How to show battery percentage on a Mac

To show battery percentage on a Mac with macOS Tahoe, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Menu Bar in the sidebar, select Battery, click Battery Options, and turn on Show Percentage. On macOS Sequoia, Sonoma and Ventura, it’s in System Settings > Control Center, under Battery. The percentage then sits beside the battery icon in the menu bar.

By the Scope teamUpdated October 19, 20267 min read

How do I show the battery percentage in macOS Tahoe?

In macOS Tahoe 26 and later, the percentage is one of Battery’s options in Menu Bar settings.

Choose Apple menu > System Settings.
Click Menu Bar in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
Under Menu Bar Controls, select Battery, so its icon shows in the menu bar.
Click Battery Options, then turn on Show Percentage.

Battery Options in Menu Bar settings, with Show Percentage turned on and ringed — Turn on Show Percentage, and the charge appears beside the battery icon. Illustration with made-up readings.

Battery is in Menu Bar settings only on Mac laptops, because a desktop Mac has no battery. Battery Options also lets you choose when the menu bar shows your Energy Mode.

Where is Show Percentage on older versions of macOS?

In macOS Ventura 13 through macOS Sequoia 15, the battery’s menu bar settings are in Control Center settings.

Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Control Center in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
Under Battery, turn on Show in Menu Bar.
Turn on Show Percentage.

macOS	Where to find it
macOS Tahoe 26 and later	System Settings > Menu Bar > Battery > Battery Options > Show Percentage
macOS Sequoia 15 and macOS Sonoma 14	System Settings > Control Center > Battery > Show Percentage
macOS Ventura 13	System Settings > Control Center > Battery, with Show in Menu Bar turned on

To see which version you have, choose Apple menu > About This Mac.

Why is my MacBook battery percentage not showing?

Usually because Battery, or its percentage, is turned off in settings. Check these in order:

Battery is off. In Menu Bar settings, select Battery under Menu Bar Controls. On macOS Ventura to Sequoia, turn on Show in Menu Bar in Control Center settings.
Show Percentage is off. The icon shows, but no number beside it. Turn on Show Percentage, as above.
The icon was dragged away. Holding Command while you drag an icon out of the menu bar removes it. Turn Battery back on in settings to bring it back.
The menu bar is hidden. If your Mac is set to hide the menu bar automatically, move the pointer to the top of the screen to show it. The setting is “Automatically hide and show the menu bar” in Menu Bar settings.
It’s in Control Center instead. When Battery is in Control Center, Control Center always shows its percentage. Click Control Center in the menu bar to see it.
It’s a desktop Mac. An iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio or Mac Pro has no battery to show.

How else can I see my battery percentage?

macOS shows the charge in several places, even with the percentage off in the menu bar.

Where	How to open it	What it shows
Battery status menu	Click the battery icon in the menu bar	The percentage, the power source, and the time until full while charging
Battery settings	Apple menu > System Settings > Battery	The current level at the top, and its last 24 hours
Control Center	Click Control Center in the menu bar	The percentage, if Battery is in Control Center
Activity Monitor	Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor, then Energy	Remaining charge, and Time until full while plugged in
Terminal	Type `pmset -g batt`	The percentage, whether it’s charging, and the time estimate

The battery status menu

Click the battery icon in the menu bar.
Read the percentage at the top of the menu.
While your Mac charges, the estimated time until it’s full also appears at the top. It may take a few minutes to show, and it doesn’t show when a Charge Limit below 100% is set.

The same menu lists apps using significant energy, and whether Low Power Mode is on.

Battery settings

Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Battery in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
Read the battery level at the top. Battery alerts show there too.
For the past day, look at Last 24 Hours: Battery Level shows the average charge for each 15-minute period.

Battery in System Settings: Battery 82% at the top, ringed, above Energy Mode and Battery Health Normal — Battery settings opens on the current level: 82%. Illustration with made-up readings.

Terminal

Open Terminal. It’s in Applications > Utilities.
Type this and press Return:

pmset -g batt

Read the line under “Now drawing from”: the percentage, then the state, such as charging, charged, discharging, or AC attached; not charging. Then the time estimate. While your Mac is plugged in, that’s the time until full.

studio · -zsh · 80×24

studio@MacBook-Pro ~ % pmset -g battNow drawing from 'AC Power' -InternalBattery-0 (id=12345678)	82%; charging; 1:12 remaining present: truestudio@MacBook-Pro ~ %

82%, charging, with 1 hour 12 minutes until full. Illustration with made-up readings.

The command needs no password. Its manual page (man pmset) says -g batt displays the status of batteries.

Why does my battery stop at 80%?

Often on purpose. Optimized Battery Charging can hold the charge at 80% when your Mac expects to stay plugged in, and a Charge Limit stops it at the level you set. MacBook plugged in but not charging? shows how to tell which, and Should I keep my MacBook plugged in all the time? explains why macOS does it.

Questions people also ask

Can I show the battery percentage on an iMac or Mac mini?

No. Battery appears in Menu Bar settings only on Mac laptops, because desktop Macs have no battery.

How do I see the time left on battery?

Open Activity Monitor and click Energy. While your Mac is unplugged, Time remaining at the bottom of the window is macOS’s estimate of the battery time left.

Why did my battery icon disappear from the menu bar?

It may have been dragged out while the Command key was held, which removes it. Turn Battery back on in System Settings > Menu Bar.

How do I check my battery’s health?

Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Battery, and read Battery Health. MacBook battery health and cycle count, explained shows what Normal and Maximum Capacity mean.

Scope for Mac · Free, coming to the Mac App Store

How Scope helps

Scope is a free Mac menu bar app that shows your MacBook’s battery percentage in the menu bar in three styles, with the watts your charger gives and your Mac uses beside it if you choose. One click opens the charge, macOS’s time to full and the battery’s health.

In your menu bar

Scope Free keeps one whole menu bar item of your choice.

Scope’s Battery panel, opened from the menu bar: 82% and charging, 30.0 W from a 70 W charger, 18.4 W system draw and 11.2 W into the battery — Scope sits in your menu bar, and one click opens its Battery panel.

Three styles

Choose one in Battery’s Menu Bar settings, under Style. Standard is the battery as macOS shows it, with its percentage beside it. Liquid fills the battery with its charge, the percentage inside, and Gauge is a ring beside the percentage; both are green while the Mac charges, and turn yellow and red as it runs low.

The same 82% as Standard, Liquid and Gauge.

Watts beside the percentage

Under Readout, turn on Charger power, System draw or Battery draw; all three start off. Charger is the power coming in from the charger right now, not the charger’s rating.

30.0 W coming in from the charger, 18.4 W used by the Mac.

The charge, one click away

Time to full is macOS’s own estimate: the same 1 hour 12 minutes that pmset -g batt shows.

Scope shows and explains. It doesn’t change your settings or how your Mac charges.

Scope's Battery panel at 82%, charging: Charger 30.0 W from a 70 W charger, System draw 18.4 W, Into battery 11.2 W, and Time to full 1h 12m, a macOS estimate — 82%, with 11.2 W going into the battery and 1h 12m to full.

Everything this part of Scope showsMac battery monitor: health, watts and time left

Try it here

The real Scope, working, right in this page.

Click any item in the menu bar, or a card inside, as you would on your Mac.

Scope Pro Every menu bar item is shown here. Scope Free keeps one whole item of your choice, with every reading inside.

See your own battery at a glance.

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Sources

Last checked October 19, 2026. Readings, apps and files in the pictures are from a made-up Mac.