Separate custom scaling levels for each display in Windows 10

Just curious if you happen to be running Intel graphics. There's a handy utility called Intel HD Graphics Control Panel that will do what you are asking about. It will also allow you to scale properly when using a 1080p or 720p HDTV as a second monitor.

Windows 10 allows you to set custom scaling levels for each display connected to your computer. To do this, right-click on your desktop and select Display settings. Select the display you want to adjust, then click Advanced Display Settings. Under Resolution, select the dropdown menu and choose the option Custom Scaling. Here you can enter a scaling level for the display.

First, as a precaution, disable UAC but via GP Edit and policies:

Windows Settings/Security Settings/Local Policies/Security Options

User Account Control: Admin Approval Mode for the Built-in Administrator account    Disabled
User Account Control: Allow UIAccess applications to prompt for elevation without using the secure desktop  Disabled
User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode    Elevate without prompting
User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for standard users   Prompt for credentials
User Account Control: Detect application installations and prompt for elevation Disabled
User Account Control: Only elevate executables that are signed and validated    Disabled
User Account Control: Only elevate UIAccess applications that are installed in secure locations Disabled
User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode Disabled
User Account Control: Switch to the secure desktop when prompting for elevation Disabled
User Account Control: Virtualize file and registry write failures to per-user locations Enabled

If you experience some problems, you can relax "Admin Approval Mode for the Built-in Administrator account" to "Enabled" as long as you keep "Elevate without prompting".

Then - separate the screens. Doesn't matter which one is 1st, which 2nd, and along which edge they connect as long as they are separate - not replicas. Then just click one and adjust, and then the other and adjust. Clicking the one you want to change is important.

If one is a laptop, don't just close the lid - go to hibernate, with the lid open. That preserves all settings intact. If you disconnect one monitor, it's going to merge them. If they ever get merged again, you'll be back to square 1.

Oh, and the version of the OS might play a role, meaning that if you are on Home, you might be screwed, and if you are on LTSB, you are guaranteed not to have any problems. Also, if you have "Creators edition," you might get screed and the only solution is to go back to "Anniversary" or LTSB.

Also, check the "discrete" graphics card driver settings to make sure that there's no some leftover option there that's tying them.

I've been running with different scaling at work from day one. But I don't take that laptop home. If I do, then I have to set it up again.

OP

your words:

I want to set a different custom scaling level for each of my 2 monitors.

The "recommended" scaling for my laptop display is 150%, while 100% scaling is recommended for my external monitor. 100% is great for my external monitor, but 150% just makes everything too big on my laptop display.

From what I could find searching Google, it appears that there are 3 ways to change monitor scaling. Only one method allows for different scaling for each display, but this method only allows for scaling in increments of 25%, and unfortunately 125% is too small for my laptop display, and as I said 150% is too large. The other two methods, while I can set the scaling to any percentage I want, scale both monitors at once, and do not have an option to scale them separately.

Your laptop’s high‑DPI panel is oversized at 150%, while an external monitor remains crisp at 100%. How can you set your laptop to 140% and keep an external monitor at 100%?

The short answer is, you can't, not directly. Why not? What can you do?

Why "Arbitrary Per‑Monitor Scaling" Isn’t Supported Windows’ DPI scaling engine is designed around fixed increments for per‑monitor adjustments. While you can assign different scaling levels to each display, those levels are restricted to predefined steps. Arbitrary percentages like 140% are only available globally, not per monitor. In short: you can have per‑monitor scaling, or arbitrary scaling, but not both at the same time.

What are some practical workarounds?

• Resolution Adjustment Lower the laptop’s resolution slightly while keeping scaling at 125% or 150%. This creates an effective “in‑between” feel closer to 140%.

• Application‑Level DPI Overrides For apps that look wrong, right‑click → Properties → Compatibility → Change high DPI settings. Override scaling behavior per app.

• GPU Control Panel Custom Resolutions NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel drivers allow custom resolutions. This can approximate desired scaling but may introduce blurriness.

• Third‑Party Utilities Unlike macOS, Windows lack mainstream tools for arbitrary per‑monitor scaling. Experimental utilities exist but are not widely supported.

What can be the expected trade‑offs?

• Adjusting resolution may reduce sharpness.

• DPI overrides fix some apps but not all.

• Custom resolutions can introduce instability.

• Legacy apps may not handle per‑monitor DPI scaling correctly.

For most professionals, the most stable compromise is:

• Keep the external monitor at 100% scaling.

• Set the laptop to 150% scaling, then reduce resolution slightly to approximate 140%.

• Use DPI overrides for apps that misbehave.

I hope this cleared up some of the confusion related to your needs and the answers you have been given.

To the gatekeepers:

Thanks for the explanations as to why you have denied answers, those that do write up well explained reasoning are the backbone of keeping answers relevant, to you I tip my hat, THANKS!

In order to get separate custom scaling levels for each display in Windows 10, you will have to set a custom resolution for at least one of your displays.

I do have 2 displays, one that is 27-inch (2560x1440) and the other 24-inch (2560x1440), and I would like to have things be bigger on the 24-inch display and be the same size as on the 27-inch.

I changed the 24-inch display's resolution to match the zoom and scaling on that particular display by doing this:

1. First, I determined the ratio between 27-inch and 24-inch by dividing 27/24 = 1,125.

2. Second, I used this ratio to calculate the new resolution for the 24-inch display by dividing values like this. 2560/1.125 = 2275,555555556 = 2276 and 1440/1.125 = 1280.

3. So thanks to my Graphics Card software, I created a custom resolution and entered the new resolution numbers, 2276x1280, and the zoom was PERFECT!