Dark Reader transforms any website into beautiful dark mode using intelligent color inversion algorithms. Reduce eye strain by 60%, customize brightness and contrast, and schedule automatic dark mode based on time of day. Trusted by 5 million+ developers and night owls worldwide.
Eye Strain Reduction: Studies show dark mode reduces eye strain by 60% during extended screen time, especially in low-light environments. Dark Reader makes every website comfortable to read at night.
Unlike basic "dark mode" extensions that only invert colors, Dark Reader uses advanced algorithms to intelligently transform websites while preserving readability, contrast, and visual hierarchy.
For developers who code at night, Dark Reader prevents the "flashbang effect" when opening documentation sites that default to blinding white backgrounds.
Intelligently transforms light backgrounds to dark while preserving images, logos, and videos. Algorithms detect and exclude non-text content from inversion.
Save unique brightness, contrast, and sepia settings for each website. Perfect for fine-tuning aggressive sites (Reddit, Stack Overflow) vs subtle ones (Medium).
Enable dark mode automatically at sunset (based on your location) or set custom hours. Option to sync with system dark mode (Windows/Mac settings).
Switch to warmer sepia tones for evening reading. Reduces blue light exposure better than pure dark mode, improving sleep quality.
Adjust brightness (-50% to +50%) and contrast independently. Perfect for late-night coding sessions or bright office environments.
Disable Dark Reader on specific sites (design tools, photo editing apps) where color accuracy is critical. One-click toggle per domain.
Customize the default dark mode appearance:
Enable dark mode automatically at specific times:
Fine-tune Dark Reader for individual websites:
Disable Dark Reader on sites where color accuracy matters:
| Feature | Dark Reader | Night Eye | Turn Off the Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $9/year | Free (basic) |
| Universal Dark Mode | ✅ All websites | ✅ All websites | ⚠️ YouTube/videos only |
| Smart Color Inversion | ✅ Advanced algorithms | ✅ Similar quality | ❌ Dims only |
| Per-Site Customization | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Auto-Scheduling | ✅ Sunset/custom | ✅ Similar | ❌ No |
| Open Source | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Performance Impact | ⚡ Minimal (GPU) | ⚡ Minimal | ⚡ None (dim only) |
Verdict: Dark Reader is the best free dark mode extension. Night Eye offers similar features but charges $9/year. Turn Off the Lights is for video dimming only, not full dark mode.
Choose the right color inversion algorithm for each site:
Create your own dark mode palette:
Advanced options for power users:
Scientific evidence for dark mode benefits:
Dark mode + sepia mode = less blue light exposure:
On OLED/AMOLED displays, dark pixels = off pixels:
No. Dark Reader uses GPU-accelerated CSS filters with minimal performance impact (typically <2ms per page). On modern computers, the difference is imperceptible.
Dark Reader's algorithms try to detect images, but sometimes fail on CSS background images. Fix: Switch to "Static" mode or add the site to whitelist.
Yes, but it may cause double-inversion (making the site light again). Best practice: Disable Dark Reader on sites with native dark mode (GitHub, Twitter, YouTube).
Yes, in low-light environments. In bright rooms, dark mode can cause more eye strain (reverse contrast effect). Use auto-scheduling to match room lighting.
No. Dark Reader is open source and doesn't collect any data. It only modifies page styles locally in your browser.
Settings → "More" → "Report a bug". Include the site URL and describe the issue (inverted images, unreadable text, etc.).
Complete your eye-friendly browsing setup:
Install Dark Reader now and transform your browsing experience. Join 5 million users who protect their eyes with intelligent dark mode on every website.