It’s 2024, and technology has advanced to a point where we have the power to change our screen displays and optimize system performance. Therefore, 81% of smartphone users prefer dark mode, and over 64% opt for websites that offer a night mode view.
Bright websites, especially at night, can strain our eyes. Dark mode is beneficial for those with visual impairments, such as cataracts or light sensitivities. Additionally, there are often overlooked advantages to using dark mode regularly.
But, the problem is not every site has that cool dark mode switch built-in. Do you know there are some 3rd party plugins available to enable dark mode on any website? It’s enough to make your head spin with the multitude of options available. No sweat, though—we’ve done the hard work, and we’re about to drop our ultimate guide featuring the top 7 dark mode extensions. Ready to explore?
What are the benefits of Dark Mode?
We all know the basics: dark mode changes your background color schemes from white to black and text color from black to white. That means it changes the default light-colored background to soothe your eye.
Dark mode reduces screen light and minimizes color contrast. While Google provides a native dark mode, it doesn’t cover all websites. As a result, users opt for third-party solutions to enhance their browsing experience.
Are you excited to know all the extensive benefits you can get by downloading the dark mode add-ons? Let’s check out one by one!
1)Blue-light Control
Light mode screens emit blue light, a key concern for our health. At night, our brains release melatonin for sound sleep, but any light emission can disrupt this process, leading to potential health issues. To mitigate this, using night mode reduces blue light emissions and supports better sleep quality.
2) Better Readability
Reading in bright light makes our eyes squint and causes eye strain. Here, dark mode extensions provide low-light settings, allowing work at night. Some add-ons even offer customizable displays and themes with sleek designs. These options make browsing more visually appealing.
Now, your problem is solved, and you can work long hours, writing blogs and articles without stressing your eyes. Hey, did you know we’ve compiled a list of amazing Chrome extensions for bloggers and writers that make your writing tasks easy-peasy? Let’s check them all out!
3) Optimizing Battery Life
Light-colored displays activate more pixels compared to dark-colored ones. So, using dark mode for longer periods can enhance battery life and performance. If you use a smartphone with an OLED or AMOLED display, you can enjoy these benefits. However, for users with LCD screens, the battery consumption stays the same. Now, you can increase productivity without concerns about battery drainage. Here’s a list of cool Chrome plugins for productivity that can help you be super-active!
Testing Parameters
To assess dark mode extensions, I installed each one and tested their performance across four used website categories: LinkedIn (social media), YouTube (entertainment), Times of India (news platform), and Amazon (e-commerce site).
While testing their performance, my primary focus was on these key features:
- Effectiveness across all four websites
- Whitelisting capabilities for specific websites
- Customization options
- Auto-scheduling functionality for dark mode
- Availability of blue-light filters, reading modes, or other eye-care options
7 Best Dark Mode Extensions for Google Chrome in 2024
| Extension | Browser Extensions | Main Features | Pricing |
| Midnight Lizard | Chrome, Firefox, Edge | 10+ dark and light mode themes | Free |
| Dark Reader | Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge | Straightforward color inversion method | Free |
| Super Dark Mode | Chrome, Firefox, Edge | Integrates nicely with existing dark modes, Color-changing options for backgrounds, texts, and links | Free |
| Lunar Reader | Chrome | User-friendly UI, single-click toggle between dark and night mode | Free |
| Turn Off the Lights | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Safari, Maxthon, Yandex, UC, Vivaldi, Brave, Samsung Internet, Cốc Cốc, Naver Whale | Customized dark mode for video-streaming website | Free |
| Night Eye | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, Opera, Yandex, UC, Vivaldi, Brave, Never Whale | Three convenient options for dark mide, filtered, and normal mode | Free |
| Dark Night Mode | Chrome | Smartly transforms the original color palette into a darker, eye-friendly shade | Free |
1) Midnight Lizard
| Downloads | 70,000 |
| Ratings | 4.7/5 |
| Browser Extensions | Chrome, Firefox, Edge |
| Official Website | Visit Website |
Midnight Lizard is a super flexible dark mode extension for Google. The plugin tops our list because it lets me make my browsing experience just the way I like it. Unlike other dark mode add-ons that only offer basic dark themes for every website, Midnight Lizard goes further. The themes don’t just stick to the default gray and black backgrounds; you can choose any custom background color you want.
What makes Midnight Lizard stand out is that it doesn’t limit you to just one dark theme and night shift mode. Nope, you get lots of choices like Apple Mint, Sunset Sails, Halloween, Morning Mist, Inverted Grayscale, Yellow on Black, etc.! You can either pick from these pre-set options or create your very own color schemes. It even has a blue light filter, similar to what you find on smartphones.
Midnight Lizard offers extensive customization options to users. It allows customization of backgrounds, buttons, text, links, borders, images, background images, and scroll bars with personalized colors. Users have the flexibility to adjust the intensity of the blue-light filter as well.
Clicking on the Midnight Lizard icon opens the activation menu as you can see above. This option enables users to schedule the duration of dark mode activation. Users can whitelist specific websites where dark mode won’t apply automatically. The add-on consumes minimal memory (2.8MB) despite the broad range of features it offers.
Downsides
- The UI might be tricky for first-time users
- Observed a delay in loading when switching between various dark themes compared to other extensions.
I recommend this plugin to tech-savvy users who seek more than basic dark mode options. If you enjoy a customized daily web browsing experience, give Midnight Lizard a try!
2) Dark Reader
| Downloads | 5,000,000+ |
| Ratings | 4.7/5 |
| Browser Extensions | Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge |
| Official Website | Visit Website |
Dark Reader, rated 4.7 on Google, stands as our second top-listed dark mode extension. It uses a straightforward color inversion method similar to other add-ons. Essentially, it transforms the bright white background into a darker gray. It offers customizable features, granting users control. You can adjust darkness levels using a contrast slider, allowing you to select a pitch-black shade if that’s your preference.
//Dark Reader Before After
Why has it gained popularity among 5 million users? The user-friendly interface stands out as the main reason. The UI offers two themes–dark and light and provides extensive customization options, such as brightness, contrast, sepia, and grayscale options. It performs on all our tested sites, including YouTube.
One of the standout features is its ad-free, open-source browsing experience. It allows for site-specific exclusions from dark mode and offers four distinct predefined themes: Filter, Filter+, Static, and Dynamic. Its Sepia filter slider introduces a blue light control, promoting protection for the eyes at night. Remarkably, the plugin consumes only 2.5 MB, ensuring negligible impact on system performance.
Downsides
- Doesn’t allow auto-schedule dark mode
If you’re a student, you probably invest a significant amount of time taking notes, writing, editing projects, or researching valuable content. Spare your eyes from the strain of prolonged browsing by installing Dark Reader, a simple, free, open-source Chrome add-on ideal for beginners. And what if I tell you, that there are also amazing extensions that can simplify note-taking, researching, time management, and more? Explore our curated list of 10 essential Chrome extensions for students!
3) Super Dark Mode
| Downloads | 400,000+ |
| Ratings | 4.6/5 |
| Browser Extensions | Chrome, Firefox, Edge |
| Official Website | No official website |
Super Dark Mode is like a magic wand for your entire browser! With 400,000 users, it’s a super popular extension for Google Chrome that turns those eye-straining web pages into eye-soothing backgrounds. You can say it’s not just your average dark mode. Alongside with usual customization options, it offers some extra features.
What’s outstanding about it? Well, it integrates nicely with existing dark modes on popular websites, so no constant toggling on and off. And if you don’t like its appearance on any website, you can add it to a whitelist.
To give your eyes a break, this plugin offers four unique themes: Classic, Invert, Manual, and Modern. When you right-click on the icon and navigate to the ‘options’ button, you’ll find these themes under ‘General Dark Themes.’ The Modern theme allows customization of background, link, text, heading colors, and more. However, the specialized dark theme on YouTube is automatically enabled, but it doesn’t support this level of customization.
I found its color-changing options for background, text, and links more user-friendly compared to Midnight Lizard. Alongside automatic scheduling and options to adjust colors, brightness, and contrast, it creates a personalized comfort zone. You can apply your patterns to those dark backgrounds through the ‘advanced settings’. The ‘advanced settings’ option allows you to fine-tune contrast and adjust the brightness settings for all sites as well.
Downside
- The icon itself works as an on/off button for dark mode, which might confuse you at the beginning.
- No customization option is available for YouTube.
If you’re looking for the same level of customization as Midnight Lizard, but with a smoother and more user-friendly experience, it is worth checking out.
4) Lunar Reader
| Downloads | 50,000+ |
| Ratings | 4.7/5 |
| Browser Extensions | Chrome |
| Official Website | Visit Website |
Are you looking for a simple dark mode extension with every customization option? Install the Lunar Reader – Dark Theme add-on from the Chrome Web Store. Despite having the lowest number of users among all our tested plugins (nearly 50,000), it has earned an impressive 4.7 Google rating, making it another hidden gem for us.
Why are we so impressed with this add-on? The UI is simple, user-friendly, and features an intuitive navigation menu. Switching between a dark and light mode for every website is as easy as a single click. Plus, it offers an additional night shift mode that warms the hue of website pages. You can fine-tune the color temperature in this mode for a more pleasant viewing experience. The best part is the ability to auto-schedule both dark mode and night mode according to your preferences.
Now, for the most distinctive feature of the Lunar Reader–you can control the extension using your keyboard! Yes, shortcut keys are available for toggling the plugin on/off, switching dark mode on/off, and activating night mode on/off. Similar to other add-ons, it allows users to blacklist and whitelist websites.
However, one issue I noticed during testing is that the module doesn’t work on all websites seamlessly. For instance, as shown in the image above, the home page appears differently for Indian Express and Times of India. It doesn’t completely turn the Times of India page black.
Downsides
- No add-on is available for Firefox and Edge users.
- Doesn’t work on every web page.
Well, if you’re looking for an alternative to Dark Reader with more advanced features and control, Lunar Reader is a brilliant choice. Both plugins are simple and easy to use, but Lunar Reader shines with its auto-scheduling, customizable color profiles, and focus on eye comfort.
5) Turn Off the Lights
| Downloads | 1,000,000+ |
| Ratings | 4.6/5 |
| Browser Extensions | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Safari, Maxthon, Yandex, UC, Vivaldi, Brave, Samsung Internet, Cốc Cốc, Naver Whale |
| Official Website | Visit Website |
As of now, we have discussed four amazing Google Chrome plugins for dark mode, all of which work seamlessly on YouTube. However, are you ready to explore an all-in-one dark mode extension specifically designed for video streaming websites? If so, install “Turn Off the Lights” with no hesitation. The add-on also works on other tested website pages, along with video streaming websites.
The “Turn Off the Lights” browser extension is tailor-made for video-streaming sites such as Vimeo, Huu, Dailymotion, Metacafe, YouTube, Netflix, and more. It prioritizes a comfortable video streaming experience by dimming the surrounding content and provides users with a cinematic feel. The icon acts as an automatic switch for dark mode, enabling a smooth transition into darkness for the webpage with a simple click on the lamp button focusing on the playing video.
While popular platforms like Netflix and YouTube already feature in-app night mode, this dark mode add-on is versatile. It effortlessly integrates other dark-mode attachments and themes. After installation, an engaging web page unfolds, presenting an animated and interactive guide that introduces you to its myriad capabilities.
Basic options empower you to control screen opacity, background image, dynamic background, and more. The dark layer option covers the top of the window, offering autoplay for dark mode, auto-stop dark mode, whitelist/blacklist website, customize YouTube navigation options, set video streaming quality, and more. Advanced options include flash detection, dimness level bar, video volume bar control, eye protection for night viewing, Whitelist/Blacklist filters for enhanced customization, shortcut keys for quick access, and even the option to personalize the icon button and keep the plugin password-protected.
Wait, there’s more! The night mode feature provides maximum customization options, enabling night mode with a single click. To do so, right-click on the icon and navigate to the ‘options’ menu. For a more hassle-free experience, you can auto-schedule night mode at a particular time.
Introducing the “Atmosphere Lighting Option” in the visual effect, which adds a subtle glow around the video player. The filter addition option for HTML5 video players allows customization of grayscale, sepia, invert, contrast, saturate, hue rotation, and brightness. The Audio Visualization Effect Option includes blocks, frequency, and music tunnels.
Turn Off the Lights is an extension that goes beyond expectations, bringing innovation and enhancement to every click. From Camera Motion and Speech Recognition to Mouse Wheel Volume Control for HTML5 Video Players, Looping Option for HTML5 Video Players, and Analytics, you name it you get it.
Honestly, I found the UI tricky, especially for new users. The abundance of features might confuse those who are not tech-savvy. However, I am impressed with the “Turn Off the Lights” welcome guide which provides detailed guidelines about its features. User-guide videos are available under each option, demonstrating the developers’ effort to make it as user-friendly as possible.
Downsides
- Consume the highest memory (6.5 MB) compared to other tested extensions, making it a heavyweight plug-in.
- Upon installation of the extension and while using it, notifications frequently pop up to join the TOtL YouTube channel, which I found to be annoying and promotional.
All in all, if you’re craving for theater-like exclusive video streaming experiences, Turn Off the Lights is a must-try.
6) Night Eye
| Downloads | 200,000 |
| Ratings | 4.3/5 |
| Browser Extensions | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, Opera, Yandex, UC, Vivaldi, Brave, Never Whale |
| Official Website | Visit Website |
Introducing Night Eye, another game-changing Dark Mode plug-in! Tired of straining your eyes during late-night browsing sessions? It is your go-to solution for a seamless and eye-friendly dark mode experience on any website.
Trusted by over 200,000 users across major browsers, this extension goes beyond the standard dark theme style. It prioritizes optimal eye protection, ensuring you can browse day and night. With regular updates over the past five years and an ongoing commitment to future enhancements, it remains the definitive solution for achieving a smooth and consistent dark mode across any website.
What sets it apart is its dedication to user experience. Unlike other dark mode extensions, Night Eye doesn’t subject you to annoying ads or invasive data mining. Plus, if you ever need help, the built-in support system is there to help.
Night Eye employs its proprietary algorithm for black mode, providing a superior experience compared to the standard color inversion technique. The extension offers three convenient modes: Dark Mode for complete darkness, Filtered Mode to preserve website colors while adjusting brightness, contrast, warmth, and more according to your preference, and Normal Mode to switch back to the classic browsing experience when needed.
Night Eye goes the extra mile with unique features like a blue light filter, dimming, and icon/image conversion. It seamlessly integrates with sites that already have dark themes, reducing the reliance on a whitelist feature. Despite its abundance of features, the UI remains simple, ensuring ease of use.
Downsides
- Enabling all features may lead to higher CPU usage in browsers known for their resource consumption.
- Doesn’t allow one-click toggle between dark mode and normal mode.
Night Eye stands out as a fantastic option for users seeking a full-featured extension that provides a customizable and personalized browsing experience.
7) Dark Night Mode
| Downloads | 80,000+ |
| Ratings | 4.2/5 |
| Browser Extensions | Chrome |
| Official Website | Visit Website |
Introduce yourself with another go-to, free, and open-source dark mode extension that delivers exactly what it promises–Dark Night Mode. When you use the night-mode extension, it dims the glare of every site you visit, ensuring a strain-free browsing experience.
Do you know how amazingly it works for your browser? A unique algorithm that applies dark mode in real-time as you traverse the vast web. No color inversion here–the extension detects the color palette of each website element and intelligently transforms it into a darker, eye-friendly shade. It preserves the essence of the original colors and dims the vibrant hues compared to darker shades. Hence, if you use any black-themed websites, they’ll stay authentically black, and your images remain the same with no distortion!
The developers have gone the extra mile to dim those annoying flashes of bright white screens while loading different websites. Your browsing experience just got smoother and more visually appealing. The brightness slider lets you fine-tune the luminance of your browser.
Dark Night mode also allows users to auto-schedule dark mode. Plus, if there are specific websites where you’d rather keep the lights on, the Whitelist feature lets you tailor Dark Night Mode to your preferences.
Downsides
- No extension is available for Firefox and Edge.
- No customization option except the brightness filter.
- No eye-care option like a blue-light filter.
Dark Night Mode is perfect for users who want a simple, lightweight dark mode extension with no extra features.
Conclusion
Bring an end to prolonged internet browsing, especially during late-night sessions, by considering the use of a dark mode extension for Google Chrome. These extensions ease eye strain in low-light conditions.
To assist our readers in finding valuable dark mode extensions, we’ve tested over 11 options. Following a meticulous examination, we have identified the top 7 dark mode extensions and given detailed reviews for each one.
For beginners, we recommend installing Dark Reader, Lunar Reader, or Night Eye. Instead of: If you’re an advanced user, we recommend going for Midnight Lizard or Super Dark Mode. For an optimal video-streaming experience, Turn off the Lights stands out.
Did you know Google Chrome has had its built-in dark theme since version 74? While it’s accessible in settings, if you desire more control and style, these extensions come to the rescue. Themes like Dark Theme for Google Chrome, Complete Black Theme for Google Chrome, or Just Black offer a completely sleek, modern look.
Feeling overwhelmed by long nights spent on simple tasks like meeting summaries and emails? Reclaim your leisure time with AI! Our top 11 recommended AI Chrome extensions effortlessly handle those mundane duties, freeing you to relax. Install a stylish dark theme extension (we have options!), grab some popcorn, and settle in for Netflix with your partner after office hours.
We hope these reviews contribute to a tailored browsing experience. To explore more bespoke tools, stay tuned with us.
