Outshine for Mac does one job: making a MacBook readable in the sun, with four presets, from $9.99 one-time. BetterDisplay is a display manager, and its XDR/HDR extra brightness needs the $21.99 Pro upgrade. They do different jobs and can run on the same Mac.
What is BetterDisplay?
BetterDisplay is a display manager for macOS, with releases, a wiki and discussions on GitHub. It gives you control over displays that System Settings doesn't offer. Its own one-line summary:
“Custom resolutions, XDR/HDR extra brightness, virtual screens, Picture in Picture, soft disconnect, configuration and EDID overrides, DDC control, color mode selection, syncing, layout protection, and more.”- BetterDisplay, on betterdisplay.pro, read October 2026
Extra brightness is one feature among many: BetterDisplay is a display manager first, made for setting up screens at a desk.
Extra brightness is a Pro feature. In the free-versus-Pro table on its site, every kind of XDR/HDR brightness upscaling, for Apple silicon and Intel and for third-party HDR screens, is marked as not included in the free version. BetterDisplay Pro costs $21.99 (€19.99) as a perpetual license for the current major version, with at least one year of free updates and a 14-day trial.
What is Outshine for Mac?
Outshine for Mac is a menu-bar app with one job: making a MacBook screen readable in direct sunlight. It uses the extra brightness macOS reserves for HDR (EDR) and offers it through four presets:
- Reading and Outdoor lift the bright parts of the screen, such as white pages and backgrounds, and leave text and dark interface alone. Reading is the gentlest; Outdoor is the everyday one for sun.
- Blazing lifts the whole screen evenly for the most brightness in hard sun, at some cost to contrast.
- Dark turns light app backgrounds dark with bright text.
Outshine runs on macOS 13 Ventura or later, on Apple silicon and Intel. It has the largest effect on a 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro with Liquid Retina XDR, which Apple rates at 1000 nits sustained and 1600 nits peak for HDR (Apple tech specs), and a smaller one on a MacBook Air. The Outshine compatibility page has the model-by-model list.
BetterDisplay vs Outshine for extra brightness
| BetterDisplay | Outshine for Mac | |
|---|---|---|
| Made for | Managing displays at a desk | Reading a MacBook in the sun |
| Price for extra brightness | Pro, $21.99 perpetual for the current major version | $9.99 early access, $14.99 regular, one-time |
| Updates | At least one year of free updates with Pro | Free |
| Trial | 14-day Pro trial | Split-screen (left half), no time limit |
| Presets for sun | Not stated | Reading, Outdoor, Blazing, Dark |
| Lifts white pages and leaves text alone | Not stated | Yes, in Reading and Outdoor |
| Extra brightness on an XDR MacBook Pro | Yes, in Pro only | Yes, the largest effect |
| Extra brightness on MacBook Air | Not stated | Yes, a smaller lift than on an XDR Pro |
Why pick Outshine for working outside?
Because that is the exact situation it was made for: open the MacBook on a terrace, a balcony or a park bench and read it. In the maker's words:
“I work a lot from home, and again and again I had to admit defeat: leave the lovely spring and summer sun and go into the shade, where I could see what was happening on the screen.”- Mickey Switzer, maker of Outshine for Mac (interview, October 2026, translated from Danish)
Outshine is set up for the sun from the first click. You choose a preset from the menu bar, or press Option-Command-O, and change intensity with Option-Command-Up/Down. Reading and Outdoor make the page brighter while the text stays put, so you can keep reading rather than squint. An optional "Suggest Blazing when bright" setting offers a one-tap switch when the light gets stronger; it never switches by itself.
It is also the pick for a MacBook Air. None of the dedicated brightness-unlock apps lists Air support, and BetterDisplay doesn't state it. Outshine runs on the Air, with a smaller lift than on a Pro. It is a one-time purchase with no subscription and no analytics or tracking, and you can see the difference on your own screen with the free split-screen trial before paying. Working from a café? The guide to working from a cafe terrace covers seats, angles and light.
The Mac app that handles all of this for you.
Four presets - Reading, Outdoor, Blazing and Dark - for every kind of light. Switch from your menu bar in one click. No settings archaeology.
Can BetterDisplay and Outshine run on the same Mac?
Yes. They do different jobs: BetterDisplay at the desk, managing external monitors, and Outshine outside, on the built-in screen. Outshine works on one display at a time, the first one that supports EDR.
If you also use BetterDisplay Pro's XDR/HDR extra brightness, turn it off before you turn Outshine on, so only one app handles the extra brightness at a time.
Is there a BetterDisplay alternative just for brightness?
For reading the built-in screen of any MacBook in the sun, Air included: Outshine for Mac, with Reading, Outdoor, Blazing and Dark presets. Controlling an external monitor's own brightness over the cable (DDC) is a different job, done by apps such as Lunar and MonitorControl. The Vivid vs Outshine comparison and the Mac brightness apps compared by need cover the rest.
macOS 26.3 prevents BetterDisplay from exceeding LiquidRetina displays to 1000nits
“Not all the time… but for example, I’m using my MacBook outdoors or at very bright indoor places like coffee shops on sunny days. At those conditions, which I’m at almost every day, the 1000nits makes the experience excellent.”
Questions people ask
Is BetterDisplay's XDR extra brightness free?
No. BetterDisplay's free-versus-Pro feature table marks every kind of XDR/HDR brightness upscaling as a Pro feature, so it needs BetterDisplay Pro at $21.99. Outshine for Mac costs $9.99 one-time in early access and works free on the left half of the screen with no time limit.
Where do you download BetterDisplay safely?
BetterDisplay's site names betterdisplay.pro as the official site and waydabber/BetterDisplay as its GitHub repository, and says: "To stay safe, download or purchase from these pages only."
Is Outshine a BetterDisplay alternative?
For reading a MacBook in the sun, yes. Outshine for Mac does that one job, with Reading, Outdoor, Blazing and Dark presets, on MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. Managing external monitors and resolutions is a different job, which is what BetterDisplay is for.
Do I need BetterDisplay if I have Outshine?
Not for working outside: Outshine handles the built-in screen in the sun. BetterDisplay is for display management at a desk, such as custom resolutions or virtual screens, and the two apps can run on the same Mac.
Does BetterDisplay work on MacBook Air?
BetterDisplay's site does not state whether its extra brightness works on a MacBook Air. Outshine runs on MacBook Air, with a smaller lift than on an XDR MacBook Pro.
Read next: Mac brightness apps compared, Vivid vs Outshine and Outshine pricing.