Amphetamine app alternatives for Mac in 2026: Napless is our #1 pick

Napless is our best Amphetamine alternative for most Mac users. It covers manual sessions and, with Pro, automatic holds for downloads, apps and Terminal jobs, then lets the Mac sleep when the work is done. New installs get a 7-day free trial of everything, Pro included, without an account or card. After that, keep-awake needs Pro. Try Napless free for 7 days . This article compares alternatives to the Mac app Amphetamine by William Gustafson. For closed-display sessions, retain Amphetamine unless you can verify a replacement’s lid support; Napless has not shipped it, and Caffeinated’s documentation conflicts on that feature.

Amphetamine is the free Mac App Store keep-awake app . Its latest listed release is 5.3.2, dated 10 November 2023. Its baseline includes manual sessions, optional display sleep, app/download sessions and condition triggers. A timer alone will not reproduce that trigger setup.

Disclosure: Napless is made by the team behind Bundl, and it is our top pick. We say below where another app fits better.

Key points

Napless is our #1 alternative for most readers. Its manual sessions and Pro holds for downloads, apps, named commands and local servers cover the common reasons to use Amphetamine. Try Napless free for 7 days .
KeepingYouAwake is our free-forever pick for Amphetamine’s manual timer and optional display-sleep use.
Caffeine by domzilla fits sessions where you want a free-forever screen-on toggle.
Napless needs Pro after the trial for manual and automatic keep-awake, including While a Remote Login Is Open.
Napless has not shipped closed-lid keep-awake, and KeepingYouAwake explicitly requires an open laptop lid.
Caffeinated’s release notes add a closed-lid option, but its description still denies support; treat that as unresolved.

Comparison table

Prices are USD; App Store amounts are from U.S. listings. The replacement column is an editorial recommendation. “Lid closed” concerns the computer continuing to work, not its built-in screen staying lit.

Tool	Price	Replaces this Amphetamine use	Lid closed without an external display
Napless	7-day free trial, then $8 (first 50 licenses) or $24, once	Manual timers, presets and a sleep-cause note	Not shipped in 1.5.0
Napless Pro	7-day free trial, then $8 (first 50 licenses) or $24, once	Automatic holds for apps, downloads, commands and local servers	Not shipped in 1.5.0
Amphetamine (baseline)	Free	App/download sessions and condition triggers	Documented, with Apple silicon caveats
KeepingYouAwake	Free	Manual timers with optional display sleep	No
Caffeine (domzilla)	Free	Screen-on manual sessions	Not documented
Lungo	$4.00	Manual sessions controlled through Shortcuts	No standalone support
caffeinate	Included with macOS	Holds tied to a Terminal command or process	No
Theine	$8.99	Timed screen-on sessions alongside focus tools	No
Caffeinated	$3.99	Manual screen-on timer	Conflicting documentation

Napless prices, the 7-day trial and the 1.5.0 release notes were checked on napless.io on 8 October 2026. Other prices and versions were checked on each developer’s own page or App Store listing on 3 October 2026. Napless manual sessions and Pro automation are one ranked product below.

1. Napless: our pick as the best Amphetamine alternative

Best for: most Amphetamine users replacing manual timers, app sessions or download holds.

Napless 1.5.0, released 8 October 2026, has a 7-day free trial of everything, including Pro. New website installs start the trial on first launch without an account or card. After 7 days, keeping the Mac awake requires Pro. Manual sessions can run for a duration, until a time, until you stop them, or from a preset (Download, Meeting, Render and AI Run). Allow display to sleep is on by default; turn it off when you want the screen lit. Heat protection is on by default, and a battery floor is available as another safety stop. It is off by default. If the Mac sleeps during a hold, the menu and Check Health say why. While a Remote Login Is Open is off by default and is included in the trial; after 7 days, its keep-awake hold needs Pro.

Napless Pro adds automatic holds for downloads, calls, exports, backups, meetings with a video-call link, VPN, connected drives, presenting, named commands, local servers and AI agent runs. Pro also adds Insights and Telegram or Slack alerts. Those work-based holds are the closest match here to Amphetamine’s app/download use. Amphetamine remains the better choice if you need those sessions free, and it still wins on closed-display support. Napless is our first recommendation for that mix of manual sessions and automatic holds. Try the holds you need before buying; this recommendation does not establish feature-for-feature parity. Agent hooks cover Claude Code, Codex, Grok, Cursor and Gemini CLI, and Keep Awake While It Runs covers 12 more, 17 total. Claude Code, Codex and Grok stay awake while a turn runs, for up to 10 minutes after the last prompt, even if the turn is still running. Cursor stays awake while a turn runs, for up to 60 minutes after the last prompt. Gemini CLI stays awake while Gemini CLI is open.

Closed-lid keep-awake is not shipped. This comparison covers Napless 1.5.0, released 8 October 2026. Release notes . See Napless versus Amphetamine before switching a trigger-dependent setup.

Pros:

Timers with optional display sleep and safety stops, included in the 7-day trial and with Pro.
Pro automates holds for supported work rather than requiring a timer estimate.

Cons:

New users need Pro after the trial for manual and automatic holds; Amphetamine offers app/download sessions free.
Does not replace Amphetamine’s closed-display mode.

Price: 7-day free trial, then $8 (first 50 licenses) or $24, once; lifetime, up to 3 Macs, no subscription · Version covered: 1.5.0, 8 October 2026 · Requirement: macOS 13+, Apple silicon and Intel .

Macs that installed Napless before 1.5.0 keep the free timers, Keep Awake Until, presets and sleep-cause note they already had; Pro features still need Pro.

Get it: Try Napless free for 7 days .

2. KeepingYouAwake: free manual timers with optional display sleep

Best for: Replacing Amphetamine’s everyday manual sessions without paying for automation.

KeepingYouAwake wraps Apple’s caffeinate command in a menu-bar utility. It can stay active for a predefined duration or indefinitely. Its display preference lets the screen sleep while the computer stays awake, making it useful for background work with the lid open.

The changelog also documents activation when an external screen connects and a URL scheme for timed activation. That covers some automation needs, but it is not a replacement for Amphetamine’s full condition-trigger setup. The README explicitly rules out keeping a laptop awake with its lid closed.

Pros:

Free, MIT-licensed source.
Separates display sleep from keeping the computer awake.

Cons:

Open lid required on a laptop.
A narrower replacement for condition-based automation.

Price: Free · Latest release: 1.6.8, 12 September 2025 · Requirement: macOS 10.13 or newer for 1.6.8 .

Install with the Homebrew cask :


brew install --cask keepingyouawake

3. Caffeine: a free replacement for screen-on sessions

Best for: Amphetamine users who mainly clicked a switch to keep their display visible.

Caffeine by Dominic Rodemer prevents automatic sleep, dimming and the screen saver while active. The coffee-cup menu-bar toggle suits a presentation or long read where keeping the display on is the point. Choose it instead if you want a screen-on switch that stays free forever.

This is the domzilla project. Homebrew’s caffeine token selects a different IntelliScape app. Compatibility sources conflict: the developer FAQ says macOS 11, the default download metadata says macOS 26.0+, and the cask requires macOS 14+. Use the site’s OS-specific download selector; do not assume one requirement applies to every download. The developer site and repository do not document a closed-lid mode or a separate allow-display-sleep setting.

Pros:

Free and MIT-licensed.
A direct match for keeping the display lit.

Cons:

Does not document Amphetamine-style app/download triggers.
Conflicting minimum-macOS information across distribution sources.

Price: Free · Latest release: 1.6.4, 20 April 2026 · Requirement: Homebrew macOS 14+ ; developer downloads vary by macOS .

Install the domzilla Homebrew cask :


brew install --cask domzilla-caffeine

4. Lungo: manual sessions controlled with Shortcuts

Best for: Replacing Amphetamine’s manual controls with a paid switch you can automate through Shortcuts.

Lungo supports Shortcuts, a keyboard shortcut and URL-scheme control. It also lets the display sleep while the computer stays awake. That combination fits someone who wants to build activation into an existing workflow instead of managing Amphetamine’s trigger rules.

The developer does not offer a built-in activate-when-an-app-opens trigger and points to Shortcuts automation instead. Lungo does not provide standalone closed-lid keep-awake or override scheduled sleep. The current store build needs macOS 26.0; the developer links separate older builds for older systems.

Pros:

Shortcuts and URL-scheme control.
Optional display sleep for background work.

Cons:

Per-app activation requires an external automation workflow.
Current App Store build requires macOS 26.0 or later.

Price: $4.00 · Latest release: 2.8.3, 15 September 2026 · Requirement: macOS 26.0+ .

Get it: Lungo on the Mac App Store .

5. caffeinate: keep-awake tied to a Terminal job

Best for: Replacing a manual Amphetamine session around a command-line build or export.

Apple’s built-in caffeinate command can hold off idle sleep for a timeout, a process ID, or the lifetime of a launched command. There is no app to install. For example, caffeinate -i make keeps the hold for that build’s execution.

For an hour-long session, use the command below. The -i flag prevents idle system sleep; -t 3600 supplies a timeout in seconds. Add -d if you also want to prevent display sleep. This is a command or process hold, not an automatic detector for arbitrary GUI downloads. An idle-sleep assertion does not keep a laptop awake when the lid is closed, because Apple treats lid close as forced sleep and these assertions cannot prevent it.

Pros:

Included with macOS at no additional cost.
A launched command can determine when the hold ends.

Cons:

Requires Terminal rather than a menu-bar session control.
Does not reproduce Amphetamine’s graphical condition-trigger setup.

Price: Included with macOS · Version/date: bundled with macOS; not a separate app release · Requirement: macOS; ships with macOS; the man page states no separate minimum.

Open Terminal and run:


caffeinate -i -t 3600

For more examples, see caffeinate versus Amphetamine.

6. Theine: timed sessions alongside desktop focus tools

Best for: Replacing Amphetamine’s screen-on timer when you also want Hide Desktop and Focus Dim.

Theine prevents sleep, screen dimming and the screen saver for a duration or indefinitely. Its desktop tools give a reason to pay beyond the keep-awake switch. Version 4.3 adds a left-click menu of timer durations.

The developer site documents a global hot key and Shortcuts support. The store explicitly says Theine cannot prevent sleep on a closed MacBook without an additional display. KeepingYouAwake is the better-value choice if desktop focus tools are not part of your replacement brief.

Pros:

Keep Awake, Hide Desktop and Focus Dim in one app.
Shortcuts and a global hot key.

Cons:

Paid when free timers may cover the same sleep-prevention task.
Cannot keep a closed MacBook awake without an additional display.

Price: $8.99 for a new purchase · Latest release: 4.3, 1 October 2026 · Requirement: macOS 15.6+ .

Get it: Theine on the Mac App Store . The listing also has in-app purchases; its $4.99 upgrade is specifically for version 3 owners.

7. Caffeinated: a paid timer with unresolved lid documentation

Best for: A recently updated App Store screen-on timer, if closed-lid support is not essential.

Caffeinated by Yugen GmbH offers one-click activation and an integrated timer. It prevents sleep, display dimming and the screen saver. Do not confuse it with Caffeine by domzilla above.

The reason for its lower placement is replacement uncertainty. Apple’s 3.2.0 release metadata adds an option to keep the system awake with the lid closed, while the store description still says anti-sleep does not work with the lid closed. Ask the developer to resolve that contradiction before treating Caffeinated as an Amphetamine closed-display replacement.

Pros:

One-click activation and a timer.
A September 2026 store release.

Cons:

Costs money for a manual task also covered by free options.
Primary sources disagree on the lid feature.

Price: $3.99 · Latest release: 3.2.0, 11 September 2026 · Requirement: macOS 15.0+ .

Get it: Caffeinated on the Mac App Store .

How we picked

The comparison uses source-based desk research, with no lab tests or battery measurements. Napless was checked on 8 October 2026. The other sources in this article were checked on 3 October 2026.
Napless ranks first for its combination of manual controls and Pro holds for apps, downloads and ongoing work. We recommend it even though keeping the Mac awake after the trial needs a one-time purchase. Free-forever use and shipped closed-display support are reasons to keep another tool.
Use developer documentation, source repositories, U.S. App Store records and Homebrew metadata. A recent release is evidence of release activity, not proof that every feature works on every Mac.
Distinguish optional display sleep from closed-lid operation, and keep contradictory documentation visible.
Napless facts come from napless.io , Pro pricing , help and release notes . Its top placement is our editorial recommendation, based on those documented features.

FAQ

Is Amphetamine still being updated, or has it been abandoned?

Amphetamine’s store history shows the release date quoted above; that establishes the age of the listed build, not the developer’s future plans. We cannot confirm continuing development from that history alone, and an old release does not itself prove abandonment. If maintenance matters to your decision, compare documented release activity separately from whether your current setup works.

Does Amphetamine work on macOS 26 Tahoe?

Amphetamine’s App Store compatibility line says macOS 10.13 or later. That is the store’s minimum requirement, not a Tahoe-specific test result or a guarantee for every feature on macOS 26.

Can I install Amphetamine with Homebrew?

No. Amphetamine has no Homebrew cask; the Mac App Store is the way to get it. The cask commands above install different apps, not Amphetamine.

Is Amphetamine Enhancer a standalone alternative?

Amphetamine Enhancer is a companion that requires Amphetamine 5.0 or later. It adds a closed-display fail-safe and expanded process monitoring; it does not independently keep the Mac awake. It is also distinct from Power Protect , the separate Apple silicon helper for Amphetamine’s closed-display behavior across power changes. Neither is a replacement app.

Sources

Napless is our first choice for most people replacing Amphetamine. Use the trial to check the manual controls and the automatic holds your work needs. Pro is US$8 for the first 50 licenses, then US$24, paid once for a lifetime license on up to 3 Macs, with no subscription. Keep Amphetamine for closed-display work or choose a free alternative if you want keep-awake free forever. Try Napless free for 7 days .

Choose the Homebrew options for your setup with Bundl’s builder.