Volume Mixer for Mac: What macOS Still Doesn't Have

Right-click the speaker icon on a Windows PC and you'll find the Volume Mixer: a panel showing every app that's making sound, each with its own slider. Turn Spotify down to 20% while your Zoom call stays at 100%. Mute Chrome without touching anything else.

Now try the same on a Mac. Click the Sound icon in the menu bar. You get one slider that controls everything at once: every app, every notification, every system sound.

What a volume mixer actually does

A volume mixer gives you independent volume control for every app. Instead of one master slider, you get one slider per app, and each one only affects that app's sound.

In practice:

• Spotify at 25%: background music at a comfortable level
• Zoom at 100%: hear every word of the meeting
• Slack muted: no notification dings during focus time
• Safari at 60%: a YouTube video at a moderate level

All running at once, each at its own level. Change one and nothing else moves. That's what macOS doesn't have.

Why one slider stops working

One slider is fine if you do one thing at a time: music, or a call, or a video. But with a call, music, chat notifications and a browser tab all making sound at once, a single level for everything means something is always too loud or too quiet.

The macOS workarounds (and where they fall short)

Each app's own volume control

Spotify, Music, VLC and QuickTime have their own volume sliders. But you have to switch to each app, find its control and switch back. And many apps, like Slack, Mail, Safari and Chrome, have no volume control of their own.

Do Not Disturb and Focus

A Focus can silence notification sounds, but it's on or off. You can't make one app's sounds quieter, and a Focus doesn't touch music or call volume.

Audio MIDI Setup

This built-in utility configures audio devices. It has nothing to do with per-app volume.

Multi-output devices

In Audio MIDI Setup you can combine outputs so the same sound plays on two devices at once. Handy for speakers plus headphones, but it doesn't give you control per app.

None of these let you say "make this app quieter without affecting anything else."

What to look for in a Mac volume mixer

• Automatic app detection: apps that play sound should show up without any setup
• Volume above 100%: some apps are too quiet even at their maximum, so a boost above 100% helps
• One-click mute per app: silence one noisy app during a call without touching the rest
• Menu bar access: open, adjust, close, without leaving the app you're in
• Price and where to get it: one-time or subscription, Mac App Store or direct download

For a side-by-side of the common options, see best volume mixer apps for Mac.

SoundDial: a volume mixer in your menu bar

SoundDial gives you what macOS leaves out: per-app volume control on Mac, from the menu bar.

• A slider for each running app, from 0% to 200%
• One-click mute for any app
• Boost a quiet app above 100%, up to 200%, without making the others louder
• Lower one app without touching the rest

It works per app, not per browser tab: all tabs of one browser share one slider.

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