Cheapest Volume Mixer for Mac in 2026: Price Compared

If you want per-app volume on a Mac in 2026, you'll have to add an app: macOS still doesn't include a volume mixer. The good news is that the options range from free to a one-time purchase. Here's how they compare on price, and how to decide what you need.

First: what macOS does on its own

macOS has one output volume for everything. There's no panel where each app gets its own slider. Your built-in options are:

• Each app's own volume control, if it has one (Music, Spotify, Zoom and most video players do)
• The alert volume slider in System Settings > Sound, which only changes system alert sounds

That costs nothing, but it means opening each app separately and it can't push a quiet app above 100%. If that's enough for you, you don't need to buy anything. More on why: why doesn't Mac have a volume mixer?

The free option: Background Music

Background Music is a free, open-source app for per-app volume on macOS. If your budget is zero, it's the obvious first try. Check the project page for its current status and the macOS versions it supports before you install. We don't repeat other apps' feature or compatibility claims that we can't keep up to date. Side-by-side: Background Music alternative, or read Background Music vs SoundDial.

Other per-app audio projects

• FineTune is a per-app audio project many people find through GitHub. Check its page for its current features, requirements and price. More: FineTune alternative.
• eqMac comes up in the same searches. Check its website for current features and price.

The paid options

SoundSource

SoundSource is by Rogue Amoeba and costs $49. It's sold by Rogue Amoeba directly, not on the Mac App Store. It's a broad audio tool; check Rogue Amoeba's website for its current feature list. Our SoundSource alternative page has more.

SoundDial

SoundDial is our app. It costs €14.99 one-time purchase on the Mac App Store, with no subscription. It does one job:

• A menu-bar app where each running app gets its own volume slider
• Per-app volume from 0% to 200%: lower one app, or boost a quiet one above 100%
• Per-app mute with one click while other apps keep playing
• Works per app, not per browser tab (all tabs of a browser share one slider)
• Does not record anything
• Needs macOS 14.2 or later

Price at a glance

• Free: your apps' own volume controls; Background Music (free, open-source)
• Check the site: FineTune, eqMac
• $49: SoundSource, from Rogue Amoeba directly
• €14.99 one-time purchase: SoundDial, on the Mac App Store

How to choose

The cheapest tool is the one that does what you need and nothing you'll pay for but never use. Ask yourself:

1. Do you only need to turn one or two apps down now and then? Try each app's own volume control first. It's free.
2. Do you want per-app volume and don't want to spend anything? Try Background Music.
3. Do you want a broad audio toolkit? Look at SoundSource and compare its feature list with what you'll actually use.
4. Do you want per-app volume, mute and boost, bought once from the Mac App Store? That's what SoundDial is for.

Whatever you pick, test it with the apps you use every day: your music app, your browser, and your call app.

The short version

macOS has no built-in mixer. If you want free, start with Background Music. If you want a one-time purchase on the Mac App Store that gives every app its own slider, mute button and boost up to 200%, try SoundDial, a per-app volume mixer for Mac. See how per-app volume control on Mac works with it.

Get SoundDial on the Mac App Store.