Comparison
Chargeberry vs Battery Toolkit: free and open source, or $5.99?
Battery Toolkit is free and open source, with upper and lower limits. Chargeberry is a notarized $5.99 app with heat pausing and macOS 27 support.
Chargeberry vs Battery Toolkit at a glance
| Feature |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 once | Free |
| Source code | Closed | Open (BSD-3-Clause) |
| Notarized by Apple | Yes | No |
| Latest release | 1.1.2 (November 1, 2026) | 1.8 (August 11, 2025) |
| On macOS 27 | Yes, 80–100% (macOS’s own limit) | No release for it yet |
| Upper charge limit | 50–100% | Yes |
| Separate lower limit | Resume margin, 1–10% | Yes |
| Turn the charger off while plugged in | Yes | Yes |
| Stops draining at your limit by itself | Yes | You turn the charger back on |
| When the Mac goes to sleep | Planned around the limit, lid open or closed | Kept awake while charging |
| Heat pausing | Yes | No |
| Full by a time, or every weekday | Yes | No |
| Battery calibration | Full cycle, monthly reminder | By hand, with the adapter off |
| Power diagram, health history, notifications | Yes | No |
Battery Toolkit facts are from its GitHub README and releases, checked November 6, 2026. Its README describes the lower limit as the level below which charging turns back on.
What Battery Toolkit is
Battery Toolkit, by Marvin Häuser, is a free, open-source app that controls the power state of Apple silicon Macs. It does three things well: it stops charging at an upper limit, it waits until the charge falls below a lower limit before charging again, and it can switch the power adapter off without unplugging it, so you can run down the battery on purpose. A menu bar item gives you commands for a full charge, charging to the limit, stopping charging and pausing everything.
It’s honest software with clear documentation, and its code is there for anyone to read. Two things are worth knowing before you install it: it isn’t notarized by Apple, so you allow it by hand in System Settings (its README puts this down to the Apple Developer Program’s fees), and its latest release is 1.8 (August 11, 2025).
Where Battery Toolkit is better
- It’s free. No license, no payment.
- Open source. You can read every line, build it yourself and install it with Homebrew.
- A true lower limit. Set exactly where charging should start again, as its own setting.
- Small and focused. If all you want is a limit and a way to cut the charger, it has nothing extra.
Where Chargeberry is better
- Notarized, so nothing to bypass. Chargeberry is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple; it opens without warnings.
- macOS 27. Chargeberry works there, by setting macOS’s own charge limit. Battery Toolkit hasn’t had a release since before macOS 27.
- Sleep is planned, not just blocked. Both keep the Mac from idle-sleeping while it charges toward the limit. When the Mac does sleep (you close the lid, say), Chargeberry plans for it: with the lid closed it keeps charging and wakes briefly to check, with the lid open it stops charging for the night, so the limit holds either way.
- Draining stops on its own. Chargeberry cuts the charger, runs down to your limit and switches the charger back on by itself.
- Heat, schedules and health. Pause when hot, be full by a time, calibrate monthly, and see the battery’s health over months.
According to Chargeberry’s crash-safety test, when the process holding a charging switch was killed, normal charging came back within 1 second, so a crash never leaves a Mac unable to charge.
On macOS 27
- 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.
Which should you pick?
If you’re comfortable allowing an un-notarized app, you’re on macOS 26 or earlier, and a limit plus a lower limit is all you want, Battery Toolkit is a good free choice, and there’s no reason to pay.
If you’d rather have an app that installs normally, keeps working on macOS 27, holds the limit through sleep and does the rest of the job too (heat, Full by, calibration and a health record), Chargeberry is $5.99 once. Try the demo above first.
Questions about Chargeberry and Battery Toolkit
Is Battery Toolkit safe to use?
Its code is public on GitHub under the BSD-3-Clause license, so anyone can read it. The app isn’t notarized by Apple, which is why macOS warns that it can’t check it for malware and you have to allow it in System Settings › Privacy & Security. Chargeberry is signed with a Developer ID and notarized, so it opens like any other app.
Does Battery Toolkit work on macOS 27?
Its last release is 1.8 (August 11, 2025), from before macOS 27, and macOS 27 locked the charging controls it uses. A report on macos-tahoe.com says its limit no longer holds there. Check its GitHub page for news. Chargeberry supports macOS 27 by setting macOS’s own charge limit.
Why does my Mac stay awake with Battery Toolkit?
Its README explains that it keeps the Mac from sleeping while it charges, because it has to switch charging off itself at the limit. Chargeberry also keeps the Mac from idle-sleeping on its way to the limit, but when the Mac does go to sleep it plans ahead: with the lid closed it keeps charging and wakes briefly to check, and with the lid open it stops charging for the night.
Can Battery Toolkit run the Mac on battery with the charger plugged in?
Yes. It can turn the power adapter off without unplugging it, which you can use to drain the battery. Chargeberry does the same and also stops by itself at your limit, by hand or automatically.
What does Chargeberry add that Battery Toolkit doesn’t?
Heat pausing, Full by a time or every weekday, calibration with a monthly reminder, a live power diagram, a daily health history, notifications, a low battery warning, global shortcuts and support from the person who made it.
