Noxri vs Noir for Safari: Which App Fits Your Workflow?

Noxri and Noir sit in the same category: both add dark mode to websites in Safari on iPhone and iPad. The practical differences are easy to name. Noir offers more built-in themes, custom theme creation, broader Apple-system integrations, and a one-time purchase. Noxri offers a full trial, a smaller set of maintained themes, system or time-based automation, and one configuration shared by the app and its per-site Safari controls. Rendering quality still comes down to the websites you use.

Scope and review date

This comparison was reviewed on July 13, 2026. It uses Noxri 2.6.0, the Noxri implementation in this repository, Noir 2026.1.6, and the current official product pages and US App Store listings.

This article compares documented features. A same-device test of both apps has not been completed yet, so speed and website coverage are deliberately left unranked. We will add those results only with dated, matched screenshots.

At a glance

The table describes current documented capabilities, not which app renders every website better.

What Noxri and Noir have in common

Both products are Safari Web Extensions designed for bright websites that do not already provide a suitable dark appearance. Both analyze page styling and generate changes rather than placing one uniform black layer over every site.

They also share several important product decisions:

• Both can follow the device's appearance instead of remaining permanently enabled.
• Both support global behavior and exceptions for individual websites.
• Both attempt to recognize websites that already have their own dark mode.
• Both maintain website-specific fixes as real sites change.
• Both provide controls in a native app and while browsing in Safari.

These similarities matter. If your only requirement is “make bright Safari pages dark automatically,” either app belongs on the shortlist. The differences appear when you look at themes, automation, purchase model, and how you prefer to manage exceptions.

For the browser constraints behind both products, read How Safari Dark Mode Extensions Work.

Where Noxri is different

A smaller, curated theme set

Noxri currently provides 10 themes: Classic Midnight, Pure Black, Soft Dark Gray, Eye Care Brown, Matrix Green, Arctic Ice Blue, Galaxy Purple, Rose Pink, Warm Paper, and Fresh Mint. The first eight are dark palettes with different color directions; Warm Paper and Fresh Mint are light reading themes rather than conventional dark modes.

This is fewer than Noir offers, and Noxri is not currently a custom-theme builder. Noir suits people who like designing a palette. Noxri keeps the choice narrower so each supplied theme can be documented and tested as part of the product.

Explicit system or time automation

Noxri can follow the system appearance or use a start and end time. Its app configuration also contains global defaults and per-site overrides, so a website can inherit the global rule, use its own mode and theme, ignore native-dark detection, or be paused temporarily.

The native app and Safari extension share this configuration. A change made in the Safari extension can be merged into the same site configuration that the app displays, while the extension can refresh from the native configuration when Safari becomes active. This is an implementation detail, but it explains the intended workflow: set broad preferences in the app, then correct a specific website without creating an unrelated second set of settings.

A trial before the purchase decision

Noxri currently provides seven days of full access. Continued use then requires either the monthly option or the lifetime purchase shown for the user's App Store region. This is useful when compatibility with a few particular websites matters more than the length of a feature list.

Where Noir is different

More themes and custom appearance controls

Noir's current App Store listing describes more than 20 built-in themes and the ability to create custom themes. Its recent advanced appearance options include controls for dynamic colors, background images, and image inversion.

For someone who wants to tune the visual result instead of selecting a maintained preset, Noir clearly leads on theme breadth today.

Wider Apple workflow integration

Noir's official listing highlights Shortcuts, Control Center, Focus Filters, and Widgets. Its Safari menu also supports frequent actions such as pausing until tomorrow. Noxri has system and time automation plus per-site pause controls, but it does not currently match that breadth of Apple-system integrations.

A one-time purchase model

The iPhone and iPad version of Noir is sold as a one-time purchase with no subscription. Noir for Mac is listed as a separate product. Prices vary by country, so the current App Store pages are more reliable than copying a fixed amount into this article.

Noxri offers both monthly and lifetime choices after its trial. A reader who strongly prefers to avoid subscriptions can still choose Noxri's lifetime option, but Noir's purchase path is simpler because the iPhone and iPad product is one-time only.

Native dark mode and website exceptions

A website that already supplies a good dark theme should usually remain in control. Both apps document detection of built-in dark modes and both provide ways to override the result when detection is wrong.

This is harder than looking for one prefers-color-scheme rule. Websites can store a theme choice, add a class late in the page lifecycle, render different sections independently, or expose a dark shell around bright embedded content. Noxri combines general detection with site-specific hints; Noir's current releases also mention continued improvements to existing-dark-mode detection.

What matters is how often detection is right on your sites and how quickly you can override it when it is wrong. How a Safari Extension Detects a Website's Native Dark Theme explains the problem in more detail.

Images, video, and complex pages

Both apps need to avoid turning photographs, product images, video, and logos into unnatural negatives. Noxri contains image analysis and site-specific protection rules; Noir exposes appearance controls including image-inversion behavior.

Compatibility changes whenever shopping sites, video players, documents, maps, or embedded frames change. A fair test uses the same device, Safari version, page state, theme, viewport, and scroll position. It also checks navigation after the first load, not just one screenshot.

Read How Dark Mode Extensions Protect Images and Video before treating a dramatic before-and-after image as proof of overall quality.

Which app should you choose?

Choose Noxri if

• You want a seven-day full-access test before choosing a payment option.
• You prefer 10 maintained themes over building a custom palette.
• You want a specific time range in addition to following system appearance.
• You like the idea of global and per-site settings sharing one app-to-extension configuration model.
• Your decision depends on Noxri's behavior on a few websites you can test during the trial.

Choose Noir if

• You want more built-in themes or the ability to create your own.
• Shortcuts, Control Center, Focus Filters, or Widgets are important to your workflow.
• You prefer a one-time-only purchase for the iPhone and iPad app.
• You already use Noir successfully on your important websites.
• You want a product with a longer public release history and a large body of current website fixes.

If Noir already works well on your important sites, there is little reason to switch for the sake of switching. If you are undecided, test the same reading, shopping, video, and account pages with both products and keep the one that needs fewer exceptions.

Continue with Noxri vs Dark Reader if cross-browser history and open-source foundations matter more to your decision.

Sources

• Noxri on the App Store
• Noir official website
• Noir FAQ
• Noir on the App Store