Quick comparison
| Feature | Shake It On | Amphetamine |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 one-time | Free |
| How it prevents sleep | Mouse movement (primary) | System API + optional cursor |
| Smart conditions | ✓ (17 conditions) | ✓ (triggers system) |
| Camera-in-use detection | ✓ | ✗ |
| Focus/DND detection | ✓ | ✗ |
| Day-of-week scheduling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Snooze | ✓ | ✗ |
| Session stats | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shortcuts integration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Allow display to sleep | ✓ | ✓ |
| USB/Bluetooth triggers | ✓ | ✓ |
| VPN detection | ✓ | ✓ |
| AppleScript support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Saved sessions / presets | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stay awake for N min | ✓ | ✓ |
| Closed-lid mode | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stealth click mode | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sustained-CPU window | ✓ | ✗ |
How they actually work
Both apps can keep your Mac awake, but they emphasize different mechanisms. Amphetamine's primary mechanism is the macOS system power-management API: it tells the Mac not to sleep. It also offers an optional 'periodic mouse cursor movement' setting you can enable for a session.
Shake It On is built around the mouse movement itself. Continuous, organic sine-wave motion is the main feature, with smart pause conditions wrapped around it, plus an IOKit power-assertion mode (Allow display to sleep / Closed-lid) for when you don't want the cursor moving. macOS sees the movement as genuine user activity, which matters more than you'd think.
Why mouse movement matters: If your IT department has locked Energy Saver settings with an MDM profile, system-level sleep prevention can be blocked. Cursor movement isn't, because macOS treats it the same as you using the computer. Remote desktop sessions, Slack, Teams, and other apps that check for user activity will register mouse movement as real input. Amphetamine's optional cursor movement does this too — but it's a session option you have to remember to enable, not the focus of the app.
Where Amphetamine wins
Amphetamine is free. That's a real advantage. If you're a student or just need basic sleep prevention, it's hard to argue with free.
Its trigger library has had years of polish. If you want IP-address-range matching across half a dozen ranges, Bluetooth-device-specific triggers with multiple device types, or weird mounted-volume conditions, Amphetamine's library is broader. Shake It On now covers Wi-Fi/SSID, VPN, IP ranges, USB device match, and Bluetooth device match too — but Amphetamine has been at this longer.
Sessions in Amphetamine support more behaviors per session (allow screensaver, allow display sleep, end-on-action). Shake It On Sessions cover every persisted setting; Amphetamine Sessions go an inch deeper.
Where Shake It On wins
Shake It On is single-purpose. The cursor motion is the product, not a session toggle. The motion itself is layered sine-wave with configurable distance, plus the bits Amphetamine still doesn't do.
Specifically:
- Organic sine-wave motion: Layered sine waves with random phases — ours is the only mouse jiggler that actually looks like a hand. Amphetamine's optional cursor movement is a periodic nudge.
- Stealth click mode: Send mouse events without moving the cursor. Perfect for screen sharing. Unique to Shake It On.
- Camera + Focus awareness: Auto-pauses during video calls and macOS Focus modes — both built into the engine.
- Day-of-week scheduling: Run only on weekdays, or only on specific days. Amphetamine has triggers but not weekly schedule.
- Snooze with countdown: Quick pause with presets and a live MM:SS countdown in the dropdown header.
- Sustained-CPU window: Require CPU above the threshold for 10s/30s/1m/5m before activating. Essential for renders.
- Modern macOS 14+ design: Built in SwiftUI for current-year macOS. Stats, rich status, live countdowns.
Which should you choose?
Choose Amphetamine if you want free and need the broadest possible trigger library polished over years. The cursor movement option is fine if you remember to turn it on per session.
Choose Shake It On if you want continuous organic cursor motion as the headline behavior, plus stealth click mode, sustained-CPU windows, day-of-week scheduling, and a modern macOS 14+ design. The $9.99 one-time price funds ongoing development.