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Twinkle Tray vs MonitorControl: catalog facts
Twinkle Tray	MonitorControl
Best for: Changing the brightness of external monitors without reaching for their physical buttons	Best for: Adjust Mac display brightness and volume from the keyboard or menu bar
Free Free and open source under the MIT licence. Also available from the Microsoft Store.	Free The open-source application is available without a license fee.
Windows	macOS
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	Combines hardware brightness with software dimming
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	Available controls depend on the monitor and connection.
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	License: MIT
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Offline features available	Not stated if it works offline
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 MonitorControl github.com/MonitorControl/MonitorControl Catalog checked September 22, 2026

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