How to Boost a Quiet App on Mac Past Max Volume

One app is too quiet even with your Mac at full volume: a video call with a soft-spoken guest, a quietly mastered YouTube clip, a game with low dialogue, a stream in a browser tab. Everything else is loud enough, but this one isn't.

Here's why it happens, what to check, and how to boost just that app.

Why one app is quiet even at 100%

macOS has one master volume. When you raise it, everything gets louder together. But each app also plays its audio at its own level, and those levels vary a lot. A quiet app stays quiet relative to everything else, even at full blast.

macOS has no built-in per-app volume mixer (Windows has its Volume Mixer), so there's no native way to turn up one app while leaving the rest alone, and no way to amplify one app above its normal maximum.

Check these first

1. The app's own volume. Browser video players, Spotify, VLC, Zoom and Teams all have their own volume controls. Make sure the app itself is at maximum.
2. The right output. In System Settings > Sound > Output, confirm the correct device is selected and its slider is at the top.
3. Headphone safety. If Reduce Loud Audio is turned on under Headphone Safety, it can limit headphone volume.
4. Left/right slider. In the Output settings, make sure the slider between left and right is centered.
5. Bluetooth during calls. Headphones often switch to a quieter hands-free mode when their mic is in use. Pick a different microphone in the call app to avoid it.

If one app is still too quiet after this, you need per-app boost.

The fix: boost just that one app

SoundDial, a per-app volume mixer for Mac lives in the menu bar and gives each running app its own slider, from 0% to 200%:

• Install it from the Mac App Store and open it.
• Click the menu-bar icon to see a slider for each app you have open.
• Drag the quiet app's slider past 100%. Only that app gets louder, up to 200%.
• Leave everything else as it is: system volume and other apps don't change.

You can push a soft video call up to a comfortable level while keeping music or notifications from becoming ear-splitting. If another app is the problem instead, mute it with one click while the rest keeps playing. Details on the volume booster for Mac page.

It works per app, not per browser tab, so all tabs in one browser share a slider.

A note on boost

Boost is amplification, not magic. If an app's audio is very quiet, noisy or already distorted, pushing it hard can make hiss or harshness more obvious. Nudge it up until it's comfortable rather than going straight to 200%. For the bigger picture of why max volume isn't loud enough, see Mac volume too quiet even at max.

Other options

• SoundSource by Rogue Amoeba is a per-app audio tool that costs $49 and is not sold on the Mac App Store.
• Background Music is a free, open-source app.
• FineTune is a per-app audio project many people find through GitHub.
• eqMac is another option; check its website for current features and price.

Try whichever fits how you work. SoundDial's angle is simple: per-app sliders, boost to 200% and one-click mute, from the Mac App Store.

Quick answer

To make one Mac app louder than its maximum, use a per-app volume mixer with boost. Open SoundDial from the menu bar, find the quiet app's slider and drag it past 100%. Only that app gets louder.

SoundDial needs macOS 14.2 or later and costs €14.99 one-time purchase on the Mac App Store, no subscription.

Get SoundDial on the Mac App Store.