The short version
Every comparison on this site pits two named apps against each other. This one steps back a level, because the question a lot of people actually have is simpler: do I need to buy anything at all, or will the free route do? The honest answer is that it depends on how often the problem comes back, so this page walks through what free actually gets you, what paid actually adds, and where the line sits.
What free actually gets you
Audio MIDI Setup, built into every Mac, is the free option most people find first. Open it, tick the outputs you want grouped into a Multi-Output Device, and they play together at no cost. The trade-offs are the same every time, though: the system volume slider and your keyboard's volume keys stop working on the group, because a Multi-Output Device has no volume of its own to control. There is no per-app routing at all, so a call and your music share whatever output is selected. Nothing is saved and nothing switches on its own. Every time a device connects or disconnects, you are back in Audio MIDI Setup doing it again by hand.
BlackHole is a different kind of free. It is an open-source virtual audio driver with no interface of its own, the building block a lot of DIY routing setups are built on top of. It is genuinely useful if you know what you want to build, but it configures nothing for you: you are wiring it into Audio MIDI Setup or a script yourself.
MultiSoundChanger, also free and open source, solves exactly one problem: getting volume control back on a Multi-Output or Aggregate Device you have already built. It does not build the device, route apps, or remember anything between sessions. It fixes the one thing Audio MIDI Setup breaks, and stops there.
FineTune, free and open source, is the most fully featured of the four, with per-app volume, multi-device output, a 10-band equaliser with 20 presets, AutoEQ and volume boost up to 4x. Its real limit is the platform: it needs macOS 15 Sequoia or later, so it is not an option at all on an older Mac.
What paid actually adds
None of the paid apps in this category do something free tools cannot do in principle. What they add is the same job wrapped in an interface, with a setup that is remembered and a way to switch it without opening a utility panel. Chorus, at $4.99 once, groups outputs with a working volume and per-device balance, routes individual apps, and lets you save setups to a keyboard shortcut, without EQ, effects, recording or DAW-style routing between apps.
SoundSource, at $49 (a $25 upgrade for existing owners), does the same grouping and routing job and then adds an equaliser, audio effects and Audio Unit plugin support, so you can shape the sound itself, not just move it. Loopback, at $99, is built specifically for routing audio between apps rather than between physical devices. Audio Hijack, at $69, is for recording and capturing audio, a job none of the routing tools above attempt. Airfoil, at $29 with a $15 upgrade, streams audio to AirPlay, Bluetooth and Chromecast devices, including ones that are not natively AirPlay-compatible, using its Satellite companion.
Paid does not mean better here. It means the same underlying job, plus the parts that save you from doing it manually every single time: a remembered setup, a shortcut, and continued updates as macOS changes underneath it.
| App | Price | The job it does |
|---|---|---|
| Audio MIDI Setup | Free, built in | Manual output/input grouping, no memory or saved setup |
| BlackHole | Free, open source | Virtual driver, app-to-app routing, no interface |
| MultiSoundChanger | Free, open source | Restores volume on a device you already grouped |
| FineTune | Free, open source | Per-app volume, grouping and a full equaliser, macOS 15+ only |
| Chorus | $4.99 once | Grouping, per-app routing, saved setups on a shortcut |
| Sound Control | $1.99/mo or $14.99/yr | Per-app audio with an equaliser, subscription |
| Airfoil | $29, $15 upgrade | Streams to AirPlay, Bluetooth and Chromecast devices |
| Audio Hijack | $69 | Recording and capturing audio |
| SoundSource | $49, $25 upgrade | Grouping, routing, equaliser, effects and plugins |
| Loopback | $99 | App-to-app virtual routing |
Every feature free for 30 days. No account, no card details.
Download for MacA subscription is not free, long-term
Sound Control is worth calling out on its own, because it is free to download but not free to use: a licence runs $1.99 a month or $14.99 a year. That is a different shape of cost to everything else on this page, and it is easy to miss when you are comparing it against "free" tools like Audio MIDI Setup or a one-time price like Chorus or SoundSource.
Run the numbers and the gap grows quickly. Sound Control's $14.99 a year passes Chorus's $4.99 one-time price inside the first month, and passes SoundSource's $49 one-time price before the fourth year is out. None of that makes Sound Control a bad app; it may well suit someone who wants to pay a little at a time. It just means a subscription is a genuinely different commitment to a one-time price, and worth weighing as such rather than lumping in with "paid" as a single category.
So, do you need to pay for anything?
If you set your audio up once, rarely touch it, and can live with a volume slider that occasionally stops working, free is genuinely fine. Audio MIDI Setup, BlackHole or MultiSoundChanger will do the underlying job at no cost, and there is no reason to pay for convenience you are not going to use.
If you touch your setup daily, switching desks, plugging in headphones for a call, or moving between a home and office rig, the manual friction is real and it repeats every day. That is where a one-time-priced paid tool earns its cost quickly, often inside the first week of using it. Whether that tool is a $4.99 routing app or a $49 one with an equaliser attached depends only on whether you need to shape the sound as well as move it.
For the step-by-step on building a Multi-Output Device, see Apple's own guide to Audio MIDI Setup.
Frequently asked questions
Is the free option in Audio MIDI Setup actually usable?
Yes, with real trade-offs. Audio MIDI Setup can group outputs at no cost, but the system volume slider stops working on the group, there is no per-app control, and nothing reconnects on its own, so you rebuild or reselect the setup by hand every time your devices change.
Are subscriptions worth it for audio routing tools?
It depends on how long you keep the app, but a one-time price is cheaper than a subscription over multiple years for most people. Sound Control's $14.99 a year passes a $49 one-time app like SoundSource inside four years, and passes Chorus's $4.99 within the first month.
What is the real difference between free and paid audio routing apps on Mac?
Free tools tend to do one job well and leave the rest to you: BlackHole is a driver with no interface, MultiSoundChanger only fixes volume on a device you already built, and Audio MIDI Setup never remembers a setup between sessions. Paid tools bundle several of those jobs into one interface with saved setups, shortcuts and ongoing updates.
Do I need to pay for anything if I only set up my audio once?
Probably not. If you group your outputs once and rarely touch it again, Audio MIDI Setup or a free driver like BlackHole will do the job with no ongoing cost. Paid tools earn their price when you are reconfiguring things daily, not when the setup is a one-off.
Which paid audio app should I buy if I want more than routing?
It depends on the extra job. SoundSource ($49) adds an equaliser and effects on top of routing. Loopback ($99) is built specifically for app-to-app routing. Audio Hijack ($69) is for recording and capture. Airfoil ($29) is for streaming to AirPlay, Bluetooth and Chromecast devices.
