Apple limits charging to 80%. AlDente is single-platform. ThunderVolt enforces custom limits through a system daemon — and extends to your iPhone and Apple Watch.
No credit card required · Apple Notarized
Hardware-level battery management built for serious Mac users.
ThunderVolt follows you across your entire Apple ecosystem. Set charge limits, control Sailing Mode, trigger a discharge, and view live power flow — all from your iPhone or Apple Watch.
Both ThunderVolt and AlDente use Apple's IOKit and documented SMC calls via a privileged daemon. The difference is what ThunderVolt's daemon does with that access: real-time thermal monitoring, calendar-aware Smart Context, configurable hysteresis bands, and live sync to your iPhone and Apple Watch. AlDente is macOS-only and has none of these.
Start Free Trial →Apple's native charge limiter is Mac-only. ThunderVolt lets you monitor and adjust every MacBook in your household from your iPhone or Apple Watch. Toggle Storage Mode, view live charge, get heat alerts — from any room, any device.
Start 7-Day Free Trial →ThunderVolt tracks your real health trend as −%/month and predicts your battery replacement date months before Apple's Battery Health indicator moves a single point. No guesswork. Just data.
See All Pro Features →Your limit is 75%. You have a 3-hour flight tomorrow at 9am. ThunderVolt sees it in your calendar, charges to 100% tonight, then drops back after you land. No other app in the world does this.
AlDente is the category leader with 700,000 users. Here's what it can't do.
| Capability | macOS Native (26.4+) |
AlDente Free · Pro €11.49/yr |
ThunderVolt Free · Pro from $2.99/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80–100% charge limit | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Battery health monitoring | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Sub-80% limits (down to 20%) | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Storage Mode — 50% preset | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Sailing / Hysteresis band | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Discharge to target % while plugged in | ✘ | ✔ manual | ✔ |
| Works lid-closed & during sleep | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Stop charging when sleeping / lid closes | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Charge Scheduler — time & day rules | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Thermal / heat protection | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| MagSafe LED status control | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ Intel only |
| Calibration cycle (BMS recalibration) | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Live power flow — AC & battery watts | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Apple Shortcuts / Siri voice control | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ free (5 shortcuts) |
| Charge Scheduler — auto-discharge on rule start | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Sankey power flow diagram (proportional wattage) | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Battery health history — CSV export | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Calibration history tracking & monthly reminder | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Hardware stats — cycle count, design capacity, voltage | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Calendar-aware charging | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Degradation forecasting & insights | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Remote control from iPhone & Watch | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Fleet sync — multiple Macs | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
AlDente: free direct download + Pro from €11.49/yr · ThunderVolt: free direct download + Pro from $2.99/mo, 7-day trial, no credit card
One install. No configuration needed. ThunderVolt handles every edge case from there.
One .dmg install. Grant the daemon permission once — ThunderVolt is the only battery app that works across Mac, iPhone, and Apple Watch.
Pick any custom threshold from 20–100% — set once, enforced reliably by the daemon even when the app is closed.
Smart Context, thermal protection, and fleet sync run silently. ThunderVolt handles every edge case automatically.