Compare software

DisplayBuddy vs Crisp: catalog facts
DisplayBuddy	Crisp
Best for: Mac or Windows users with external monitors they want to adjust without the hardware buttons	Best for: Mac users with external monitors that look blurry or ignore the brightness keys
Paid Paid app with a 7-day refund on full-price purchases; also available through Setapp.	Free Free and open source under the MIT licence, with optional GitHub sponsorship.
Windows, macOS	macOS, Command line
Controls brightness, contrast, volume and input over DDC Handles several displays from one menu All 4 strengths for DisplayBuddy Controls brightness, contrast, volume and input over DDC Handles several displays from one menu Presets switch a whole monitor setup at once Works with monitors from most major brands	Sharp HiDPI scaling on non-Apple monitors Hardware DDC brightness with brightness key support All 4 strengths for Crisp Sharp HiDPI scaling on non-Apple monitors Hardware DDC brightness with brightness key support Fine-grained scaling beyond the macOS presets crispctl command line tool for scripts and Shortcuts
Paid, with no free tier mentioned Depends on the monitor supporting DDC control	macOS only Newer and less established than BetterDisplay or Lunar
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Not open source	Open source
License not stated	License: MIT
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for DisplayBuddy displaybuddy.app Catalog checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Crisp crispmac.app Catalog checked October 1, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.