Sound Control alternative for Mac

Why people look for a Sound Control alternative

Sound Control is a per-app volume and effects tool. The reasons below come from Static Z Software's own pages and its US Mac App Store listing, checked on 2026-11-12. They are reasons to compare, not a verdict on the app.

• The price model on the Mac App Store. The listing is a free download with in-app purchases: Monthly Subscription USD 1.99, Yearly Subscription USD 14.99 and Buy Once USD 29.99 (US storefront). Which features the free download locks is not stated.
• Two kinds of purchase. Static Z Software also sells Sound Control directly, through Paddle. The direct price appears only at checkout and is not stated on its pages. The vendor says purchases from the Mac App Store and purchases made directly are not interchangeable.
• The macOS version. The vendor's site says macOS 14.6 or later. The Mac App Store listing requires macOS 15.6. A Mac on macOS 14.2 to 15.5 therefore cannot use the App Store version. (The vendor's own pages also disagree in places on the minimum; see "How we compared".)
• How it installs. On macOS 14 and earlier, Sound Control uses a System Extension, and the vendor says installation requires booting into Recovery mode. The steps for macOS 15 and later are not stated.
• Upgrades. Sound Control 3 is a paid upgrade from Sound Control 2; owners who bought in 2023 got it free. Sound Control 2 and 3 cannot coexist.
• Language. The Mac App Store listing is English only.

Sound Control alternatives at a glance

1. SoundDial (top pick). Best overall for per-app volume, mute, EQ, balance and output on macOS 14.2 or later, bought once on the Mac App Store.
2. SoundSource. Best for Audio Units, one equalizer over all system audio and a boost to 400%, as a direct purchase.
3. FineTune. Best free alternative: open source, per-app boost to 4x, 20 EQ presets (macOS 15 or later).
4. Soundish. Best direct-sale one-time purchase on macOS 14.6, with per-app EQ, profiles and hotkeys.
5. Background Music. Best open-source option for older macOS versions, with per-app volume and auto-pause for music players.
6. eqMac. Best for a free system-wide equalizer with headphone presets; per-app volume is a Pro feature.

	SoundDial	SoundSource	FineTune	Soundish	Background Music	eqMac
Price model	€14.99 one-time purchase, one-time, no subscription, no in-app purchases	USD 49 license key; USD 25 upgrade from SoundSource 5 or 4	Free, open source (GPL v3)	USD 14.99 once, direct from appish.app	Open source (GPLv2 or later); no price stated	Free tier; Pro from $3 a month or $30 a year, or $40 lifetime (currency code not stated)
Try before buying	no free trial; refunds go through Apple	Trial with all features; noise is added after 20 minutes per launch	Free	7-day trial, email needed	Not stated	Free tier; 7-day Pro trial
macOS	macOS 14.2 or later	15 or later	15.0 or later	14.6 or later	10.13 or later	10.13 or later
Per-app volume	0% to 200%	Up to 400%	Yes, boost up to 4x	0% to 200%	Yes, range not stated	Pro "App Mixer", range not stated
Equalizer	Per app, 10 bands, 11 presets	Per app and for all system audio	Per app, 10 bands, 20 presets	Per app, 10 bands, 9 presets	Not stated	All system audio; per app not stated
Output per app	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not stated	Not stated
Audio Units	No	Yes	Not stated	No	Not stated	Pro

Prices are each vendor's own figures from the vendor's site, checked 12 November 2026; SoundSource, FineTune and Soundish state US dollars, eqMac shows "$" without a currency code, and Background Music states no price. Different sales channels and currencies are not subtracted from each other.

SoundDial: the top pick

SoundDial is a menu-bar app for per-app audio, and the best Sound Control alternative for people who want the core job done as a single purchase, without a subscription and without installing a virtual audio driver. Each app gets a slider from 0% to 200% with a soft limiter above 100%, a mute button, a 10-band equalizer with 11 presets (31 Hz to 16 kHz, plus or minus 12 dB per band), left/right balance and an output device, set from the row menu "Play Through".

Three things set it apart from Sound Control. It runs on macOS 14.2 or later, which includes Macs that the Mac App Store version of Sound Control (macOS 15.6) cannot run on. It lowers other apps by itself when a call app such as Zoom, Teams, FaceTime or Discord uses the microphone: other apps drop to 30% of their level by default (adjustable from 5% to 80%) and return when the call ends; the setting is on by default. And it is a sandboxed Mac App Store app that does not install a virtual audio driver; the guided setup asks for one macOS audio permission and tests that it works.

You can save the whole mix as a profile (volume, mute, EQ and balance per app), use two global hotkeys without the Accessibility permission, and drive it from the Shortcuts app. The app is available in 34 languages. Price: €14.99 one-time purchase, one-time, no subscription. Trial: no free trial; refunds go through Apple. The per-app volume control, per-app equalizer and call ducking pages go deeper.

Limits, said plainly: the equalizer works per app, not over all system audio; sound is stereo only; there is no recording and no Audio Unit support; profiles do not save the output device; and control is per app, not per browser tab.

SoundSource: best for Audio Units and one equalizer for everything

SoundSource, by Rogue Amoeba, is the closest match to Sound Control's plug-in side. It offers per-app volume with Volume Overdrive up to 400%, mute (including timed mute), a 10-band equalizer per app, Balance & Pan, Audio Unit effects, a 10-band equalizer for all system audio, output per app and Output Groups for several outputs at once, and Quick Configs to save setups.

It is a one-time license key at USD 49, with a USD 25 upgrade price from SoundSource 5 or 4, on Rogue Amoeba's own store, checked 12 November 2026. SoundSource 6 needs macOS 15 or later. It installs the ARK audio plug-in, which needs your administrator password plus System Audio and Microphone access. The trial has every feature, but after 20 minutes noise is laid over the audio until you relaunch. Automatic lowering of other apps during calls is not stated. More in the SoundSource alternative page and SoundDial vs SoundSource.

FineTune: best free alternative

FineTune is a free, open-source (GPL v3) menu-bar app by Ronit Singh, installed from GitHub or Homebrew. Its README lists per-app volume and mute, boost presets of 2x, 3x and 4x, a 10-band equalizer with 20 presets, output per app and to several devices at once, and global hotkeys.

It suits you if you want zero cost and are on macOS 15.0 or later. Its own troubleshooting notes say audio processors, DAWs and calling apps may not work well with the Core Audio process taps it uses, and that high boost can clip. Audio Unit support, per-app balance and call ducking are not stated. The vendor lists version 1.9.0 from 9 July 2026. More in the FineTune alternative page and SoundDial vs FineTune.

Soundish: best direct-sale one-time purchase

Soundish, by Appish, is sold from appish.app as a one-time USD 14.99 purchase with no subscription (vendor store, checked 12 November 2026). It offers per-app volume from 0% to 200% with a mute, a 10-band equalizer per app (plus or minus 12 dB, nine presets), an output device per app, profiles and global hotkeys. Since version 1.5 it uses macOS's own audio taps, so it installs without a driver, an administrator password or a restart.

It needs macOS 14.6 or later and has a 7-day trial that asks for your email. The vendor lists call ducking as planned for version 2.0, not shipped in 1.5.4, and states no Audio Unit support.

Background Music: best open-source option for older macOS

Background Music is an open-source (GPLv2 or later) menu-bar app maintained by Kyle Neideck and contributors, installed from GitHub or Homebrew. Its README lists a volume slider for each application, including a boost above the maximum, and its version 0.5.0 release notes add a per-app mute button. It can also pause your music player automatically when a second audio source starts, which is pausing, not lowering.

It lists macOS 10.13 or later and installs a virtual audio device driver, which becomes the default output device. The README says it is still in alpha, that setting an app's volume above 50% can cause clipping, and that only stereo output devices are supported. Per-app EQ, per-app output and profiles are not stated. More in the Background Music alternative page and SoundDial vs Background Music.

eqMac: best free system-wide equalizer

eqMac, by Bitgapp Ltd, lists a Basic and a 10-band Advanced equalizer, volume boost and headphone presets as free. The App Mixer (per-app volume), the unlimited-band Expert EQ and Audio Unit hosting are Pro. Pro starts at $3 a month or $30 a year, or $40 for a lifetime license on one Mac (eqmac.app, checked 12 November 2026; the page does not state a currency code beside the figures), with a 7-day Pro trial.

It states macOS 10.13 or later on Intel and Apple Silicon, and installs a system audio driver plus a privileged helper that may ask for your administrator password. Per-app mute, per-app EQ, per-app output and call ducking are not stated. More in the eqMac alternative page and SoundDial vs eqMac.

SoundDial vs Sound Control

	SoundDial	Sound Control (Static Z Software)
Price model	€14.99 one-time purchase, one-time, no subscription, no in-app purchases	Mac App Store: free download, in-app Monthly USD 1.99, Yearly USD 14.99, Buy Once USD 29.99 (US storefront, 12 November 2026). Direct: price not stated on its pages
Where you buy it	Mac App Store	Direct from Static Z Software and the Mac App Store; the two are not interchangeable
macOS	macOS 14.2 or later	14.6 or later on the vendor's site; 15.6 or later on the Mac App Store
Install	Sandboxed App Store app; does not install a virtual audio driver	macOS 14 and earlier: System Extension, installed from Recovery mode; macOS 15 and later: not stated
Per-app volume	0% to 200%	Yes; range not stated
Equalizer	Per app, 10 bands, 11 presets	Per app and per output device through Audio Units: 10 or 31 band graphic EQ; AutoEQ headphone calibrations
Lowering others on calls	Yes, on by default	Not stated; Do Not Disturb mutes background apps while a chosen app is in front
Hotkeys and MIDI	Two global hotkeys, Shortcuts actions	Hotkeys for the foreground app, MIDI control

The full table is on the SoundDial vs Sound Control page.

Where SoundDial doesn't fit

• You need Audio Unit plug-ins. SoundDial has none. Sound Control, SoundSource, eqMac Pro and others state Audio Unit hosting.
• You want AutoEQ headphone calibrations. Sound Control includes thousands of them. SoundDial has none.
• You want hotkeys for the front app or MIDI control. SoundDial has two global hotkeys: show or hide SoundDial, and mute or unmute all apps. It has no MIDI control.
• You want a 31-band graphic equalizer, or one equalizer over everything you hear. SoundDial's equalizer has 10 bands and works per app. SoundSource and eqMac have equalizers for all system audio.
• You want to record. SoundDial does not record. Audio Hijack is a full recorder.
• You use multichannel audio. SoundDial is stereo only.
• You expect separate browser tabs. SoundDial controls the browser as one app.

For the wider field, see the best volume mixer for Mac and the best audio mixer for Mac.

How to switch from Sound Control to SoundDial

1. Note the volumes, EQ settings and output devices you rely on in Sound Control.
2. Quit Sound Control, so two apps do not change the same audio at once.
3. Install SoundDial from the Mac App Store and follow the guided setup, which grants and tests audio access.
4. Open SoundDial from the menu bar and set volume, EQ and output for each app. Choose "Save current mix as a profile" to keep the setup for one click later. Profiles do not save the output device; with "Remember last" on (Settings → General), SoundDial remembers each app's output on its own.
5. Turn on "Lower other apps during calls" if it is not already on (it is on by default).

If you used Audio Units, check that the per-app equalizer covers your case. To remove Sound Control, follow Static Z Software's own instructions. Not sure about the permission step? See setup and permissions.

How we compared

SoundDial's column comes from the app itself (see SoundDial facts). Sound Control's details come from Static Z Software's own pages and the app's US Mac App Store listing; every other app's column comes from that vendor's own pages. All were checked on 2026-11-12: Sound Control, its Mac App Store listing, SoundSource and its store page, FineTune on GitHub, Soundish, Background Music on GitHub and eqMac. "Not stated" means the vendor's pages do not say, which is not the same as "no". Static Z Software's own pages disagree in places on the minimum macOS; this page uses the figure on its main page. None of the apps was run for this page; features are as each vendor describes them. Every comparison is on Compare.