Drain
New For MacBooks with a notch

The battery monitor macOS forgot.

Drain turns your MacBook's notch into a live battery gauge. Hover it to see what's using power right now, what each app has cost you since you unplugged, and where your charger's power goes. When something runs away, stop it in one click.

First 1,000 licenses at $5, then $9One-time paymentmacOS 14 or laterMacBooks with a notch

−9%/h
> Empty7h50
72%
2,941 / 4,085 mAh
−9.2%/h
draining now
7h50
at 9.2 %/h avg
Storefront · python -m http.server 8000 ~/Projects/storefront
Started by Claude Code
Started 9 days ago
⚠ 4.0 %/h
Since unplugged· 1h4031%

Simulated figures: a web page cannot read your Mac.
Names, not process lists

Activity Monitor lists processes. Drain tells you what they are.

When a script or dev server drains your battery, Drain names it by its project and command, with a Stop button right there. Hover it to see its folder, what started it and when. If what started it has closed, a warning tells you nothing else will stop it.

Activity Monitor, Energy

Python99.8
Safari4.1
node2.3
Python0.0
Code Helper (Renderer)1.2

Drain

Storefront · python -m http.server 8000 ⚠
~/Projects/storefront
Started by Claude Code
Started 9 days ago
Shown when you hover the name. ⚠ means what started it has closed.
Stop4.0 %/h
Explains every watt

Know exactly where your battery goes.

Every app, project and part of your Mac gets its own line: the screen, speakers, keyboard light, USB devices, charging heat and macOS itself. A short test measures the screen, speakers and keyboard light on your own Mac. Drain learns what charging heat costs each time you plug in or unplug, and keeps adjusting its figures as you use your Mac. And it keeps a tally of what each one has cost you since you unplugged, so you know where the last 31% went.

Since unplugged· 1h4031%
12.4%
7.1%
5.3%
4.2%
2.0%

Solid: what each one has used so far. Faded: what it's using right now.

Helps you fix it

It catches what you'd never think to check.

Safari · speakers on 2h10 · try closing x.com, youtube.com0.7 %/h

Tabs keeping the speakers on

A paused video can keep the speakers on for hours, and your Mac won't sleep while it does. Drain tells you which browser, and suggests which of your open sites is likely doing it.

8W

Hogs show up next to the notch

When an app you can quit keeps using a lot of power for a minute, its icon appears beside the notch with a warning. Several stack up. Never for parts of macOS you can't stop.

Lenovo 65 W USB-C charger⚠+38.6 %/h
Mac 14.8 %/hbattery +23.8 %/h
Your 65 W charger is giving 18 W. Another cable, or nothing else plugged into the charger, may charge faster.

Plugged in, it follows the charger

See the charger's name, how much it delivers, how much your Mac uses and what goes into the battery. If a cable or a shared charger holds it back, or smart charging is holding the battery, Drain says so.

Mac is hot and slowing down · try a hard surface

Heat warnings

When your Mac gets hot and starts slowing down, or the battery heats up, a warning appears under the chart, with a tip like "try a hard surface".

−7%/h
Low Power

Low Power Mode in one click

Turn Low Power Mode on or off from the panel. A yellow leaf beside the notch shows when it's on.

−9%/h
7h50
Playing fullscreen

Out of the way in fullscreen

When a video or game goes fullscreen, even in players like VLC, the line around the notch dims. Or hides completely, if you prefer.

Compared

What Drain adds to what macOS already shows.

Drain
Battery menu
Activity Monitor
What's draining
✓The project and command behind each one
An app or process name
Process names
How much
✓In %/h or watts
No
Energy Impact score, no unit
Since you unplugged
✓What each app cost, in % of your battery
No
12-hour score per app, no unit
Where you see it
✓Around the notch, always
Menu bar icon
A window you open
Plugged in
✓Charger power split: Mac vs battery
Power source only
No
Speakers left on
✓Names the app, suggests the tab
No
No
Privacy

What you run stays on your Mac.

No account

Buy a license and use it. There's nothing to sign in to. The license is checked with our payment provider when you activate it, then about once a month.

No analytics

Drain doesn't report what you run, when, or for how long.

Only what it needs

Browser tabs are checked only while a browser keeps the speakers on. Only the names of media sites are kept, in memory, and never saved.

Pricing

One price, once.

$5one-time

For the first 1,000 licenses. Then $9.

  • Every feature, no subscription
  • Updates for this version
  • Use it on up to 2 of your Macs
macOS
macOS 14 Sonoma or later
Mac
A MacBook with a notch: MacBook Air M2 or later, or 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro from 2021 on.
Permissions
None to start. Turning Low Power Mode on or off asks for your password, as macOS requires.
Its own footprint
Under 0.01 W in our measurements with the panel closed.
Questions

Good to know.

Why percent per hour instead of watts?

10 %/h reads as roughly ten hours of battery. Watts are one click away if you prefer them.

Where do the numbers come from?

From your Mac: per-process energy counters, the chip's energy counters and the power controller's sensors. The screen, speakers and keyboard light are measured once with a short test that tells you exactly what it will do before it starts. Charging heat is learned each time you plug in or unplug, and the figures keep adjusting as you use your Mac.

Can it see my browsing?

Only while a browser keeps the speakers on, Drain looks at your open tabs for sites that usually cause it, like YouTube or X. Everything else is dropped right away and nothing is saved.