Eighty vs AlDente vs macOS charge limits

If you only want your MacBook to stop near 80%, check macOS before buying a utility. Eighty is useful when you also want charging schedules, measured status or a local history. AlDente offers another set of charging tools, with free and paid editions.

Quits publishes Eighty. This review uses our catalog and current Apple and AppHouseKitchen documentation, checked 16 October 2026. It does not measure battery lifespan or promise that an app will prevent battery wear.

What you get without another app

Apple documents Charge Limit on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 26.4 or later: choose 80–100%, with an option to charge fully when needed. It differs from Optimized Battery Charging, which learns your routine. macOS may occasionally charge to 100% for its estimates. If a manual cap is all you need, the built-in setting may be enough.

Choice	Consider it for	Limit to understand
macOS Charge Limit	A built-in manual charging cap	Supported hardware and macOS version
Eighty	Schedules, measured status and local health history	Requires Apple silicon and macOS 26.4 or later
AlDente Free	A free charge limiter and discharge controls	Check the supported MacBook and feature requirements
AlDente Pro	Additional charging automation and battery-care controls	Paid features; check the current plan and hardware support

Eighty reviewed: what it adds to the native limit

Eighty uses the macOS charge limit for its normal 80–100% range. That limit remains in effect while the Mac sleeps. The extra workflow is a one-time full charge, including a target time on chosen travel days, followed by a return to your usual limit.

Eighty also shows what the battery is actually doing: charging, holding or running down. It keeps cycle, capacity and health history on your Mac and exposes actions in Shortcuts. For someone who wants a record rather than another percentage to watch, that history is a more relevant reason to evaluate it than the existence of an 80% slider.

There is a significant limit below that range. Eighty’s optional 20–75% mode works only while the Mac is awake with the lid open. Its catalog states that this costs about 1 charge cycle a day, so it is off until you enable it. Do not choose it assuming a lower target is automatically a better battery policy.

A privileged helper supports history, requested Energy Mode changes and the optional lower-limit mode. Eighty is not compatible with an Intel Mac or an older macOS release. It is sold with a one-time payment; see the product card and House Rules for current commercial terms.

What to evaluate in AlDente

AppHouseKitchen’s current plan page lists Charge Limiter and Discharge in AlDente Free, plus Pro subscription and lifetime options. It lists macOS 12–27; check model support before installing. Do not assume every charging feature applies to every MacBook.

The current feature documentation describes Pro’s temperature-based charging pause, Sailing Mode, calibration and scheduling. Those are reasons to investigate AlDente Pro if your requirements go beyond a native cap. Its sleep-related controls have their own documented conditions; evaluate the specific behavior you need rather than assuming every mode works identically while asleep.

A decision for your MacBook

Start with the built-in cap if it meets your routine. Consider Eighty if you want its travel-day workflow and local history on a compatible Mac. Evaluate AlDente’s supported models and editions if its additional controls match your requirements, especially when your Mac cannot run Eighty.

Change 1 charging-management setup at a time so you can understand which setting is responsible. Read our MacBook charge-limit guide for the setup, or try Eighty’s browser Demo to explore its interface. AlDente is AppHouseKitchen’s product; Quits is not affiliated with AppHouseKitchen or Apple.