Is SoundSource Worth the Price? A One-Time Alternative

Whether SoundSource is worth it depends on how much of it you'll use. If you need a broad audio toolkit, it can be. If you mainly want per-app volume, per-app mute and a boost for quiet apps, a smaller, cheaper app may cover everything you touch.

What SoundSource is

SoundSource is made by Rogue Amoeba, a well-known Mac audio developer. It costs $49 and is sold by Rogue Amoeba directly, not on the Mac App Store. It is a broad audio utility; see Rogue Amoeba's site for its current features. We don't repeat competitor feature claims we can't keep up to date.

The price question

$49 is a fair price for a broad tool. The honest question is what you'll actually use. If you open it and only ever move volume sliders and click mute buttons, you're paying for a full toolkit to use one part of it.

Why the problem exists at all

macOS has no built-in per-app volume mixer. Windows has had one for years, but on a Mac the system volume moves every app at once. There's no Apple-provided way to keep Spotify quiet while a video call stays loud, or to mute one app without muting everything. That gap is why tools like SoundSource and SoundDial exist.

Before buying anything, check the apps you use: many media and call apps have their own volume slider in their settings, and macOS lets you turn off notification sounds per app in System Settings > Notifications. If those cover your needs, you may not need a mixer at all.

A focused option for the common case

SoundDial, a per-app volume mixer for Mac, is built for the everyday case. It sits in your menu bar and gives each running app:

• Its own volume slider: lower your music while a meeting stays at full level
• A mute button: silence one app without muting the Mac
• Boost up to 200%: push a quiet app above 100% when the source is too soft, without raising the rest (there's no limiter, so a big boost can clip on loud sources)

Version 1.1 also adds auto-ducking, which lowers other apps while a call app uses the microphone (on by default, can be turned off), and profiles that save your per-app levels and mutes under a name.

It works per app, not per browser tab. It needs macOS 14.2 or later and is €14.99 one-time purchase on the Mac App Store, no subscription.

So, is SoundSource worth it?

• Choose SoundSource if: you want a broad audio toolkit and will use more than per-app volume and mute, or you already rely on other Rogue Amoeba apps. Check Rogue Amoeba's site to see whether its current features match what you need.
• Choose SoundDial if: what you want is each app at the level you choose, a quick mute for one app and a boost for quiet ones, bought once on the Mac App Store.

"Worth it" depends on what you'll touch. If your needs grow later, you can always move to a bigger tool.

A short side-by-side is on our SoundSource alternative page, and there's a longer comparison in SoundSource vs SoundDial. More on the basics: per-app volume control on Mac.

Get SoundDial on the Mac App Store.