Amphetamine for Windows: what comes closest.
If you've moved from a Mac, you already know what a keep-awake app should feel like: Amphetamine — sessions, triggers, a tiny menu-bar icon, zero fuss. There is no Windows version of it, and there never has been. Here's what actually comes closest.
What made Amphetamine special
Amphetamine is the Mac's beloved free keep-awake utility, and it earned that spot with two ideas: sessions (keep the Mac awake for 30 minutes, until 6 pm, or indefinitely — then stop on their own) and triggers (start a session automatically when a given app is running, and end it when the app quits). The second idea is the one almost nothing on Windows has: the tool understands why you want the machine awake.
The Windows candidates
| Amphetamine (Mac) | PowerToys Awake (free) | Keypress simulators (free) | StayUp ($8.99) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timed sessions / until a clock time | Yes | Yes | Usually on/off only | Yes, one tap |
| App-based triggers | Yes — its signature | — | — | Yes — “while Zoom / OBS / your app runs” |
| Daily schedule | Via sessions | — | — | Yes, incl. overnight |
| Keep display on (optional) | Yes | Yes | Side effect of fake input | Yes |
| Method | macOS power assertions | Windows power API | Simulated keypresses (can interfere with the focused app) | Windows power API (+ optional 1-px nudge, off by default) |
| Price | Free | Free (part of the suite) | Free | $8.99 one-time, 2 PCs |
Comparison as of August 2026. Amphetamine remains Mac-only; if that ever changes, this page will be the first to say so.
The recommendations
- You just need “don't sleep for 2 hours”, sometimes: install PowerToys and use Awake. Free, Microsoft-made, does exactly that. Our full comparison: StayUp vs PowerToys Awake.
- You miss the Amphetamine feeling: sessions that end themselves, triggers that watch your apps, a status you can read at a glance — that's precisely the gap StayUp was built to fill on Windows. Same idea, Windows-native: one sun-shaped button, per-app rules, a daily schedule, a rebindable hotkey and a tray icon that glows while it's working.
- You want your presence status handled too: Amphetamine never did this; StayUp's optional Stay active nudge keeps idle-based status dots accurate while you step away — off by default. It's synthetic input, which Windows flags as such; it isn't “undetectable”.
Verdict. Nothing on Windows is a literal Amphetamine port — and the free Amphetamine sets a high bar. PowerToys Awake covers the manual half, free. StayUp covers the part that made Amphetamine Amphetamine: sessions with an end, and triggers with a reason — for the price of two coffees, once, on 2 PCs, with a 14-day refund if it's not what you hoped.
ONE-TIME · 2 PCs · 14-DAY REFUND · WINDOWS 10/11