Battery time remaining for Mac54% isn't an answer.3h 42m is.
TurtleBar puts the time your Mac has left in the menu bar, tells you if it will last until your next deadline, and turns on Low Power Mode before you run out.
- One-time purchase
- No subscription
- 14-day refund
For MacBook Air and Pro on macOS 13 Ventura or later. Apple Silicon and Intel. Signed and notarized by Apple.
Live demo, running TurtleBar's own logic.
Why time, not percent
54% means nothing.Seven hours. Or one.
How long a charge lasts depends on what you're doing with it. macOS shows you how full the tank is. TurtleBar tells you how far you'll get.
A MacBook Air at 54%.
- Writing6h 56m
- Browsing3h 42m
- Video call2h 9m
- Building code1h 27m
- Exporting video1h 6m
How it works
An estimate you can plan around.
Apple took the time remaining out of the menu bar in 2016 because a naive estimate jumps around too much to trust. TurtleBar is built to fix exactly that.
It reads watts, not percent
Your MacBook's battery reports exactly how much power it is drawing. TurtleBar divides what is left by that, the way a trip computer does.
It notices, and says so
Join a call or start a build and the estimate catches up in about a minute, saying “Adjusting” while it does. One heavy web page doesn't move it.
It learns your day
It learns what this Mac draws at each hour, so “Empty around 5:40 PM” accounts for your afternoon calls, not just the quiet morning.
It counts down like a clock
The number ticks down on its own and ignores noise. While it is still learning, it shows a ~ rather than pretending to be precise.
While building it, the stock macOS estimate read 5h 28m on a Mac that had been pulling 19 W for minutes. At 19 W, that battery had about 3 hours.
Features
It answers the questions you actually have.
Make it last until
Will it last until 6 pm?
Set the time you need to reach: the end of a flight, a lecture, a long meeting. TurtleBar tells you if you'll make it, and by how much. If you won't, you get one notification, with the fix built in.
- On track, close, or short, in minutes
- Knows whether Low Power Mode would cover the gap
- Can switch it on for you when the deadline is at risk
May not last until 6:00 PM
nowYou're about 21 minutes short. Low Power Mode would cover it.
Low Power Mode
Adds about 50m
Until 6:00 PM
Short by about 21m · Low Power Mode would cover it
Try it: turn on Low Power Mode.
Automation
Low Power Mode, before you think of it.
Low Power Mode buys real time, but only if it's on before you need it. TurtleBar switches it on by runtime, charge, deadline, idle time or app, and back off when you plug in.
- Per-app rules: on while you write in Notes, off the moment Final Cut opens
- Never undoes a change you made yourself
- Every automatic change says why, right in the popover
Turn it on when
Guards
Apps that turn it on
Apps that turn it off
TurtleBar only ever switches Low Power Mode back off if it was the one that turned it on. A setting you change yourself is left alone.
Top apps
See what's costing you time.
No Energy Impact scores nobody can read. The five apps drawing the most, in watts, and together in the only unit that matters: how much runtime they cost.
- Helpers folded into their app, so a browser is one row
- Ranked by the last 12 hours, so the list doesn't jump
- Measured with no admin rights and almost no overhead
Zoom alone is costing you 1h 3m
Everything above is in the $4.99 app. No tiers, no add-ons.
Make it yours
Your menu bar, your way.
A countdown, a clock time, or both, drawn inside a battery or as plain text. Try every combination.
Monochrome by default, so it sits quietly with the rest of the bar.
Show
And the details you'd hope for.
Charging? It says when it'll be full.
Plug in and every display mode flips to full instead of empty, with the rate it's charging at.
Notifications that know when to stay quiet
At most one of each per time on battery, and only when TurtleBar is confident enough to stand behind it.
Five hours at a glance
Power draw and battery level side by side, with charging stretches marked and Low Power Mode shaded.
Native, and light on the battery it watches
A universal Swift app of about 7 MB. It checks the battery every ten seconds, every three while you look, and does the maths on your Mac.
At home on Tahoe, and on Ventura
Liquid Glass on macOS 26, classic materials below it. Light, dark, or following the system.
Private by design
Your battery readings and habits never leave your Mac. It goes online only to check your license and for updates.
Compared with macOS
What the battery icon can't tell you.
TurtleBarFrom the Product Hunt launch
“Clean, useful, no fluff. Exactly my kind of Mac utility.”
“Nice and straightforward tool”
Pricing
Less than a coffee. Once.
One price, everything included. No subscription, no account, no upsell.
TurtleBar
Version 2.0.5 for Mac
- Time remaining in the menu bar, five ways
- “Make it last until” with deadline warnings
- Automatic Low Power Mode, with per-app rules
- Top apps, measured in time
- Power and battery charts
- Updates included
- Apple Silicon and Intel
- macOS 13 Ventura or later
Secure checkout by Stripe. Signed and notarized by Apple. 14-day refund, no questions.
What happens next
- 1Pay once with StripeCard, in about thirty seconds.
- 2Download and get your keyThe DMG starts right away and your license key is on screen, ready to copy. Keep it for your next Mac.
- 3Drag it to ApplicationsOpen it, paste the key, and the time is in your menu bar. About two minutes, start to finish.
The 14-day promise
From Soren, who made TurtleBar
If it doesn't earn its place in your menu bar, email turtlebar@soren-starck.com and I'll refund you. No form, no hoops.
hey, i'm soren
i never knew when my mac would die. 54% was six hours of writing or one hour of exporting video, so the number told me nothing.
so i built turtlebar: the time i actually have, right in the menu bar. then i taught it to learn my day, warn me before a deadline, and flip Low Power Mode for me.
it's a one-person app. if something's off, email me and i'll answer. @SorenStarck
Aren't there free battery apps?
Plenty, and most show a percentage, battery health or a cycle count. TurtleBar answers a different question: how long you have, whether it will last until a time you care about, and what Low Power Mode would add. Then it switches Low Power Mode for you, by runtime, charge, deadline, idle time or app.
How accurate is the time prediction?
It is built on the battery's own power reading, smoothed so one heavy web page doesn't swing it, and it catches up within about a minute when your workload really changes, saying "Adjusting" while it does. It learns what your Mac draws at each hour, so it gets sharper over the first few days. While it's still unsure it shows a ~ instead of pretending to be precise.
What happens after I pay?
Checkout is handled by Stripe. You land on a download page that starts the DMG and shows your license key; copy it somewhere safe. If you ever lose it, email us from the address you paid with and we'll send it again. Drag TurtleBar to Applications, open it, paste the key. It takes about two minutes.
Is there a subscription?
No. It's $4.99 once, and updates are included.
Do you offer refunds?
Yes. If TurtleBar isn't for you, email turtlebar@soren-starck.com within 14 days and you get your money back. No hoops.
Does TurtleBar work on MacBook Air and MacBook Pro?
Yes: any MacBook Air or MacBook Pro running macOS 13 Ventura or later, Apple Silicon or Intel, including macOS 26 Tahoe. It's one universal app. On a desktop Mac there is no battery, so there is nothing for it to do.
Does it need admin rights?
Once. Switching Low Power Mode needs administrator permission, so TurtleBar asks one time during setup and tells you why. You can revoke it from Settings whenever you like. Everything else runs as a normal menu bar app.
Does it collect my data?
Not your battery data. Your battery readings, the habits it learns and your app usage all stay on your Mac. TurtleBar goes online only to check your license, which sends the key, a device ID and the macOS and app versions, and to look for updates.
Why did Apple remove time remaining?
In late 2016 Apple removed the time estimate from the menu bar, saying it varied too much with how the Mac was used. TurtleBar's answer is an estimate built for that variation: it averages over minutes, notices real changes within about a minute, and learns what your Mac usually draws at each hour.
How do I see battery time remaining on a Mac?
macOS no longer shows it in the menu bar. You can get a raw estimate by typing pmset -g batt in Terminal. TurtleBar puts a steadier one in the menu bar all the time, as a countdown, a clock time, or inside a battery icon.
What's the best Mac battery app in 2026?
It depends on the job. For battery health and cycle counts, coconutBattery is great. For charge limiting, AlDente. If you want to know how long you have, and have Low Power Mode handled for you, that's TurtleBar.
Mac battery, explained
All guidesMacBook battery life calculator
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How to see time remaining on a Mac
Apple removed it in 2016. Here's how to get it back.
Mac Low Power Mode, automated
Turn it on by hand, then by battery level, time or app.
Best Mac battery apps in 2026
TurtleBar, coconutBattery, AlDente and the free options.
Extend MacBook battery life
Tips that actually add time to a charge.
Battery life app for MacBook
Which app fits a MacBook Air, Pro or Neo, and how you use it.
Know how long you have.Every time you look.
One-time $4.99. No subscription. 14-day refund.