SoundDial vs Vitals

SoundDial vs Vitals at a glance

	SoundDial	Vitals
Price model	€14.99 one-time purchase, no subscription, no in-app purchases	One-time license, 1 Mac: $12 USD (a year of updates) or $19 USD lifetime launch price, then $49 USD; before tax (vitalsmac.com, checked 12 November 2026)
Where you buy it	Mac App Store	vitalsmac.com, checkout by Paddle. A Mac App Store edition called Vitals Lite is named on the privacy page; its store listing is not linked on the vendor's pages
Try before buying	no free trial; refunds go through Apple	3-day trial of every feature, no account, no card; 14-day refund
macOS	macOS 14.2 or later	macOS 15 Sequoia or later, Apple silicon and Intel
How it installs	Mac App Store app, sandboxed; does not install a virtual audio driver	Mixer uses Core Audio process taps, no audio driver or kernel extension; asks for the macOS Audio capture permission
What the app is	Per-app volume mixer	Activity monitor and process inspector with a volume mixer tab
Per-app volume	0% to 200%, soft limiter above 100%	Mute to 100%, no boost
Per-app mute	Yes, plus Control-Option-M to mute all apps	Yes
Equalizer	Per app: 10 bands, 11 presets, plus left/right balance	No
Output device per app	Yes (Play Through)	No
Lowering other apps during calls	Yes, on by default, 5% to 80%	No, per the vendor
Profiles	Saved mixes (volume, mute, EQ, balance; not the output device)	No profiles; each app's volume and mute are remembered across restarts
Shortcuts and automation	Global hotkeys, six Shortcuts actions, sounddial:// links	Global shortcuts to open Vitals, Shortcuts actions, a vitals command and an MCP server; mixer control through these is not stated
Checked on	SoundDial 2.0	Vendor pages, 12 November 2026 (version 1.11.3)

Why SoundDial is the better pick

• It is built for the mixer job. Each app's row has its volume and mute, and its ⋯ menu opens a 10-band equalizer per app, left/right balance and an output device. Vitals states that it has no equalizer, no effects and no per-app output.
• It can go above 100%. SoundDial's slider runs from 0% to 200% with a soft limiter above 100%. Vitals states that it goes from mute to 100% and no further. See volume booster on Mac.
• 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 come back afterwards. Vitals states that it does not lower music during calls. More on this in lower music during calls.
• It runs on an older macOS. SoundDial needs macOS 14.2 or later; Vitals states macOS 15.
• Saved mixes. "Save current mix as a profile" stores volume, mute, EQ and balance for every app. Vitals has no profiles; see volume profiles on Mac.
• One Mac App Store purchase. SoundDial is bought, installed and updated through the Mac App Store: €14.99 one-time purchase, no subscription, no in-app purchases. People who bought SoundDial 1.x got 2.0 as a free update.

When Vitals fits better

• You want a system monitor. Vitals shows CPU, GPU, memory, disk, network, battery, temperatures and fan control, plus a process inspector, alerts and history. SoundDial only handles audio.
• You only need a slider and a mute button. If mute to 100% for each app is enough, Vitals covers it inside a tool you may want anyway.
• You want to test first. The vendor offers 3 days with every feature, no account and no card, and a refund within 14 days of buying. SoundDial's status: no free trial; refunds go through Apple.
• You work with dev tools. The vendor lists dev servers and ports, Docker, Homebrew and an MCP server. SoundDial has nothing like that.

Is Vitals free?

No. Vitals is a paid license sold on vitalsmac.com. On its pricing page, checked 12 November 2026, one Mac costs $12 USD for a year of updates (the app keeps working afterwards) or $19 USD for life at a launch price, which the page says then rises to $49 USD. Multi-Mac packs are listed too. Prices are before tax, there is no subscription and the vendor says there are no paid upgrades. The vendor states a 3-day trial of every feature and a 14-day refund. 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 subtracting the numbers.

Is Vitals a volume mixer?

It has one. The vendor describes Vitals as an activity monitor and process inspector for Mac, "seven tools in one app", and the volume mixer is one of them. Its Sound tab lists every app that has had sound open, each with a slider and a mute button, and the menu-bar dropdown shows the same tab with up to eight apps. An app that has never played anything is not listed until it does. Turning an app down needs the macOS system-audio permission; without it the app stays at its own volume. These are the vendor's own words, not a test.

SoundDial is the reverse: audio is the whole app. Quiet apps collapse into a "Not playing" row, and helper processes of Chrome and Electron apps are grouped under their app. SoundDial's control is per app, not per browser tab; Vitals does not state how it treats browser tabs.

Does Vitals install an audio driver?

No. Vitals states that its mixer needs nothing to install or allow beyond the macOS Audio capture permission, which it asks for only when you use the mixer. A separate helper with administrator rights exists only for fan control and the full set of system metrics, not for the mixer. Whether the mixer needs a restart is not stated. SoundDial does not install a virtual audio driver either. Its guided setup asks for one macOS audio permission and tests that it works.

Can Vitals lower other apps during calls?

No, per the vendor. Vitals' own comparison page answers "Does Vitals lower music during calls?" with no, and says it keeps each app at the level you set. 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 Vitals say about SoundDial?

Vitals publishes a comparison page and a ranking of volume mixers that both include SoundDial. Its SoundDial column says it was taken from SoundDial's site on 7 October 2026, so it reflects SoundDial as it was then, including a US price that no longer matches the Mac App Store. For SoundDial's current price, read the store page; for its features, read SoundDial facts. Where this page states a Vitals fact, it comes from Vitals' own pages, not from a third party.

What does SoundDial not do that Vitals does?

Plainly: SoundDial does not monitor CPU, memory, temperatures or fans and has no process inspector. Its 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 save volume, mute, EQ and balance but not the output device. Control is per app, not per browser tab. Meters for every playing app are an opt-in setting that is off by default.

Which macOS does each need?

SoundDial: macOS 14.2 or later. Vitals (version 1.11.3, released 12 November 2026): macOS 15 Sequoia or later, on Apple silicon and Intel, per the vendor's pricing and download pages. A Mac on macOS 14.2 to 14.x can run SoundDial and cannot run Vitals.

Can I use both?

They overlap on per-app volume, so running both means two tools adjusting the same audio. Neither vendor describes using them together and it was not tested for this page. If you want Vitals for monitoring and SoundDial for mixing, change volumes in only one of them.

How do I switch from Vitals to SoundDial?

1. Note the levels you set most often in the Sound tab of Vitals.
2. Stop turning apps down in Vitals, so two tools don't adjust the same audio at once. You can keep Vitals for monitoring.
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.

For the full mixer feature set, see per-app volume control on Mac.

Who should pick which

• If you are on macOS 14.2 to 14.x, take SoundDial.
• If you want other apps lowered automatically during calls, take SoundDial.
• If you want an equalizer or a separate output device for each app, take SoundDial.
• If you want to raise an app above 100%, take SoundDial.
• If you want a mixer that is a single Mac App Store purchase with no subscription, take SoundDial.
• If you want a system monitor with a basic mixer tab, take Vitals.

Looking at more options? See SoundDial vs SoundSource, SoundDial vs FineTune and the full comparison hub, or the roundup best volume mixer for Mac.

How we compared

SoundDial's column comes from the app itself (see SoundDial facts). Vitals' column comes only from the vendor's own pages, checked on 2026-11-12: the pricing page, the download page, the volume mixer page, the privacy page, the refund page, the changelog , Vitals' comparison page about SoundDial, its volume mixer ranking and the home page. "Not stated" means the vendor's pages do not say. Vitals was not run for this page; its features are as the vendor describes them. The Mac App Store edition Vitals Lite was not compared: the vendor's pages name it but do not link a listing or state its price. Competitor details last checked on 2026-11-12, on each vendor's own pages.