DDCcontrol vs ddcutil
DDCcontrol
ddccontrol.github.ioddcutil
ddcutil.comSide by side
| Figure | DDCcontrol | ddcutil |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Monitor Control Software | 7.5 (#11) | 8.4 (#3) |
| Installation | The maker lists distribution packages for Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and openSUSE, as well as source releases and source builds. | The maker documents prebuilt packages and source builds; its project maintained packages include builds for some Debian, openSUSE, and Ubuntu releases, with Launchpad and Fedora COPR packages also described. |
| License | The project is licensed under GNU General Public License version 2.0. | ddcutil and ddcui are released under the GNU General Public License, version 2. |
| Purpose | DDCcontrol controls monitor brightness, contrast, color levels and other settings. | ddcutil is a Linux program for managing monitor settings such as brightness, color levels, and input source. |
| Support | The project links users to its GitHub Issues page. | The project directs technical support questions, bug reports, and feature requests to its GitHub issue tracker. |
Plans
In their own words
DDCcontrol
DDCcontrol is free Linux software for changing monitor brightness, contrast, color levels and other settings through DDC/CI. It offers a GTK interface for graphical control and a command-line tool for terminals, scripts and automation. Communication uses Linux’s i2c-dev interface and /dev/i2c-* devices, which must be readable and writable before monitors can be configured. USB-connected DDC/CI displays are not supported yet. A monitor database is required for monitor-specific controls and proper operation. The ddccontrol-scanmonitor utility reads a connected display’s EDID, capabilities and supported controls, and can generate a monitor database XML file; scanning does not alter control values. The maker’s database index lists 474 monitor profiles in release 20260928. Packages are listed for Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and openSUSE, alongside source releases and source builds. The project uses the GNU General Public License version 2.0 and directs support questions to GitHub Issues.
ddcutil
ddcutil is a free Linux program for controlling monitor settings such as brightness, color levels and input source. It communicates with monitors through DDC/CI over I²C and supports monitors implementing MCCS over USB. Commands can find monitors, show capabilities, read or change VCP feature values, and save or restore color-related settings. The companion ddcui provides a Qt graphical interface with Summary, Capabilities and Features views, with the last allowing changes to modifiable values. For profile workflows, dumpvcp saves current settings to a file and loadvcp restores them. Developers can use the C API through libddcutil.so to read and write VCP values and handle profile-related features. The program is released under GNU GPL version 2. Setup requires the Linux kernel i2c-dev module, and non-root users need permissions to run it. It does not support laptop displays, which use a special API rather than I²C, and generally will not run in virtual machines because virtual video drivers do not implement I²C. For MCCS-over-USB table features, support is limited; the capabilities command synthesizes a response.