The free Battery Health 3 Alternative with a charge limit
Battery Health 3 is FIPLAB's menu bar battery monitor: power level, health, capacity, temperature and cycle count, real-time energy impact per app, battery data pulled from an iPhone or iPad over USB or Wi-Fi Sync, AirPods and Magic accessory levels, and configurable low, threshold and full-charge alerts. It is a one-time purchase with a free trial, and needs macOS 12. Notchy covers the same glance from the notch — plus the one thing a battery app is usually bought alongside: a charge limit.
- Battery Health 3 price
- One-time purchase with a free trial (FIPLAB does not display the figure on its product page)
- Battery Health 3 requires
- macOS 12 or later
- Notchy price
- Free — donations optional
Why use Notchy instead of Battery Health 3?
- The readouts, free
Health and maximum capacity, cycle count, temperature, charge state and history charts, with colour-coded levels on the notch rather than another menu bar icon.
- A charge limit in the same app
Hold the battery between 50 and 100%, with Sailing Mode, automatic discharge above the limit and a one-tap top up to 100%. Battery Health 3 reports on the battery; it doesn't cap the charge.
- Your other devices too
iPhone and iPad levels beside your Mac, under their real names, alongside Magic Mouse, Keyboard, Trackpad and AirPods — with alerts when any of them runs low.
- Where Battery Health 3 does more
It ranks apps by live energy impact and pulls a connected iPhone's full diagnostics — cycle count, manufacture date, health percentage — over USB or Wi-Fi Sync. Notchy warns you when an app is draining the battery but doesn't rank them, and reads a phone's level rather than its service history.
How Notchy stacks up
Honest, feature-by-feature comparison of every major macOS notch app — no affiliates.
Swipe the table sideways to see every app.
| Feature | Notchy | Alcove | NotchNook | Boring Notch | DynamicLake | MediaMate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 100% Free | $17 one-time | $25 (or $3/mo) | Free (Open Source) | Paid | Paid |
| Minimum macOS | macOS 13 Ventura+ | macOS 14 Sonoma+ | macOS 14 Sonoma+ | macOS 14 Sonoma+ | macOS 14 Sonoma+ | macOS 14 Sonoma+ |
| Architecture | Pure SwiftUI (Native) | Swift (Native) | Swift (Native) | Swift (Open Source) | Swift (Native) | Swift (Native) |
| Now Playing Controls | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI Usage Tracker (Claude / Codex / Cursor) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Command Palette (⌃⌥K) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Localized (134 languages) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Clipboard History | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pomodoro Focus Timer | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| File Stash / Drop Shelf | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| System HUDs (Volume/Brightness) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AirPods Connected Reveal | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — |
| Lock Screen Widgets | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Quick Notes | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Calendar Widget | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — |
| Caffeine Toggle | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Synced Lyrics | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Image Converter (HEIC/JPG/PDF) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Apple Reminders Capture | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Audio Output Switcher | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Device Battery (Mouse/Keyboard) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Download Finished Alerts | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Run Apple Shortcuts | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| Camera Mirror / Webcam Preview | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| Zip & Unzip Files | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hide the Notch | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Window Snapping (drag to notch) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| App Launcher Tab | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| OCR + Searchable Clipboard | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Text Snippets / Expander | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Menu-Bar Icon Hiding | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| System-Wide Mic Mute | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Live System Stats (CPU/RAM) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| iPhone-Style Call Island | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Built-In Terminal | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Camera Guard (camera-access alerts) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
Everything Notchy does, for free
- Fluid Dynamic Island animations on the Mac notch
- Command palette (⌃⌥K) — every action one keystroke away
- Knock — double-tap a modifier key to open the notch
- AI usage tracker (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot)
- Detach any tab into a menu-bar popover
- Now Playing music controls (Apple Music & Spotify)
- Time-synced karaoke lyrics under the notch
- Mac clipboard history shelf (password-manager safe)
- Searchable clipboard — filter by text, file name, or OCR'd words
- On-device OCR — copy a screenshot, get its text (Apple Vision)
- Window snapping — drag a window to the notch to tile it
- App Launcher — pin apps to the notch, open with one tap
- Text snippets — TextExpander-style pastes from the ⌘K palette
- One-tap screen capture to clipboard + shelf
- Color eyedropper — sample any pixel, hex auto-copied
- System-wide mic mute for every meeting app at once
- Keystroke HUD for demos & screencasts (secure-input safe)
- Keyboard cleaning lock with countdown island (⌘⎋ unlocks)
- Menu-bar icon hiding — Bartender-style separator & chevron
- Live CPU / memory / network stats flyout
- Open GitHub PR count in the notch (Keychain-stored token)
- iPhone-style call island — Answer/Decline FaceTime on the notch
- Notch Terminal — real VT100/xterm shell in a PTY, its own tab
- Camera Guard — alert (or block) when any app opens your camera
- Caps Lock HUD — brief island on every toggle
- Full Charge island with adjustable threshold + low-battery sound
- Alt HUD styles — edge-pinned bar or circular gauge off the notch
- Audio-reactive Now Playing visualizer (real FFT of system audio)
- Custom closed-notch idle animation — drop in your own Lottie JSON
- Drag-and-drop file drop shelf — persists across relaunches
- Zip & unzip files right from the shelf
- Image converter (HEIC, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, PDF) + video → GIF
- Run Apple Shortcuts with one tap
- Screenshots auto-staged on the shelf, ready to drag
- Download finished alerts with Reveal in Finder
- USB drive mount island with one-tap Eject
- Apple Reminders quick capture & due list
- macOS Pomodoro notch timer & stopwatch — streaks + 7-day chart
- Resizable expanded panel (width & height, live preview)
- System HUDs (volume, brightness, battery)
- Audio output switcher (speakers, AirPods, monitor)
- AirPods connection manager & battery
- Magic Mouse, Keyboard & Trackpad battery + low-battery alerts
- Quick notes & Calendar widgets
- Camera Mirror (check your appearance)
- Keep Awake (caffeine toggle)
- Teleprompter (Cuely) for Zoom calls
- Focus-aware alerts & native haptic feedback
- Lock screen widgets & hide-the-notch mode
- 133 languages, fully localized
- Native SwiftUI, tuned for Apple Silicon
The honest verdict on Battery Health 3
Battery Health 3 is the more thorough battery instrument, and the per-app energy ranking and iPhone diagnostics are real reasons to buy it. If you want the everyday numbers plus the charge limit that actually slows the wear, Notchy does both for free, in a notch that's already showing your music and clipboard.
Battery Health 3 alternative — FAQ
How much is Battery Health 3?
FIPLAB sells it as a one-time purchase with a free trial, but does not print the figure on its product page, so none is quoted here. Check fiplab.com or the Mac App Store listing for the current price.
Can Notchy limit charging the way a battery app should?
Yes, since v1.0.169 — any limit from 50 to 100%, Sailing Mode so it isn't micro-cycling at the edge, automatic discharge when you plug in above the limit, and a one-shot top up before travel.
Does Notchy show my iPhone battery on the Mac?
Yes — a connected iPhone or iPad appears beside your Mac, mouse and keyboard under its real device name.
Does it tell me which app is draining the battery?
It warns when an app is draining it, but it doesn't rank every app by energy impact. That ranking is one of Battery Health 3's strengths.
What macOS versions are supported?
Battery Health 3 requires macOS 12 or later. Notchy runs from macOS 13 Ventura.
Is Notchy really free?
Yes — no trial, licence key, subscription or in-app purchase.