SoundSource is worth it if you need its full toolkit: per-app volume, a 10-band EQ per app, audio routing between devices, and system-wide effects. But at around $39 it's overkill if you mainly want per-app volume, per-app mute, and a volume boost. For that narrower job, SoundDial costs €14.99 once.
What SoundSource actually does
Rogue Amoeba's SoundSource is a genuinely excellent piece of software, and it's important to be fair about that. It's not just a volume mixer. It gives you:
- Per-app volume control from the menu bar, the feature most people come for.
- A full 10-band equalizer you can apply per app or system-wide, plus other audio effects (via Audio Unit plugins).
- Output/input routing, including sending a single app to a different output device than the rest of the system.
- Quick device switching and headphone-specific EQ presets.
If you're a podcaster, streamer, or audio nerd who wants to tune the EQ on your headphones, redirect one app's sound to a separate speaker, or stack Audio Unit effects, SoundSource earns its price. Nothing here is a knock on it.
The price question
SoundSource is a paid, one-time license around $39 (pricing varies by version and promotions). It's not a recurring subscription in the Netflix sense, but it follows the classic paid-app pattern: you buy a major version, and future major upgrades are typically discounted paid upgrades rather than free forever. Over several years, that's more than a single purchase. For a lot of Mac users, the honest question is: am I paying $39 for a routing-and-EQ suite when all I really touch is the per-app volume sliders?
If you've opened SoundSource and only ever used the volume sliders and the mute buttons, you're paying for a suite to use one drawer of it.
Why the problem exists at all
Here's the honest root cause: macOS has no built-in per-app volume mixer. Windows has had one for years, but on the Mac, the system volume is all-or-nothing. There's no Apple-provided way to keep Spotify quiet while a video call stays loud, or to mute one app without touching everything else. That gap is exactly why tools like SoundSource and SoundDial exist. It's a real OS limitation, not something either app invented a problem to solve.
Where a lighter, cheaper option fits
SoundDial is a menu-bar per-app volume mixer built for the common case rather than the pro-audio case. It covers:
- Independent volume per app — drop your music while a meeting stays at full level.
- Per-app mute — silence one app without muting the Mac.
- Per-app volume boost — push a quiet app above its normal 100% when the source is just too soft.
- Volume profiles — save a set of per-app levels (e.g. a "focus" or "call" layout) and switch in one click.
- Auto-ducking — automatically lower other apps when you start talking or when a chosen app plays.
- Quick output switching — jump between speakers, headphones, and other devices from the menu bar.
It's €14.99 one-time, sold through the Mac App Store, so it's sandboxed and there's no separate DMG, no kernel extension, and no audio driver to install. You download it like any App Store app and it updates through the store.
An honest comparison
Be clear-eyed about the trade-off. SoundSource does more than SoundDial, and if any of the following matter to you, SoundSource is the better buy:
- You want a real per-app or system equalizer and Audio Unit effects.
- You need to route a single app to a different output device than everything else.
- You rely on headphone-specific EQ presets and fine-grained audio processing.
SoundDial doesn't do EQ or per-app device routing. It's deliberately narrower. What it gives you in return is a lower price, a lighter footprint, and a focused menu-bar interface for the thing most people actually wanted: keeping each app at the level you choose, with boost and profiles on top.
So, is SoundSource worth it?
Yes, if you'll use the EQ and routing. It's mature, well-supported software from a respected developer, and the price reflects real capability. But "worth it" depends on what you'll touch. If you open the app and only ever adjust volume sliders, mute an app, or wish one quiet app were louder, you're paying premium-suite money for basic-mixer needs. In that case a one-time €14.99 tool is the more sensible fit, and you can always move up to SoundSource later if your needs grow into EQ and routing.
If per-app volume, boost, mute, profiles, and auto-ducking are all you're after, get SoundDial on the Mac App Store — €14.99 once, no subscription, no drivers.