A battery monitor for Mac shows the battery levels that macOS spreads over several menus, or does not show at all. BatteryBud is one. It puts this Mac, your other Macs, iPhone, iPad, AirPods, Beats, keyboard, mouse and trackpad one click from the menu bar, with history charts, battery health and charge cycles.
What a battery monitor shows that macOS does not
macOS shows batteries in three places. Each one covers a part.
| Battery menu | Bluetooth list | Batteries widget | BatteryBud | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This Mac | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Other Macs | No | No | No | Yes, on the same network |
| iPhone | No | No | No | Yes, over Wi-Fi |
| iPad | No | No | No | Yes, over Wi-Fi |
| AirPods and Beats connected to this Mac | No | Yes | Yes | Yes, left bud, right bud and case |
| AirPods connected to another device | No | No | No | Yes, while they are nearby |
| Keyboard, mouse, trackpad | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Stays in the menu bar | This Mac only | No | No | Any device you pin |
| History | No | No | No | Day, week, month and year |
| Battery health and charge cycles | No | No | No | Mac, iPhone and iPad |
| Alert at a level you pick | No | No | No | Yes |
The battery menu is the battery icon in the menu bar. The Bluetooth list is in Control Center and in System Settings.
macOS has more than this table shows, in other places. Battery settings chart the last 24 hours and the last 10 days for this Mac. They also show the battery health of this Mac. System Information shows its cycle count. Find My and Finder show a battery icon for an iPhone.
These guides cover each built-in way:
- how to show the battery percentage in the Mac menu bar
- how to add the Batteries widget to a Mac
- how to check battery health on a Mac
What BatteryBud shows
BatteryBud is a menu bar app. One click opens a list of every battery it knows.
- This Mac and your other Macs. Macs on the same network sync with a sync code.
- iPhone and iPad. Exact percentage over Wi-Fi.
- AirPods and Beats. The left bud, the right bud and the case.
- Bluetooth keyboards, mice and trackpads.
For each device, BatteryBud keeps:
- Charts for the day, the week, the month and the year.
- Charging sessions. A record of each charge.
- Battery health. Maximum capacity and charge cycles, for Macs, iPhones and iPads.
- Alerts. Low battery, charged to a level, not seen for a while, and battery health below a level.
You can pin any device to the menu bar with its percentage. BatteryBud also has desktop widgets.
AirPods have two modes. Connected to this Mac, they report exact levels. Connected to another device, or in their closed case, BatteryBud reads the Bluetooth broadcasts they send while they are near your Mac. Most of those carry exact levels too, and the rest come in 10% steps. The guide on how to check AirPods battery on a Mac has the details.
A macOS battery monitor for iPhone and iPad, over Wi-Fi
macOS does not put your iPhone’s percentage in the menu bar. BatteryBud does, after a setup that needs a cable once.
- Connect the iPhone or iPad to your Mac with a cable, and unlock it.
- Tap Trust on the device, then enter its passcode.
- In Finder, select the device and turn on Show this iPhone when on Wi-Fi.
After that you do not need the cable. BatteryBud reads the level over your Wi-Fi network. It also reads maximum capacity and charge cycles.
There is one limit. A locked iPhone that is not charging can drop off Wi-Fi. BatteryBud then shows the last level and when it last saw the device.
The full steps are in how to check your iPhone battery from a Mac. An iPad works the same way.
What it does not do
BatteryBud is a monitor. It reads batteries and does not control them.
- No charge limiting. It cannot stop your MacBook at 80%. macOS has a charge limit setting on recent versions, and apps like AlDente do this job.
- No per-app energy use. It does not tell you which app drains your Mac.
- No battery temperature.
- No free trial. You can get a refund within 14 days if it does not work on your Mac.
- No Intel Macs. It needs macOS 14 or later and Apple silicon.
- No battery health for accessories. AirPods, keyboards and mice do not report it.
If one of these is the job you need, the list of Mac battery apps sorted by the job names apps that do it.
A MacBook battery monitor with health and charge cycles
A MacBook reports two numbers about the age of its battery. Maximum capacity is how much charge the battery holds now, compared to when it was new. The cycle count is how many full charges it has been through.
macOS shows both, in two different places. BatteryBud records them and charts them over time, so you can see the trend. It does the same for an iPhone and an iPad. You can set an alert for when maximum capacity drops below a level you pick.
To read the numbers, see how to check a MacBook’s battery cycle count and what a battery charge cycle is.
No account, and battery data stays on your Mac
BatteryBud has no account. Levels, history and health stay on your Mac.
If you sync Macs, they talk to each other directly over your local network. The connection is encrypted with your sync code.
The app sends anonymous usage data. You can turn that off in Settings. The privacy page lists everything the app sends.
Pricing
BatteryBud costs $19, paid once. There is no subscription.
- One year of updates is included.
- Every version released in that year keeps working forever.
- Another year of updates costs $9. It is optional.
- A license covers one Mac at a time. You can move it to another Mac.
The details are under pricing.