?
AlDente, which supports most Intel MacBooks from 2013. Chargeberry, BatFi, batt and Battery Toolkit need Apple silicon, and macOS’s Charge Limit needs Apple silicon too.
Is a paid charge limiter worth it?
Only for what it adds beyond the limit. If a fixed 80% is enough, use macOS’s setting or a free app. Pay for heat pausing, a full charge on a schedule, draining back down, calibration, rules by place or a health record, if you’ll use them.
Can I use two charge limiters at once?
No. Pick one, and turn Optimized Battery Charging and macOS’s own Charge Limit off if your app asks you to. Two things controlling charging undo each other’s work.