Spotify Volume Too Low on Mac? Every Fix Explained

Spotify is at full volume. Your Mac is at full volume. And it's still not loud enough. This is a common Spotify complaint on Mac, and it has several possible causes, most of them not obvious.

Here's every reason Spotify might be too quiet on your Mac, how to fix each one, and how to boost Spotify past 100% if nothing else works.

1. Check Spotify's own volume slider

Spotify has its own volume slider in the player bar (bottom right of the window). It's separate from your Mac's system volume. If it sits at half, Spotify only plays at half its level, even with your Mac at 100%.

Fix: Drag Spotify's in-app slider all the way to the right.

2. Check volume normalization

Spotify can normalize playback so all tracks play at a similar level. That avoids jumps between songs, but it can also make loud tracks quieter than their original mastering.

Open Spotify's settings and look in the playback section for Normalize volume. Recent versions also offer a volume level choice such as Loud, Normal and Quiet.

Fix: Turn normalization off, or set the volume level to Loud. This is one of the most common reasons Spotify sounds unexpectedly quiet.

3. Check your streaming quality

In Spotify's settings, look for the audio quality section and make sure streaming quality isn't set to the lowest option. A low setting mainly affects sound quality, but it's worth ruling out while you're there.

4. Check headphone safety in macOS

If you listen on headphones, open System Settings > Sound and look for a Headphone Safety option. If "Reduce Loud Audio" is turned on, macOS limits headphone volume to a level it considers safe.

Fix: Turn it off or raise the limit. This only affects headphones, not your Mac's speakers.

5. Check Bluetooth volume

AirPods and other Bluetooth speakers or headphones have their own volume level, which the Mac and the device keep in sync. Sometimes they drift apart.

Fix: Disconnect and reconnect the device. If it has its own volume buttons, turn those up too. More tips in Bluetooth headphones too quiet on Mac.

6. Restart Core Audio

The macOS audio service can get stuck at a low level, often after sleep or after switching output devices. Open Terminal and run:

sudo killall coreaudiod

Audio cuts out for a moment and restarts. Play something in Spotify again and check the level.

7. Boost Spotify past 100%

If you've tried all of the above and Spotify is still too quiet, the maximum just may not be loud enough for your setup. This happens often with MacBook built-in speakers and some Bluetooth devices.

Raising the system volume can't go past 100%, and anything that boosts everything also makes notifications and call audio louder. What you want is a boost for Spotify alone.

SoundDial gives every running app its own slider from 0% to 200%. You can boost Spotify above 100%, say to 160% (raise it in small steps, since a boost can clip on loud tracks), while your browser stays at 80% and Zoom stays at 100%. Only Spotify gets louder.

It works the other way too: if Spotify is too loud while you're on a call, drag its slider down or mute it with one click while the call keeps playing. SoundDial's auto-duck, on by default, also lowers other apps such as Spotify to 30% of their level while a call app uses the microphone and brings them back when the call ends; change the level or turn it off in Settings > Auto-Duck.

SoundDial, a per-app volume mixer for Mac lives in the menu bar, needs macOS 14.2 or later and costs €14.99 one-time purchase on the Mac App Store, no subscription.

Get SoundDial on the Mac App Store.