SoundSource Alternative: Per-App Volume for Mac

SoundSource by Rogue Amoeba is one of the best-known per-app audio apps for Mac. It's a broad tool, and it costs $49. It's sold by Rogue Amoeba directly rather than through the Mac App Store.

If all you want is to turn down Spotify without affecting Zoom, you may not need a full audio toolkit. Here's how to think about it.

What SoundSource is good for

SoundSource is a broad audio utility. People who use many of its features, or who already use other Rogue Amoeba apps, often have good reasons to stay with it. Check Rogue Amoeba's website for its current feature list and requirements; we don't repeat competitor feature claims we can't keep up to date.

Where it can be more than you need

Price

$49 is a fair price for a broad tool, and a lot for a volume control if per-app volume is all you use.

Scope

A tool built for many audio jobs has more settings to learn. If your daily need is "this app quieter, that one louder, this one muted", a single-purpose app keeps that simple.

SoundDial: focused on per-app volume

SoundDial does one job: it puts a slider and a mute button for every running app in your menu bar.

• Per-app volume from 0% to 200% (boost a quiet app without raising the rest)
• Per-app mute
• A menu-bar panel, out of the way until you need it
• macOS 14.2 or later
• €14.99 one-time purchase on the Mac App Store, no subscription

It works per app, not per browser tab.

Which should you choose?

• Choose SoundSource if: you need more than per-app volume and mute, or you already rely on Rogue Amoeba's other tools.
• Choose SoundDial if: you want per-app volume, mute and boost, bought once on the Mac App Store, for less.

A shorter side-by-side is on our SoundSource alternative page. More on how it works: per-app volume control on Mac and SoundDial, a volume mixer for Mac.