Compare software

Twinkle Tray vs ControlMyMonitor: catalog facts
Twinkle Tray	ControlMyMonitor
Best for: Changing the brightness of external monitors without reaching for their physical buttons	Best for: Adjusting or scripting external monitor settings from Windows
Free Free and open source under the MIT licence. Also available from the Microsoft Store.	Free Freeware from NirSoft that may be redistributed free of charge.
Windows	Windows, Command line
Brightness sliders for external monitors, which Windows does not provide Automatic brightness by time of day or when idle All 4 strengths for Twinkle Tray Brightness sliders for external monitors, which Windows does not provide Automatic brightness by time of day or when idle Hotkeys for specific or all displays, and backlight normalisation across monitors Matches the taskbar appearance using your Personalization settings	Changes brightness, contrast and input source without the monitor's buttons Full command-line control for scripts All 4 strengths for ControlMyMonitor Changes brightness, contrast and input source without the monitor's buttons Full command-line control for scripts Saves and restores monitor configurations Portable, with no installation needed
Requires monitors that support DDC/CI, and not all do or have it enabled Windows only All 4 limitations for Twinkle Tray Requires monitors that support DDC/CI, and not all do or have it enabled Windows only Some monitors respond slowly or unreliably to DDC/CI commands The last release is from December 2025	Requires hardware that supports DDC/CI Results depend on monitor firmware, cable and graphics driver All 3 limitations for ControlMyMonitor Requires hardware that supports DDC/CI Results depend on monitor firmware, cable and graphics driver A January 2026 notice reports an AMD driver bug that breaks DDC/CI
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Not open source
License: MIT	License: Freeware
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Twinkle Tray github.com/xanderfrangos/twinkle-tray Catalog checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for ControlMyMonitor nirsoft.net/utils/control_my_monitor.html Catalog checked October 8, 2026

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