KeepingYouAwake Alternatives for Mac (2026)

The best KeepingYouAwake alternative depends on what’s missing. For automatic triggers or a closed lid, use Amphetamine (free). For a small paid app on macOS 26 or later, Lungo. For nothing to install, caffeinate. To keep Slack or Teams Active, FavTray Keep Alive, free for 3 hours a day. KeepingYouAwake itself is still maintained.

Checked on 28 September 2026 against KeepingYouAwake’s GitHub repository and changelog, the Homebrew cask, and the Mac App Store listings for Amphetamine and Lungo.

TL;DR

You want	Pick	Price
One click, open source, nothing else	Stay on KeepingYouAwake	Free
Nothing to install	caffeinate in Terminal	Free, built in
Automatic triggers, lid closed	Amphetamine	Free
A small paid app, Shortcuts, macOS 26+	Lungo	$4
Stay “Active” in Slack or Teams	FavTray Keep Alive	Free 3 h a day; one-time Lifetime licence for unlimited

New to KeepingYouAwake itself? Our KeepingYouAwake guide covers installing it, its settings and its URL scheme.

What is KeepingYouAwake, and is it still maintained?

KeepingYouAwake is a free, open-source (MIT) menu bar app by Marcel Dierkes. Click its coffee cup and your Mac won’t sleep; click again and it can. Under the hood it runs Apple’s own caffeinate command, which is why it’s so light.

As of 28 September 2026:

• Latest release: 1.6.8, published 12 September 2025. It added a light, dark and clear app icon for macOS 26 Tahoe. Homebrew’s cask is on the same version.
• Still active: the last commit on the main branch was 15 August 2026.
• Next version: the changelog has an unreleased 1.6.9 entry that raises the minimum to macOS 12, because of Xcode requirements.
• Supported macOS: 1.6.8 runs on macOS 10.13 High Sierra and later.
• macOS 27 Golden Gate (released 14 September 2026): no specific release yet, and no open issue reporting a problem. The Golden Gate menu bar change broke apps that hide other apps’ icons, like Ice; KeepingYouAwake only draws its own.
• Known limit: its README says it “will only prevent sleep on desktop Macs and portable Macs with an open lid.”

So you don’t have to switch. People look for an alternative for four reasons: the lid, automation, Slack or Teams status, or they’d rather not install anything.

Is caffeinate enough on its own?

For most one-off jobs, yes. It’s what KeepingYouAwake runs anyway:

caffeinate -di            # keep the display and the Mac awake until Ctrl+C
caffeinate -i -t 7200     # stop idle sleep for 2 hours
caffeinate -i npm run build   # stay awake exactly as long as the build runs

-d keeps the display on, -i stops idle sleep, -s stops system sleep on AC power only, -t sets a timeout in seconds, and -w <pid> holds the Mac awake until a process exits. The catch is that there’s no menu bar icon telling you it’s on. Our caffeinate guide has every flag and more recipes.

Is Amphetamine better than KeepingYouAwake?

It does more, and it’s still free with no in-app purchases (version 5.3.2, macOS 10.13 or later, last updated November 2023). What it adds:

• Triggers that start a session on their own: a display connected, a USB device, an app running, a battery level, a Wi-Fi network or CPU use.
• Closed-Display Mode, to keep a MacBook running with the lid shut. On Apple silicon it suggests a separate Power Protect script.
• Drive Alive, which keeps external drives from spinning down.
• Cursor movement after a period of inactivity.

The trade-off is a much bigger settings window, and no update in almost three years. If KeepingYouAwake’s single external-display trigger isn’t enough, Amphetamine is the free step up. We compare them feature by feature in Amphetamine vs KeepingYouAwake vs FavTray.

Is Lungo worth $4?

Lungo, by Sindre Sorhus, is the paid, tidy option: $4 on the Mac App Store with no in-app purchases. Version 2.8.3 came out on 15 September 2026, and it needs macOS 26 or later. It keeps the Mac and screen awake for a default duration, has a keyboard shortcut, Shortcuts and script control, and can switch itself off when you unplug the charger. It has no closed-lid mode and no triggers like Amphetamine’s. Pick it if you’re on Tahoe or Golden Gate and want a well-kept, minimal app that you pay for once.

What if Slack or Teams still shows you as Away?

That’s the one job no sleep blocker does. KeepingYouAwake, Lungo and caffeinate stop sleep, but they don’t create keyboard or mouse input, and chat apps set you Away after a period without input.

FavTray’s Keep Alive keeps the Mac awake and simulates activity, with movement patterns and optional office hours. It pauses while you’re using the Mac yourself, and when Zoom, Teams or Webex is in front. It needs the Accessibility permission to move the pointer, and runs on macOS 14 Sonoma and later.

Free vs Pro: the free plan runs Keep Alive for 3 hours a day. When you start it, it shows when the session will end, and a card warns you 10 minutes before. Pauses don’t count. The one-time Lifetime licence removes the limit. Past the free 3 hours, caffeinate still keeps the Mac awake.

Simulated input isn’t invisible to IT. Read what mouse jigglers look like to your employer before you rely on it at work.

How do the KeepingYouAwake alternatives compare?

	KeepingYouAwake	caffeinate	Amphetamine	Lungo	FavTray Keep Alive
Price	Free, open source	Free, built in	Free	$4	Free 3 h/day; Lifetime licence for unlimited
Latest version (checked 28 Sep 2026)	1.6.8 (Sep 2025)	Ships with macOS	5.3.2 (Nov 2023)	2.8.3 (Sep 2026)	2.0.2
Minimum macOS	10.13	Any	10.13	26	14
Menu bar icon	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes, inside FavTray
Timed sessions	Yes	Yes (-t)	Yes	Yes	Yes, with office hours
Automatic triggers	External display only	No	Many	No	Office hours
Lid closed	No	No	Yes	No	No
Keeps chat status Active	No	No	Cursor movement	No	Yes

How do you check that a keep-awake app is actually working?

Run this in Terminal while it’s on:

pmset -g assertions

Look under “Listed by owning process”. A caffeinate line (KeepingYouAwake), or a line from the app itself, with PreventUserIdleSystemSleep or PreventUserIdleDisplaySleep means it’s holding the Mac awake. If your Mac won’t sleep when you want it to, the same command shows the culprit; see what’s keeping my Mac awake?

Sources (checked 28 September 2026): KeepingYouAwake on GitHub (README, releases, changelog), Homebrew cask, Amphetamine and Lungo on the Mac App Store, caffeinate man page, 9to5Mac on the macOS 27 release date.