Top 5 Dark Mode Extensions for Google Chrome in 2023

Russell Kidson
Mar 25, 2023
Updated • Mar 24, 2023
Google
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Dark mode has gained significant popularity among users of digital devices due to its many benefits. Beyond the cool aesthetics, dark mode has been known to reduce eye strain, especially in low-light conditions, making it a helpful feature for many users. If you are a Google Chrome user, activating dark mode is straightforward and easy, with a tutorial readily available to guide you. 

Furthermore, an auto dark mode feature is also available that you can activate with ease. However, some users find that the native dark mode does not work with some websites, and thus turn to extensions for a more customized experience. 

Extensions are preferred by some users because they can help darken websites that the native dark mode may not cover, and it is easier to toggle them on and off as needed. To optimize your browsing experience, we have compiled a list of the best dark mode extensions for Chrome that you can try out.

It is worth noting that the extensions recommended for Google Chrome may also work on Microsoft Edge, as Edge is based on the same Chromium architecture and supports Google Chrome extensions. Our team conducted a brief test on Edge and found that the extensions listed below seemed to function appropriately. 

Therefore, if you are an Edge user seeking to enhance your browsing experience with dark mode, these extensions may be worth considering. However, we recommend verifying compatibility before installation to ensure optimal performance.

Dark Reader

Dark Reader is a widely recognized and reliable dark mode extension that utilizes a simple color inversion technique similar to that employed by many other extensions. Essentially, it flips the white color scheme to a darker gray. The extension offers a contrast slider that enables users to adjust the shade of dark to their preference, with the option of selecting black if desired. 

Moreover, Dark Reader offers additional features such as Sepia and Grayscale options, and the capability to whitelist websites with their own native dark mode, thereby preventing the unwanted inversion back into white. While it may not be entirely flawless, Dark Reader is among the best options available for users seeking a more comfortable and customizable browsing experience.

Midnight Lizard

Midnight Lizard is undoubtedly one of the most versatile dark mode extensions available, offering extensive customization options for users seeking a personalized browsing experience. In contrast to other extensions that provide standard gray and black options, Midnight Lizard allows users to choose their preferred background color and further customize the color of links, text, and other page elements to suit their preferences. 

While the extension's user interface may be busier and more challenging to navigate than others, this should not significantly impact the user experience. While some users have reported issues with compatibility on certain websites, our testing yielded favorable results, and we experienced minimal issues. Overall, Midnight Lizard stands out as an excellent option for users who prioritize customization and personalization in their browsing experience.

Dark Theme & Night Shift Mode

Dark Theme & Night Shift Mode is an exceptional dark mode extension that we highly recommend for users seeking a tailored and easy-to-use browsing experience. The extension features user-friendly controls that allow for customization of the dark theme with a range of lighter or darker backgrounds. 

We particularly appreciate the scheduling feature and whitelist capability that turns the extension off on selected websites, ensuring compatibility with websites that have their own native dark mode. Additionally, our team conducted extensive testing and found the extension to be fully functional on every website, with minimal issues encountered. Therefore, based on our testing and analysis, we confidently recommend Dark Theme & Night Shift Mode as a top-tier extension for optimizing your browsing experience.

Super Dark Mode

Super Dark Mode is a highly dependable dark mode extension that provides a comprehensive range of customization options, including advanced features for users seeking a more tailored browsing experience. One noteworthy feature is its integration with existing dark modes on popular websites, eliminating the need to toggle the extension on and off constantly. For sites that the extension does not support, adding them to the whitelist is a quick and straightforward process. 

While some users may find it inconvenient that the extension icon acts as a simple on/off switch, requiring customization through the options menu, this should not detract from its reliability and usability. In our testing, Super Dark Mode performed exceptionally well and consistently delivered a high-quality browsing experience. Therefore, we confidently recommend Super Dark Mode as a robust and versatile extension for users seeking a reliable and customizable dark mode browsing experience.

Night Eye

Night Eye is a comprehensive extension that offers a range of features, including dark mode, blue light filtering, a dim feature, and an icon and image conversion capability. In addition to the standard AMOLED black mode and scheduling options, these additional features set Night Eye apart from other dark mode extensions. While this extension provides an excellent browsing experience, it is important to note that enabling all of its features may cause high CPU usage, especially on a browser that already uses significant resources. 

Despite this, our team found that Night Eye performed reliably on all the sites we tested, with a clean and intuitive user interface that makes customization straightforward. Overall, Night Eye is a great option for users looking for a full-featured extension that provides a customizable and personalized browsing experience.

A dark mode extension for every purpose

dark mode extensions offer users a highly customizable and personalized browsing experience, allowing them to reduce eye strain and improve their viewing comfort in low-light conditions. While there are numerous dark mode extensions available for Google Chrome, our analysis and testing have identified the five best options: Dark Reader, Dark Theme & Night Shift Mode, Midnight Lizard, Night Eye, and Super Dark Mode. 

These extensions vary in terms of their features, usability, and customization options, but each offers a reliable and high-quality dark mode experience that can enhance your browsing experience. Ultimately, the choice of extension will depend on your preferences and needs, but any of the recommended options would be an excellent choice to help you browse the web in comfort and style.

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Comments

  1. Anonymous said on March 27, 2023 at 10:40 pm
    Reply

    I don’t understand this obsession with using bad contrast. Dark mode is what’s wrong with developers these days. How can you code when your brain finds hard to comprehend what it sees?!

  2. Anonymous said on March 26, 2023 at 3:59 am
    Reply

    Native one in Chromium browsers should be enough in most cases, the problem is some sites like QR codes will break with it and usually it is a global thing and doesn’t like a way to have exceptions for the dark mode for individual websites. That’s why extensions have the advantage here, since you can really personalize them and create exceptions and all.

    In Chromium, Enabled with simple CIELAB-based inversion or with selective inversion of non-image elements will be enough.

    One of the positive things unlike Dark Reader is that Native Chromium dark mode, respects if a website has a the color-scheme: dark on it, in that case, it will not do anything and just let the website’s dark mode do whatever developers wanted it to do, that way it only works on websites that don’t have a dark mode.

    Of course sometimes uBlock or Adguard or Brave adblocker needs to be used to use :style() and fix some bad elements that don’t get properly done by the native dark mode, so it is not complicated to make the native dark mode work better with the whatever adblocker people use.

  3. Tom Hawack said on March 25, 2023 at 8:23 pm
    Reply

    ‘Dark Reader’ here. I love light but not on the screen. This said white (#FFF) characters on a black (#000) screen exasperate my eyes as well, though less than the other way around. I appreciate #E0E0FF on a #181818 background, but this is personal of course. Truth is I switched to dark mode because at night my eyes were practically crying (heart ache, onions, screens), Browsers’ dark mode because my beloved Win7 won’t tan : white as in the roaring twenties, lol. “Dark Reader’ does it well, tried several others, none as satisfactory.

  4. Serg said on March 25, 2023 at 2:46 pm
    Reply

    I’ve tried different extensions, but Chrome’s built in dark mode is doing a better job in my case.

    1. Deep_Fried_Desk said on March 25, 2023 at 7:44 pm
      Reply

      Yeah, I think that was what I used last, but on Opera, I don’t know if they are different, but it was actually the one that worked OK and wasn’t slowing browsing. I wish Windows Dark mode was better and not for just 2-3 programs and the rest is still blindingly white.

  5. Deep_Fried_Desk said on March 25, 2023 at 2:10 pm
    Reply

    I tried Dark Reader for a few days and it’s doing what it’s supposed to, but it also makes page loading very long. I haven’t tried the other two, but I found one which I removed later on because I wanted to go back to the Light theme, which worked almost flawlessly – pages loaded instantly and they looked almost decent with dark mode, because it can never be perfect, but avoid Dark Reader.

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