Discord has two volume problems on Mac. Either it's too loud — notification sounds blast over your game and music — or it's too quiet — you can't hear your teammates over the game audio. The problem is that macOS doesn't let you adjust Discord's volume independently. It's locked to the same system slider as everything else.
Discord's built-in volume controls
Discord has several internal volume settings. Before looking at external solutions, make sure these are configured:
Output volume
Go to Discord → Settings (gear icon) → Voice & Video. The "Output Volume" slider controls how loud Discord sounds to you. If Discord is too quiet, make sure this is at 100%. If it's too loud, lower it here.
Limitation: This controls Discord's internal mix, but it doesn't change Discord's volume relative to other apps. If your game is at 80% system volume and Discord is also at 80%, adjusting Discord's internal slider changes the balance — but you're still locked to one system volume for everything.
Per-user volume
Right-click any user in a voice channel → "User Volume." You can adjust individual users from 0% to 200%. This is useful if one person is louder or quieter than others, but it doesn't solve the overall Discord-vs-other-apps balance.
Notification volume
Discord → Settings → Notifications. You can disable specific notification sounds (message, deafen, mute, join/leave) individually. This reduces the number of disruptive sounds but doesn't let you lower their volume — just turn them on or off.
The real problem: system-level volume balance
Discord's internal controls adjust Discord's own mix. But the real issue is the balance between Discord and everything else on your Mac: your game, your music, your browser. macOS gives you one slider for all of them.
To adjust Discord's volume relative to your game, you need per-app volume control — something macOS doesn't provide natively.
Fix it with SoundDial
SoundDial gives Discord its own volume slider in your menu bar, independent from every other app. Set Discord to exactly the level you want — 100% for clear voice chat, 40% for subtle background, or muted entirely — without touching your game, music, or anything else.
Common setups
Gaming with Discord:
- Discord: 100% (always hear teammates clearly)
- Game: 40% (immersive but not overpowering)
- Spotify: 15% (subtle background music)
Hanging out in voice chat:
- Discord: 80%
- Browser/YouTube: 60%
- Everything else: normal
Focus work (Discord in background):
- Discord: muted or 10%
- Spotify: 50%
- Slack: 15%
Save each as a volume profile in SoundDial and switch with one click. No re-adjusting six sliders every time you change activities.
Get SoundDial on the Mac App Store — €14.99 one-time purchase, no subscription, macOS 14.2+.