To check your MacBook’s battery cycle count, hold the Option key, open the Apple menu and choose System Information. Select Power in the sidebar and read Cycle Count. The count is not in System Settings. System Settings shows the other two health numbers: the condition and the maximum capacity.
This guide is about the cycle count. For the wider picture, see how to check battery health on a Mac.
Battery health in System Settings
- Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
- Click Battery.
- Click the info button next to Battery Health.
You see the condition, which is Normal or Service Recommended, and the Maximum Capacity as a percentage. Maximum capacity is how much charge the battery holds now, compared with when it was new.
Cycle count in System Information
The cycle count is not in System Settings. It is in System Information.
- Hold the Option key and open the Apple menu.
- Choose System Information.
- Select Power in the sidebar.
- Under Battery Information, find Health Information and read Cycle Count.
The same section repeats the condition and the maximum capacity.
The Terminal command
If you prefer Terminal, one command prints the same section.
system_profiler SPPowerDataType | grep -E "Cycle Count|Condition|Maximum Capacity"What is a good cycle count?
A good cycle count is any count below the limit of your model. For almost every MacBook in use today, that limit is 1000 cycles. Apple designs the battery to keep up to 80% of its original capacity at that count.
A charge cycle is 100% of the battery’s capacity used. It is not one time plugged in. If you use 60% today, charge overnight and use 40% tomorrow, that is one cycle. See what a battery charge cycle is for more examples.
So the two numbers to watch are the cycle count against the limit and the maximum capacity against 80%.
A low cycle count with a low maximum capacity can point to a battery that aged from heat or from long periods at full charge. A high cycle count with a high maximum capacity is a battery that is doing well.
Cycle count limit by MacBook model
Apple lists a maximum cycle count for each model. This table is a summary of Apple’s list.
| Model | Maximum cycle count |
|---|---|
| MacBook Neo | 1000 |
| MacBook Air (Late 2010) and every later MacBook Air, to the M5 models | 1000 |
| MacBook Air (Mid 2009) | 500 |
| MacBook Air (Late 2008) and the original MacBook Air | 300 |
| MacBook Pro (2009 models) and every later MacBook Pro, to the M5 models | 1000 |
| MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008) | 500 |
| MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2008) and every MacBook Pro from Early 2008 and earlier | 300 |
| MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, 2015 to 2017) | 1000 |
| MacBook (13-inch, Late 2009) and (13-inch, Mid 2010) | 1000 |
| MacBook (13-inch Aluminum, Late 2008) | 500 |
| MacBook (2006 to Mid 2009, other models) | 300 |
Apple calls the battery consumed when it reaches the limit. In Apple’s words: “Your battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original charge capacity at its maximum cycle count.”
You can keep using the Mac after that. Apple says you might notice a reduction in battery life, and recommends a new battery for best performance. If macOS also shows a warning, read what Service Recommended means.
What macOS does not show
macOS gives you today’s numbers only. It does not keep a record, so you cannot see whether your battery lost 2% this year or 10%.
Track battery health over time
BatteryBud records the maximum capacity and the cycle count of your Mac and charts how they change. It does the same for your iPhone and iPad, next to the day, week, month and year charts of each device’s level.
You can also set an alert for battery health. BatteryBud then tells you when the maximum capacity drops below a level you pick.
For what else it shows, see the battery monitor for Mac page.