Soundish alternative for Mac

Why people look for a Soundish alternative

Soundish, made by Appish, is a small one-time-purchase mixer with a lot going for it: per-app volume, a per-app equalizer, output per app and profiles for USD 14.99. The reasons below come from Appish's own pages, checked on 2026-11-12.

• Features marked as planned. The vendor's page lists auto-ducking during calls, per-app balance, level meters, Shortcuts actions and a per-output equalizer as planned for a version 2.0. They are not in the current 1.5.4, and no release date is given. If you need one of them today, you have to look elsewhere.
• The macOS version. Soundish needs macOS 14.6 (Sonoma) or later. A Mac on macOS 14.2 to 14.5 does not qualify.
• How you buy it. Soundish is sold direct from appish.app with a licence key by email, checkout by Lemon Squeezy. A Mac App Store listing is not stated. One key works on up to three of your Macs. If you want purchase, updates and refunds handled by Apple, that is a different setup.
• The trial needs your email. The 7-day trial has every feature, but the download link is sent by email. After seven days per-app control pauses until you add a licence key.
• Stated limits. The vendor says it has no Audio Unit plug-ins and no effects besides the equalizer, that the whole browser gets one volume (no volume per tab), that the changed sound is stereo, and that alert and system audio cannot be controlled.
• A past driver. Before version 1.5 the app installed an audio driver. The vendor states that since 1.5 the app needs neither a driver, a password nor a restart. If you read older reviews, they may describe the earlier install.

None of these make Soundish a bad choice.

Soundish alternatives at a glance

1. SoundDial (top pick). Best overall for per-app volume, mute, EQ, balance, output and call ducking on macOS 14.2 or later, bought once on the Mac App Store.
2. FineTune. Best free alternative: open source, per-app boost to 4x, 20 EQ presets (macOS 15 or later).
3. Sound Control. Best for Audio Unit effects, hotkeys and MIDI control in a per-app mixer.
4. SoundSource. Best for Audio Units, an equalizer over all system audio and output groups, from Rogue Amoeba (macOS 15 or later).
5. EQBase. Best for a free equalizer over all system audio, with recording included in the free tier.
6. eqMac. Best for a free equalizer with headphone presets; per-app volume is a Pro feature.

	SoundDial	FineTune	Sound Control	SoundSource	EQBase	eqMac
Price model	€14.99 one-time purchase, one-time, no subscription, no in-app purchases	Free, open source (GPL v3)	Direct: price shown at checkout. Mac App Store: free, with USD 1.99 a month, USD 14.99 a year or USD 29.99 once in-app	USD 49 license key; USD 25 upgrade from SoundSource 5 or 4	Free tier; Pro USD 4.99 a month, USD 39.99 a year or USD 79.99 lifetime	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	Free	Trial download (direct)	Trial; noise is added after 20 minutes	Free tier, no time limit	Free tier; 7-day Pro trial
macOS	macOS 14.2 or later	15.0 or later	14.6 direct; 15.6 App Store	15 or later	14.4 or later	10.13 or later
Per-app volume	0% to 200%	Yes, boost up to 4x	Yes, range not stated	Up to 400%	Pro, up to 200%	Pro "App Mixer", range not stated
Equalizer	Per app, 10 bands, 11 presets	Per app, 10 bands, 20 presets	Audio Units, 10 or 31 bands	Per app and all system audio, plus Audio Units	All system audio, 10 bands free, 24 in Pro; per app in Pro	All system audio; per app not stated
Output per app	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Pro	Not stated
Lowers others on calls	Yes, on by default	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Pro	Not stated

Prices are each vendor's own figures on US storefronts or vendor sites, checked 12 November 2026. Direct-sale and App Store prices are different channels, so none of these numbers are subtracted from each other.

SoundDial: the top pick

SoundDial is a menu-bar app for per-app audio, and the best Soundish alternative for people who want the core job plus call ducking, balance and automation in one Mac App Store app. 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 Soundish. 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 call setting is on by default, and SoundDial does not read or record microphone audio. It runs on macOS 14.2 or later, which includes Macs that Soundish cannot run on. And it comes from the Mac App Store as a sandboxed app, so purchase and updates go through Apple; 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 global hotkeys without the Accessibility permission, and drive it from the Shortcuts app or with sounddial:// links. 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 equalizer, call ducking and per-app balance 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.

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, guides and release notes list per-app volume and mute, boost presets of 2x, 3x and 4x, a 10-band equalizer with 20 presets, AutoEQ headphone correction, output per app and to several devices at once, global hotkeys, level meters and a URL scheme for scripts.

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. Per-app balance, Audio Unit support and call ducking are not stated. The vendor lists version 1.9.0 from 9 July 2026. More in the FineTune alternative page.

Sound Control: best for Audio Units and MIDI

Sound Control, by Static Z Software, is a menu-bar app with per-app volume and mute, left/right balance per app and per output device, output rerouting, Audio Unit effects (including 10 and 31-band graphic equalizers), AutoEQ headphone calibrations, hotkeys and MIDI control. It is the closest match to SoundSource's plug-in side.

It is sold two ways, and the vendor says the two purchases are not interchangeable. Direct from staticz.com the price appears at checkout and there is a trial download. On the Mac App Store it is a free download with in-app purchases (US storefront: USD 1.99 a month, USD 14.99 a year or USD 29.99 once). The direct page states macOS 14.6 or later; the App Store version needs macOS 15.6. On macOS 14 and earlier it uses a system extension, installed from Recovery mode. Its Mac App Store listing is English only. See SoundDial vs Sound Control.

SoundSource: best for Audio Units and output groups

SoundSource, by Rogue Amoeba, is a per-app audio tool for Mac with a wide feature set. Per vendor, it goes up to 400% per app, hosts Audio Units, has an equalizer for all system audio as well as per app, and can send one app to several outputs through Output Groups. It also lists AirPlay per app.

It is sold differently and installs more. The license is USD 49 on Rogue Amoeba's store, with an upgrade price of USD 25 from SoundSource 5 or 4. SoundSource 6 needs macOS 15, so it does not run on a Mac that stays on macOS 14. It installs the ARK audio plug-in, which needs your administrator password plus System Audio and Microphone access. It suits you if Audio Units or a system-wide equalizer matter more to you than a Mac App Store purchase or a simple install. See the SoundSource alternative page and SoundDial vs SoundSource.

EQBase: best free equalizer for all system audio

EQBase, by Bold Biscuit, is a free-tier equalizer: a 10-band equalizer over all system audio, headphone correction for 6,000+ models, global hotkeys and system audio recording are free, with no time limit and no account. Pro (USD 4.99 a month, USD 39.99 a year or USD 79.99 lifetime, vendor store, checked 12 November 2026) adds the App Mixer with per-app volume to 200%, a 10-band equalizer per app, output per app, a 24-band equalizer, Audio Unit hosting and call ducking.

The core app needs macOS 14.4 or later and, per the vendor, works without a driver or administrator password; two optional features install a small user-space driver. The interface is English only and the app is closed source. EQBase suits you if the equalizer is the main job and the mixer is a bonus.

eqMac: best free equalizer with headphone presets

eqMac, by Bitgapp Ltd, lists a Basic and a 10-band Advanced equalizer, volume boost and headphone presets for 4,600+ models as free. The App Mixer (per-app volume), the unlimited-band Expert EQ and Audio Unit hosting are Pro. 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.

SoundDial vs Soundish

	SoundDial	Soundish
Price model	€14.99 one-time purchase, one-time, no subscription	USD 14.99 once, no subscription (appish.app, checked 12 November 2026)
Where you buy it	Mac App Store	Direct from appish.app, licence key by email
Try before buying	no free trial; refunds go through Apple	7-day trial, email needed; 30-day fix-or-refund promise
macOS	macOS 14.2 or later	14.6 or later
Install	Sandboxed App Store app	DMG; since 1.5 it needs neither a driver, a password nor a restart
Per-app volume	0% to 200%, soft limiter	0% to 200%, clipping protection
Per-app mute	Yes	Yes
Equalizer	Per app, 10 bands, 11 presets	Per app, 10 bands, 9 presets
Output device per app	Yes	Yes
Lowering others on calls	Yes, on by default	Planned for 2.0
Per-app balance	Yes	Planned for 2.0
Profiles	Volume, mute, EQ, balance	Volume, mute, output, EQ
Hotkeys and automation	Global hotkeys, Shortcuts actions, sounddial:// links	Global hotkeys for the front app; Shortcuts actions planned for 2.0

Checked on 2026-11-12. The full range of comparisons is on Compare.

Where SoundDial doesn't fit

• You want profiles that remember the output device. Soundish profiles save each app's output; SoundDial profiles do not.
• You want hotkeys for the app in front. Soundish has volume up, down and mute for the focused app, plus an optional volume-keys mode. SoundDial's hotkeys show or hide the window and mute all apps.
• You need Audio Unit plug-ins. SoundDial has none. SoundSource, Sound Control, EQBase Pro and eqMac Pro state Audio Unit hosting.
• You want one equalizer over everything you hear. SoundDial's equalizer is per app. SoundSource, EQBase and eqMac have equalizers for all system audio.
• You need more than 200% for a quiet app. SoundDial stops at 200%; SoundSource and FineTune go to 400%.
• You want to record. SoundDial does not record. EQBase records system audio in its free tier; Audio Hijack is a full recorder.
• You work with multichannel audio. SoundDial does not support it; it is stereo only.
• You expect separate browser tabs. SoundDial controls the browser as one app. Soundish says the same of itself.

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

How to switch from Soundish to SoundDial

1. Note the volumes, EQ curves and output choices you rely on in Soundish, and the profiles you apply.
2. Quit Soundish, so two tools 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, so set "Play Through" per app and let "Remember last" keep it.
5. Turn on "Lower other apps during calls" if it is not already on (it is on by default).

To remove Soundish, follow Appish'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). Every other app's column comes from that vendor's own pages, checked on 2026-11-12: Soundish with its help page and comparison with SoundSource, FineTune on GitHub, Sound Control and its Mac App Store listing, SoundSource and its store page, EQBase and eqMac. Soundish details are as of its version 1.5.4. "Not stated" means the vendor's pages do not say, which is not the same as "no". None of the apps was run for this page; features are as each vendor describes them.