You're on a video call. Slack keeps dinging. Music is playing in the background. You reach for the volume key and — everything gets quieter. The call, the music, the notifications. macOS has exactly one volume slider, and it controls everything at once.
Windows has had a per-app volume mixer since Vista in 2006. Twenty years later, macOS still doesn't. If you want to turn down Spotify without affecting your Zoom call, Apple has no built-in answer for you.
This guide explains what per-app volume control is, why macOS doesn't have it, and how to get it.
What per-app volume actually means
Per-app volume means every application on your Mac gets its own independent volume slider. You can set Spotify to 30%, keep Zoom at 100%, mute Slack entirely, and leave Safari at 50% — all at the same time. Changing one app's volume has zero effect on any other app.
This is different from the system volume, which is a single master slider that scales everything proportionally. If your system volume is at 50% and Spotify is playing at full blast, there's no way to turn just Spotify down without a per-app mixer.
Why macOS doesn't include this
Apple's audio architecture (Core Audio) absolutely supports per-app volume control at the framework level. The reason macOS doesn't expose it in the UI is a design philosophy choice: Apple prefers fewer controls and a simpler surface. One slider is simpler than twelve.
The problem is that "simpler" stops being simpler the moment you have more than one audio source competing for your attention. A single volume key that controls everything is elegant when you're doing one thing. It's actively hostile when you're on a call with music and notifications at the same time — which is how most people actually use their Mac.
The built-in workarounds (and why they don't work)
1. In-app volume controls
Some apps have their own volume sliders — Spotify, VLC, QuickTime. But most don't. Slack doesn't. Chrome tabs don't. System sounds don't. And even when an app has a slider, you have to open that app, find the slider, adjust it, then switch back to what you were doing. It's five clicks for something that should be one.
2. Audio MIDI Setup
macOS includes Audio MIDI Setup in the Utilities folder. It lets you configure audio devices and create aggregate devices, but it has zero per-app volume controls. It's a device configuration tool, not a mixer.
3. Multiple output devices
You could theoretically route different apps to different output devices (headphones vs speakers) and control those devices separately. But that requires extra hardware, manual routing per app, and doesn't actually give you independent volume — just independent on/off per device.
How a per-app volume mixer works
A proper per-app volume mixer sits in your menu bar and shows every app that's currently producing audio. Each app gets its own slider. You drag it up or down, and only that app's volume changes. The system volume stays untouched.
Under the hood, this works by using macOS's Core Audio Tap API (introduced in macOS 14) or older virtual audio device techniques to intercept each app's audio stream independently and scale its amplitude before it hits the speakers.
The key features that separate a good mixer from a bad one:
- Real-time app detection. When a new app starts playing audio, it should appear in the mixer automatically. No manual setup.
- Per-app mute. One click to silence a specific app without touching its slider position.
- Volume boost. Some apps (looking at you, quiet podcast players) max out too low. A good mixer lets you boost past 100%.
- Profiles. Different volume configurations for different situations — "Focus" with everything muted except music, "Meeting" with Zoom at 100% and everything else at 20%, "Gaming" with game audio boosted.
- Auto-ducking. Automatically lower music when you start a call, and bring it back when the call ends. This alone is worth the entire app.
- Menu bar native. It should live in the menu bar, not a dock window. You glance up, adjust, and go back to work. No app switching.
Who needs this
Anyone who does more than one audio thing at a time. That's most people, but especially:
- Remote workers — calls + music + notifications is the most common collision
- Streamers and podcasters — precise control over what the audience hears vs. what you hear
- Musicians and producers — need to isolate DAW output from reference tracks and communication tools
- Gamers — game audio vs. Discord vs. music is a constant balancing act
- Anyone with notification fatigue — mute Slack, keep everything else
SoundDial
I built SoundDial because the Mac volume mixer I wanted didn't exist. It sits in your menu bar, shows every app that's making sound, and gives each one its own slider. Per-app mute, volume boost, profiles, and auto-ducking that lowers your music when a call starts. One-time purchase, macOS 14+, no subscription.
The volume mixer macOS should have built in.