Virtual Audio Drivers vs SoundDial for Mac Volume

Search for per-app volume on a Mac and you'll find two kinds of tools: virtual audio devices such as BlackHole or Loopback, and per-app volume mixers such as SoundDial. They show up for the same searches, but they're made for different jobs. Picking the right one starts with what you actually want to do.

What a virtual audio device is

A virtual audio device appears as an extra input or output device on your Mac, next to your speakers, headphones and microphone. You'll see it in System Settings > Sound and in the Audio MIDI Setup app (in Applications > Utilities).

These tools are made for capturing audio and sending it between apps. Typical uses:

• Getting the sound of one app into a recording or streaming app
• Feeding audio from one program into another, for example into a video call or a recorder
• Building a combined device so audio reaches more than one place

That's a different job from setting how loud each app is. A virtual device on its own gives you another device to choose, not a slider per app. If that's what you need, check each tool's website for its current features, requirements and price.

What a per-app volume mixer is

A per-app volume mixer answers a simpler question: how loud is each app, right now? You get one slider per app, so Spotify can be quieter than your call, and the game quieter than Discord, without touching the system volume.

SoundDial, a per-app volume mixer for Mac puts that in your menu bar:

• A slider for each running app, from 0% to 200%, so you can lower a loud app or boost a quiet one above 100%
• Per-app mute with one click, while the rest keeps playing
• Per app, not per browser tab: all tabs of a browser share one slider
• Does not record anything
• macOS 14.2 or later, €14.99 one-time purchase on the Mac App Store, no subscription

You can also save the current levels and mutes as named profiles, and its auto-duck (on by default, adjustable or off in Settings > Auto-Duck) lowers other apps while a call app uses the microphone. It does not capture audio or send it between apps.

Before you install anything: the built-in answer

If your goal is only volume, check each app first. Spotify, Music, VLC, Zoom, Discord and most games have their own volume control, and the alert volume slider in System Settings > Sound covers system alert sounds. For one or two apps, that may be all you need.

Which one do you need?

• You want to record, stream or send one app's sound into another app: look at a virtual audio device and read its documentation.
• You want Spotify quieter during a call, Discord louder than your game, or one app muted: that's a per-app volume job. Use each app's own slider, or a per-app mixer like SoundDial.
• You need both: they solve separate problems, so judge each tool on its own job.

Most people who search for per-app volume control want the second one: a slider for each app. More on that in per-app volume control on Mac, and for a wider look at the options, see per-app volume control on Mac in 2026.

Get SoundDial on the Mac App Store.