5 SoundSource alternatives for Mac in 2026

The short version

Searching for a SoundSource alternative usually means one of two things: you want the same toolkit for less money, or you only need part of what SoundSource does and would rather not pay for the rest. The five apps below split roughly along that line, and none of them matches SoundSource feature for feature, so the table is worth reading closely before you pick one.

SoundSource alternatives at a glance

Two of the table's middle cells deserve a little more context than a single word gives. FineTune lists multi-device output among its features, but the app is built primarily around per-app volume and EQ rather than around combining several outputs into one group the way Chorus and SoundSource do, which is why it shows as "some" rather than a plain yes. Sound Control's listing mentions priority device settings, not output grouping as such, which is why it shows as "not a focus" here.

If you searched for a free SoundSource alternative

Two of the options below genuinely cost nothing: FineTune is free and open source, and Audio MIDI Setup is already on your Mac. Both are covered honestly further down, including what they cannot do. Chorus is not free, and pretending otherwise would waste your time.

What Chorus is instead is cheap and finite: $9.99 once, against SoundSource at $49 or Sound Control at $25. It covers up to three Macs, and there is nothing further to pay. If what you actually meant by "free" was "not another subscription", that is the arithmetic worth having.

Going through the options

Prices below were checked against each app's own listing in October 2026.

Chorus

Chorus is Theodore HQ's own menu-bar app for grouping outputs, routing individual apps to different devices, and switching whole setups with a keyboard shortcut. It costs $9.99 once, with a 14-day free trial that needs no account or card details, and one licence covers up to three Macs on macOS 13 or later. It is genuinely good at the routing job: no driver, no kernel extension, and setups you can save and swap without digging through System Settings. The honest limitation is that there is no equaliser and no audio effects, so if shaping the sound itself is what you are after, look further down this list.

Best for: Grouping your own speakers to play as one, sending each app to its own output, and switching setups from a keyboard shortcut. $9.99 once, up to three Macs.

Not for: Anyone who needs an equaliser, audio effects or Audio Unit plugins. Chorus has none of them, and no plans for them. Mac only, and per-app audio needs macOS 14.4.

FineTune

FineTune is a free, open-source per-app volume and EQ tool for Mac, built by developer Ronit Singh (github.com/ronitsingh10/FineTune), and it is described by others as a free alternative to SoundSource. It runs from the menu bar with per-app volume control, multi-device output, a 10-band equaliser with 20 presets, AutoEQ headphone correction, and volume boosting up to 4x, and it restores each app's device, volume and EQ automatically when a device reconnects. Its equaliser and per-app control genuinely compete with SoundSource's, for nothing. The catch is that it requires macOS 15 Sequoia or later, so older Macs are shut out.

Best for: A free equaliser with per-app volume, if you are on macOS 15 or later.

Not for: Anyone on macOS 13 or 14, who cannot run it at all, and anyone who wants paid support or a guarantee that development continues.

Sound Control

Sound Control, from Static Z Software, is $25 once direct, or free to download from the Mac App Store with a subscription for the full feature set, $1.99 a month or $14.99 a year. It gives you per-app volume, mute and routing, an equaliser with Audio Units support, a choice of 10 or 31-band graphic EQ, and priority device settings. It is built around shaping and prioritising sound rather than combining outputs, so grouping several speakers into one isn't really what it's for. If an ongoing subscription for EQ control suits you, it is a capable option.

Best for: Per-app volume and routing with a 10 or 31-band equaliser and Audio Unit support, for $25 once or on a subscription.

Not for: Anyone whose main job is combining several outputs into one group, which is not what it is built around.

Boom 3D

Boom 3D, from Global Delight, is free to download with in-app purchases: a Lifetime Base Pack at $49.99 and a Lifetime Discount Pack at $19.99, per its App Store listing. It is a volume booster and equaliser first, with 10 and 31-band presets and a 3D surround-sound effect, plus basic per-app volume control. Worth knowing upfront: Boom 3D is not an output-routing tool. Its job is boosting and shaping the sound coming out of your Mac, not grouping speakers or sending different apps to different outputs, so it solves a different problem to SoundSource despite showing up in the same searches.

Best for: Volume boosting and a 3D surround effect, with a real equaliser behind it.

Not for: Anyone who needs output routing or grouping. Boom 3D shapes the sound leaving your Mac; it does not decide which device that sound goes to.

SoundDial

SoundDial, from developer Eduard Bruch, is $12.99 once on the Mac App Store and works as a per-app mixer. It gives every app its own slider from 0 to 200 per cent, its own 10-band equaliser and left/right balance, and its own output device, so several apps can play through different devices at once. It also ducks your music automatically when a Zoom, Teams, FaceTime, Discord or Slack call starts, and saves whole sets of levels as profiles you can switch between. Like Chorus it uses the Core Audio process taps built into macOS, so there is no driver and no kernel extension, and being on the App Store it is sandboxed and Apple-reviewed. What it does not do is group several outputs into one device, and its equaliser works app by app rather than across the whole Mac, so if either of those is the reason you were looking at SoundSource, this is not the swap. It needs macOS 14.2 or later.

Best for: A per-app mixer with volume from 0 to 200 per cent, a 10-band equaliser and its own output for each app, plus auto-ducking for calls, at $12.99 once.

Not for: Anyone who needs several outputs grouped into one, or one equaliser for the whole Mac. Needs macOS 14.2 or later.

So which should you pick?

Want the fullest SoundSource-style toolkit for less, or for free? FineTune covers grouping, per-app control and an equaliser at no cost, provided you're on macOS 15 or later. Want an equaliser with per-app routing for about half the price of SoundSource? Sound Control does that for $25 once, or on a subscription. Want volume boosting and a 3D sound effect rather than output routing? Boom 3D is built for that. Want a per-app mixer with an equaliser and a separate output for each app, for $12.99 once? SoundDial.

Want grouping, per-app routing and keyboard-shortcut setups with no equaliser, for $9.99 once? That's Chorus, and it's worth trying free for 14 days before you decide either way.

None of these five is a straight swap for SoundSource, and that's really the point. SoundSource bundles grouping, routing, an equaliser and effects into one $49 app, while the field below it is made up of tools that each do a slice of that job well. Matching the slice to what you actually use is worth more than chasing the biggest feature list.

For the full detail on its equaliser, effects and plugin support, see SoundSource's own product page.

Frequently asked questions