The short version
People searching for "audio routing app" are usually looking for very different things wearing the same name. Someone who wants their desk speakers and a second pair to play together at one volume has nothing in common, technically, with someone building a podcasting pipeline that pipes a call into an editing app. Both get called "routing", and both get pointed at the same handful of apps, which is why the wrong one so often gets bought. This roundup separates the jobs first and the apps second.
Grouping your own speakers to play as one
This is the job of getting two or more outputs, say your Mac's speakers and an external pair, to play the same audio at once as a single group, with one volume that actually moves and a way to balance a quiet device against a loud one.
Chorus is built for exactly this. It groups outputs into one real volume with per-device balance, lets you route individual apps to different outputs, saves the setups you use and switches between them with a keyboard shortcut, and picks devices up automatically as they connect and disconnect. It has no equaliser and does no shaping of the sound itself, it only moves it. $4.99 once, 30 days free to try, no account or card details needed, macOS 13 or later, no driver and no kernel extension.
The free alternative is Audio MIDI Setup, which is Apple's own built-in utility. You can build a Multi-Output Device by hand and it costs nothing. The catches are real: the system volume slider stops working on a Multi-Output Device, there is no per-app control, and nothing switches automatically as your devices change through the day.
Verdict: if this is your job, Chorus is the paid pick, honestly, because it is what the app was built to do. Audio MIDI Setup is the free fallback if the broken slider and manual switching do not bother you.
Shaping or boosting the sound itself
This is a different job: not moving audio between devices, but changing how it sounds once it gets there. Chorus does not belong in this section at all, it has no equaliser and no effects, so if this is what you need, look elsewhere.
SoundSource, from Rogue Amoeba, is the fullest toolkit here. It groups outputs and controls apps individually, the same basics as Chorus, and then adds an equaliser, audio effects and support for Audio Unit plugins, so you can build a real processing chain over whatever your Mac plays. $49 once, or $25 to upgrade from an earlier version.
FineTune is free and open source, with a 10-band equaliser, 20 built-in presets, AutoEQ support and per-app volume with multi-device output. The catch is that it needs macOS 15 Sequoia or later, so it is not an option on older Macs.
Sound Control, from Static Z Software, is free to download and then $1.99 a month or $14.99 a year. It covers per-app volume plus a 10 or 31-band equaliser and Audio Unit support, which puts it close to SoundSource's feature set but as a subscription rather than a one-time purchase.
Boom 3D, from Global Delight, leans toward volume boosting and a 3D surround effect rather than routing. It is free to download with an in-app purchase, either a $49.99 lifetime pack or a $19.99 discount pack, and includes basic per-app volume, but it is not built as a grouping or routing tool the way the others here are.
Verdict: SoundSource if you want the complete, one-time-purchase toolkit. FineTune if you are on macOS 15 or later and want it free. Sound Control if a subscription suits you better than a one-time cost. Boom 3D if boosting and a 3D effect matter more to you than routing.
Routing audio between apps
This is the job behind most podcasting and streaming setups: getting audio out of one app and into another, which needs a virtual audio device rather than a physical one. Chorus does not do this either, it only moves sound between the outputs you can plug in.
Loopback, from Rogue Amoeba, is the polished option: $99 once for an app built specifically to create virtual devices and let you wire sources and apps together with a proper interface, so you can see and save the routes you build.
BlackHole is free and open source, and it does the same underlying job, a virtual audio driver, but with no interface of its own. It is the building block behind a lot of DIY routing setups, wired up through Audio MIDI Setup or a similar tool, rather than a finished product.
Verdict: BlackHole if you are comfortable wiring it up yourself and do not mind the lack of any window. Loopback if you would rather pay for an interface and save yourself the DIY assembly, especially if you build these routes often.
Every Chorus feature free for 30 days. No account, no card details.
Download for MacRecording or capturing audio
None of the other apps in this roundup record audio. Grouping, shaping and routing all move sound around live; none of them write it to a file, which is a distinct job with its own app.
Audio Hijack, also from Rogue Amoeba, is that app: $69 once, built for recording and capturing audio from apps, calls, streams and podcasts, with the ability to build a signal chain around what you are capturing.
Verdict: if recording is genuinely the job, Audio Hijack is the only app on this page built for it. Nothing above will save audio to disk for you, however good it is at moving audio live.
Streaming to other rooms or devices
This is the whole-house job: getting audio playing on your Mac out to speakers or devices in other rooms, rather than to something plugged directly in.
Airfoil, from Rogue Amoeba, streams to AirPlay, Bluetooth and Chromecast devices around the house, and its companion Satellite app extends that to devices that are not AirPlay-capable. $29 once, or $15 to upgrade from an earlier version.
Verdict: Airfoil is the pick here, and the only app in this roundup built for streaming beyond the devices physically connected to your Mac.
A quick-reference table
| App | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Chorus | $4.99 once | Grouping your own speakers to play as one |
| Audio MIDI Setup | Free (built in) | Grouping speakers by hand, no extra app |
| SoundSource | $49, or $25 to upgrade | Grouping plus a full equaliser and effects toolkit |
| FineTune | Free | A free equaliser, if you are on macOS 15 or later |
| Sound Control | $1.99/mo or $14.99/yr | An equaliser on a subscription instead of a one-time cost |
| Boom 3D | Free, or $49.99 lifetime | Volume boosting and a 3D surround effect |
| Loopback | $99 once | Routing audio between apps, with a proper interface |
| BlackHole | Free | Routing audio between apps, DIY, no interface |
| MultiSoundChanger | Free | Fixing the volume slider on an existing Multi-Output Device |
| Audio Hijack | $69 once | Recording or capturing audio to a file |
| Airfoil | $29, or $15 to upgrade | Streaming to other rooms or devices |
So which should you actually buy?
Work out which one of the five jobs above is genuinely yours before you look at a single app. Almost nobody needs more than one or two of them at once: the person grouping two desk speakers rarely also needs a recording app, and the person building a podcasting pipeline rarely needs whole-house streaming. Read the matching section, pick the app it names, and ignore the rest of this page. If your job is grouping your own speakers with per-app control and a keyboard shortcut to switch setups, that is what Chorus was built for, and the 30-day trial is free either way.
For the step-by-step on building a Multi-Output Device, see Apple's own guide to Audio MIDI Setup.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free audio routing app for Mac?
There is no single free winner, because it depends on the job. For a virtual device to route audio between apps, BlackHole is free and open source. For fixing the volume slider on a Multi-Output Device, MultiSoundChanger is free and open source. For an equaliser on newer Macs, FineTune is free but needs macOS 15 Sequoia or later. For grouping speakers by hand with no extra software at all, Apple's own Audio MIDI Setup is already on your Mac.
What is the cheapest paid app that groups Mac speakers?
Chorus, at $4.99 once. It groups outputs into one real volume with per-device balance, adds per-app routing and keyboard-shortcut setups, and needs macOS 13 or later. There is a 30-day free trial with no account and no card details.
Is there one app that does everything on this list?
No. The closest is SoundSource, which covers grouping, per-app control and an equaliser with effects and plugins in one $49 app. But nothing here also records audio to disk and also streams whole-house to non-AirPlay speakers, so even SoundSource leaves two of the five jobs to a separate app.
Do I need Loopback if I already have BlackHole?
Only if you want the interface. BlackHole is a free virtual audio driver with no window of its own, so building a routing setup means wiring it up through Audio MIDI Setup or a similar tool. Loopback is $99 and gives you a proper app for building and saving those same routes, which is worth it if you build routing setups often or need to hand one to someone less technical.
Can Chorus record audio or add an equaliser?
No. Chorus groups outputs, routes individual apps to different devices, and switches between saved setups with a keyboard shortcut. It has no equaliser, no audio effects, and does not record or capture audio. For those jobs, see the shaping-the-sound and recording sections above.
What is the difference between grouping speakers and routing audio between apps?
Grouping speakers means several physical outputs, like a Mac's speakers and a pair of external ones, play the same audio at once as a single group. Routing between apps means creating a virtual device that one app can send audio into and another app can pull audio out of, which is how podcasting and streaming setups pass sound between pieces of software rather than out to hardware.
