SoundDial vs Soundish

SoundDial vs Soundish at a glance

	SoundDial	Soundish
Price model	€14.99 one-time purchase, no subscription, no in-app purchases	One-time purchase, USD 14.99 on appish.app (checked 12 November 2026); no subscription
Where you buy it	Mac App Store	Direct from appish.app (checkout by Lemon Squeezy); Mac App Store not stated
Try before buying	no free trial; refunds go through Apple	7-day trial of every feature, email only; per-app control pauses afterwards
macOS	macOS 14.2 or later	macOS 14.6 or later, Apple silicon and Intel
How it installs	Mac App Store app, sandboxed; does not install a virtual audio driver	DMG, drag to Applications; since 1.5 it installs nothing extra and needs no password or restart; asks for System Audio Recording
Per-app volume	0% to 200%, soft limiter above 100%	0% to 200%; the vendor names clipping protection but also says boosting above 100% can clip
Per-app mute	Yes, plus Control-Option-M to mute all apps	Yes
Equalizer	Per app: 10 bands, plus or minus 12 dB, 11 presets, plus left/right balance	Per app: 10 bands, plus or minus 12 dB, 9 presets; per-output EQ planned for 2.0
Output device per app	Yes (Play Through)	Yes, different apps on different devices at once
Lowering other apps during calls	Yes, on by default, 5% to 80%	Not available now; planned for 2.0
Profiles	Saved mixes (volume, mute, EQ, balance; not the output device)	Saved profiles of volume, mute, output and EQ
Shortcuts and automation	Global hotkeys, six Shortcuts actions, sounddial:// links	Global hotkeys for the front app; Shortcuts actions planned for 2.0
Checked on	SoundDial 2.0	Vendor pages, 12 November 2026 (version 1.5.4)

Why SoundDial is the better pick

• Calls are handled for you. During a Zoom, Teams, FaceTime or Discord call, other playing apps drop to 30% of their level by default and return when the call ends. Appish lists this for Soundish only as planned. More in lower music during calls.
• It runs on an older macOS. SoundDial needs macOS 14.2 or later. Appish states that Soundish needs macOS 14.6, so a Mac on macOS 14.2 to 14.5 can run SoundDial but not Soundish.
• A bit more per app. SoundDial has 11 equalizer presets against Soundish's nine, and a left/right balance for each app, which Appish lists as planned.
• One App Store purchase. SoundDial is bought, installed and updated through the Mac App Store, with no subscription and no in-app purchases. People who bought SoundDial 1.x got 2.0 as a free update.
• Built for the whole setup. Each app's row has its volume and mute, and its ⋯ menu opens a 10-band equalizer per app, balance and an output device, in 34 app languages. Soundish's app languages are not stated.

When Soundish fits better

• You want profiles that include the output device. Soundish profiles save every app's volume, mute, output and EQ. SoundDial profiles save volume, mute, EQ and balance, but not routing.
• You control the app in front with hotkeys. Soundish has global hotkeys for the focused app's volume (10% steps, up to 200%) and mute, to cycle the output device and to apply a profile. SoundDial's hotkeys show or hide the app and mute all apps.
• You use an external monitor with DDC/CI. Soundish can set hardware volume and mute for monitors that support it, on Apple silicon Macs only. SoundDial does not state this.
• You buy direct and want several Macs covered. One Soundish licence key works on up to 3 of your Macs, and Appish offers a four-app suite for USD 28.99 on appish.app (checked 12 November 2026).

Is Soundish free?

No. Soundish is a one-time purchase at USD 14.99 on appish.app, checked 12 November 2026 on the vendor's own page. The vendor says there is no subscription and no paid upgrade, and that every update so far has been free to buyers. It offers a 7-day trial of every feature with no card; the download link is emailed, and the days start when you first open the app. After the trial, per-app control pauses and every app plays normally again, while device sliders and output rules keep working. Appish also promises to fix or refund within 30 days if the app does not do what its page says on your Mac.

SoundDial is €14.99 one-time purchase on the Mac App Store. The two are sold through different channels, so compare what each includes rather than the numbers.

Does Soundish install an audio driver?

Not in current versions, per the vendor. Since version 1.5 Soundish uses macOS's own audio taps, so the page says there is nothing to install, no password and no restart. It asks for System Audio Recording permission the first time you change an app's volume, Bluetooth access to wake a sleeping speaker, and Accessibility only for the optional volume-keys mode. Versions before 1.5 installed a driver; if you used one, the app offers to remove it, which asks for your Mac password.

SoundDial does not install a virtual audio driver. Its guided setup asks for one macOS audio permission and tests that it works.

Which macOS does each need?

SoundDial: macOS 14.2 or later. Soundish 1.5.4 (released 7 October 2026): macOS 14.6 (Sonoma) or later, on Apple silicon and Intel, per Appish. See also setup and permission on Mac.

Does Soundish lower other apps during calls?

Not now. Appish's page lists "Auto-ducking: music dips while a call is on" under a planned 2.0 and gives no release date. SoundDial does it by default: when Zoom, Teams, FaceTime, Discord, Slack, Webex, Skype, WhatsApp, Telegram or a listed browser uses the microphone, the other playing apps drop to 30% of their level (adjustable from 5% to 80%) and return when the call ends. SoundDial does not read or record microphone audio; it only sees that the microphone is in use. A listed browser using the microphone for something else, such as dictation, also triggers it. See audio ducking on Mac.

What does SoundDial not do that Soundish does?

Plainly: SoundDial's equalizer is per app, not system-wide. It is stereo only, does not host Audio Unit plug-ins, does not record audio and tops out at 200% per app. Profiles do not save the output device. Control is per app, not per browser tab. Soundish shares several of these limits: Appish states that it has no Audio Unit plug-ins, no recording, stereo output for changed apps and one volume per browser rather than per tab. Where Soundish is ahead today is profiles that include the output, hotkeys for the front app and monitor volume over DDC/CI.

Soundish review: what the vendor states

Soundish is made by Appish, which describes it as the work of one developer, and is sold on appish.app. Version 1.5.4 was released on 7 October 2026. It is a menu-bar app with one popover and needs no account, only a licence key. Per Appish's privacy page, the apps contain no analytics, crash reporting or tracking and go online only for licence checks and update checks; the website itself uses analytics. The vendor also lists limits: alert and system sounds cannot be controlled, a changed app plays in stereo, boosting above 100% can clip, and the app must be running. These points are the vendor's own wording, not a test. If you searched for the Appish Soundish app or Soundish for Mac, that is the product described here.

Can I use both?

They do the same kind of job, so running both means two tools adjusting the same audio. Neither vendor describes using them together and it was not tested for this page. Pick one as your mixer, or quit one before opening the other.

How do I switch from Soundish to SoundDial?

1. Note the volumes, EQ settings and output devices you use most in Soundish.
2. Quit Soundish, so two apps don't adjust the same audio at once.
3. Get SoundDial from the Mac App Store and follow its guided setup, which grants and tests audio access.
4. Click SoundDial in the menu bar and set each app's volume, EQ and output.
5. Choose "Save current mix as a profile" to keep that setup for one click later. Profiles do not save the output device; with "Remember last" on (Settings → General), SoundDial remembers each app's output on its own.

Who should pick which

• If your Mac is on macOS 14.2 to 14.5, take SoundDial.
• If you want other apps lowered automatically during calls, take SoundDial.
• If you want a per-app mixer bought once on the Mac App Store, take SoundDial.
• If you want left/right balance per app, take SoundDial.
• If you mainly need per-app volume, mute, EQ and output, take SoundDial. For a wider look, see the best volume mixer for Mac.
• If you want profiles that restore each app's output device, or hotkeys for the front app, take Soundish.

How we compared

SoundDial's column comes from the app itself (see SoundDial facts). Soundish's column comes only from Appish's own pages, checked on 2026-11-12: the Soundish page, its help page, the download page, the privacy page and the vendor's comparison with SoundSource. "Not stated" means the vendor's pages do not say. Soundish was not run for this page; its features are as the vendor describes them, and plans for version 2.0 are the vendor's, not shipped features. Competitor details last checked on 2026-11-12, on each vendor's own pages. Related reading: SoundDial vs SoundSource, the SoundSource alternative page, and every comparison on Compare.