How to set a charge limit below 80% on a Mac

Since macOS Tahoe 26.4, a Mac with Apple silicon can stop charging before it is full. You set this in System Settings, and the lowest limit Apple offers is 80%. If you want your Mac to hold 60% or 70%, you need an app to do it.

What macOS can do on its own

Open System Settings, click Battery, then click the info button next to Charging. There you can choose a Charge Limit between 80% and 100%. It needs macOS Tahoe 26.4 or later and a Mac with Apple silicon.

With a limit set, the Mac stops charging close to it. If the charge drops by more than 5% while it is plugged in, charging starts again. For most people, 80% is a sensible everyday limit.

Why go below 80%

Some Macs spend most of their life on a desk, plugged in, and rarely leave it. For a Mac like that, a lower limit keeps the battery at a lower charge for longer, which reduces wear over time. Others want a lower limit for a few weeks, for example while working from home, and 80% the rest of the time.

macOS has no setting for either case.

How to set a lower limit with BatFi

BatFi is a battery charge limiter for Mac. It holds any limit you choose, below 80% included.

Download BatFi from micropixels.software/batfi, or install it with Homebrew: brew install --cask batfi.
Open BatFi and set your charge limit, for example 60%.
In System Settings > Battery, click the info button next to Charging. Set Charge Limit back to 100% and turn off Optimized Battery Charging, so BatFi is the only thing managing the limit.

If your battery is already above the new limit, BatFi can run the Mac on battery until it gets there. On macOS 27 this works with the lid closed too. On macOS 26 and earlier, turn on BatFi’s option that keeps the Mac from sleeping, and the battery keeps discharging with the lid closed.

On macOS 27

macOS 27 changed the way charging is controlled. Limits below 80% work with BatFi 4.0 or newer. If you are on macOS 27, open BatFi and check for updates first.

Change the limit by time and place

A low limit suits a Mac at your desk. It is less useful the morning you leave for a trip. BatFi can change the limit on its own: hold 60% at home, top up before you leave, charge fully at the weekend. And when you need the power now, Charge to 100% fills the battery once and then goes back to your limit.

Let it run down now and then

It is a good idea to let the battery run down and charge fully from time to time, for example once a month or once a quarter. BatFi can remind you when that hasn’t happened in a while.

macOS will also charge to 100% now and then to keep its battery estimates accurate. BatFi steps aside while that happens, and the battery goes back down to your limit afterwards.

Requirements

BatFi runs on Macs with Apple silicon and macOS Sonoma 14.8 or later. It does not run on Intel Macs. It costs $15 once, one licence covers every Mac you own, and it has a 30-day money-back guarantee.