SoundBunny Alternative: Per-App Volume Mixer for Mac

If SoundBunny no longer does what you need on your Mac, you're probably after the same thing it was used for: a different volume for each app. Here's what macOS can do on its own, and a current per-app mixer you can switch to.

For SoundBunny's current status and the macOS versions it supports, check its developer's website.

Why macOS still needs a third-party mixer

macOS has no built-in per-app volume mixer. Windows has a Volume Mixer; on a Mac, the volume keys and the menu-bar slider move one output volume for every app. There's no setting that says "keep Safari low but Zoom at full volume."

What you can do natively:

• Use each app's own volume. Music, Spotify, most video players and call apps have a volume slider.
• Use the alert volume. System Settings > Sound has a separate alert volume slider, which only affects system alerts.
• Silence notifications with a Focus mode (Do Not Disturb) from Control Center.

That helps, but it means adjusting several apps in several places, and it doesn't help with apps that have no volume control. More detail: how to control per-app volume on Mac.

A current replacement: SoundDial

SoundDial is a menu-bar app where each running app gets its own slider. It's the same idea: one slider per app.

• Per-app volume from 0% to 200%: set Music low, a call loud, a browser somewhere in between
• Per-app boost: push a quiet app above 100% (up to 200%) without raising the rest
• Per-app mute: silence one noisy app with a click while everything else keeps playing
• Works 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

Switching over

Per-app volume levels aren't something you can import, but the switch is quick:

1. Quit SoundBunny and remove it following its developer's instructions, so two tools aren't adjusting the same apps.
2. Install SoundDial from the Mac App Store.
3. Set your levels. Play audio in your usual apps and drag each app's slider in the menu-bar panel.

The short version

macOS still has no per-app mixer of its own. If SoundBunny no longer does what you need, you can get per-app volume, mute and boost back with SoundDial, a per-app volume mixer for Mac. See how per-app volume control on Mac works, or compare other options in our roundup of volume mixer apps for Mac.