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AwakeTab vs Caffeine

If you can install apps and want your Mac awake while you work in anything at all, use Caffeine: it sits in the menu bar, holds a macOS power assertion, and needs no window in front. If you can't install software, or you want the screen on for a set time with a status you can trust, AwakeTab does that from a browser tab, as long as the tab stays visible.

Sources checked Saturday, 26 September 20263 min readBy Soubhik Biswas

Side by side

Two different apps share the name, so each gets its own column. Caffeine for Mac, from IntelliScape, is a menu-bar cup that holds a macOS power assertion, the mechanism a video player uses. Caffeine for Windows, from Zhorn Software, is a different app: by default it simulates an F15 key press every 59 seconds, so other apps see input, and its -stes option asks Windows not to sleep instead. AwakeTab is closer to the Mac app. It asks the browser for a wake lock and never sends keys or moves the pointer. Rows marked Same are real ties.

How it keeps the screen onAwakeTab: Screen Wake Lock API in the browserCaffeine for Mac: macOS power assertionCaffeine for Windows: Simulated F15 key press every 59 seconds, or -stes mode
With the tab hidden or no window openAwakeTab: Stops. The pill says "Paused — tab hidden" and asks again when you return.Caffeine for Mac: Keeps holdingCaffeine for Windows: Keeps holding
Sends keys or moves the pointerAwakeTab: NoCaffeine for Mac: NoCaffeine for Windows: Yes, by default
InstallAwakeTab: None, open a web pageCaffeine for Mac: Drag into ApplicationsCaffeine for Windows: Download and run
PlatformsAwakeTab: Chrome and Edge 84+, Firefox 126+, Safari 16.4+Caffeine for Mac: macOSCaffeine for Windows: Windows
PriceAwakeTab: Free, with optional ProCaffeine for Mac: FreeCaffeine for Windows: Free
Last releaseAwakeTab: Web app, see the changelogCaffeine for Mac: Its page lists no version or dateCaffeine for Windows: v1.98, November 2024
Facts checkedSameAwakeTab: 26 September 2026Caffeine for Mac: 26 September 2026Caffeine for Windows: 26 September 2026

When Caffeine is the better choice

It is a good app. In these cases we would send you there.

  1. You work full screen in other apps all dayA menu-bar cup holds whatever is in front. A browser tab loses its lock the moment you switch away, and the pill changes to "Paused — tab hidden".
  2. The browser won't be openA render or a large copy can run with every browser window closed; a web page can't.
  3. You want a Windows tray toolZhorn's Caffeine works with any app in front.

When AwakeTab is the better choice

These are the jobs AwakeTab was built for.

  1. You can't install appsOn a managed laptop without admin rights, a web page is often the option left. It leaves your organisation's lock policies alone.
  2. You want it to end by itselfPick 30 min, 1 h or a clock time such as 11:30 AM. Hidden time doesn't count toward a timed session.
  3. You want to see that it's workingThe pill turns to "Screen awake" once your browser has granted the lock, not when you press the button.
  4. You're on a phone or tabletAwakeTab works in Safari 16.4 or later (after one tap) and in Chrome on Android.
  5. You want a hidden tab to countOn desktop Chrome or Edge, AwakeTab for Chrome uses Chrome's own power setting, so it keeps working when the tab is hidden or the window is minimised.

Neither one keeps a closed MacBook awake

Closing the lid puts a MacBook to sleep whatever a menu-bar app or a tab asks, unless it is running in clamshell mode, plugged in and driving an external display. See the guide to keeping a Mac awake with the lid closed.

Check which one is holding your Mac awake

Run pmset -g assertions in Terminal. With Caffeine on, you should see an assertion owned by Caffeine. With AwakeTab showing "Screen awake" in Chrome, the browser holds a PreventUserIdleDisplaySleep or NoDisplaySleep assertion, and macOS does not idle-sleep meanwhile.

Try it hereTry itStart a session, switch tabs, then come back and watch the pill. No end time: it keeps the screen on until you stop it.Start this session

Questions

Not quite. Both ask the operating system to keep the display on, but Caffeine holds with nothing on screen, while AwakeTab holds only while its tab is in view. AwakeTab adds timed sessions, an end time and a readable status.

Soubhik Biswas · Builds AwakeTab. Sources checked Saturday, 26 September 2026. About AwakeTab