Why Does Mac Not Have a Volume Mixer Like Windows?
The lack of a native volume mixer becomes obvious when running a video call with background music. Lowering the master volume reduces both the call and the music equally. Users must open each application individually and adjust its internal volume settings, assuming the application even provides one.
LitLink fills this gap with a free volume mixer panel that lists every running application with its own volume slider and mute button. The experience mirrors the Windows Volume Mixer that Mac users have been requesting from Apple for nearly two decades, and since version 1.9.0 it costs nothing.
What Does the Free LitLink Volume Mixer Include?
All macOS alert and interface sounds (screenshots, Trash, alerts), controlled as one group.
Balance every app's volume for your own listening. The mix plays through whatever output you already use (speakers, headphones, AirPods), a master fader rides the whole mix, and the same sliders live in the menu bar. Completely free, no Pro required.
Every app currently playing audio appears automatically with its own slider. Muting Safari while keeping Discord at full volume takes one click, and a master fader under the header adjusts the whole mix at once, independent of the system volume. macOS alert sounds (screenshots, Trash, notification chimes) appear as a single grouped System Sounds row, because macOS plays them all through one shared process.
Two details are unique among Mac volume mixers. The FaceTime Calls entry ranges up to 200%: call voices arrive much quieter than music, so LitLink allows boosting them beyond full volume while a limiter keeps the boosted audio from clipping. And the same sliders are available from the menu bar, so adjusting an app's level never requires switching windows.
The paid tier is only for sound shaping and routing: LitLink Pro ($29, one payment) adds a parametric EQ with spectrum analyzer and a limiter on every app row, per-app output routing, and volume hotkeys you can bind to hardware knobs like a Stream Deck. The mixer itself stays free forever.
What Are the Best Volume Mixer Apps for Mac?
Background Music works for users who only need to lower Spotify while keeping Discord at full volume. Its virtual audio device approach means all system audio routes through Background Music first, which can conflict with other audio tools. Users running soundboard applications on Mac often find that Background Music's virtual device competes with the soundboard's own routing.
LitLink and SoundSource both handle per-app volume without changing your output device, using different system-level interception methods. LitLink's Process Tap API is built into macOS, while SoundSource's ACE driver is a third-party extension that requires explicit approval in System Settings.
How Does a Mac Volume Mixer Work Under the Hood?
The Process Tap API, introduced in macOS 14, gives developers official access to individual process audio streams. Before this API, per-app volume control required either kernel extensions (deprecated by Apple for security), custom audio drivers (like SoundSource's ACE), or the virtual device workaround. Process Tap represents Apple's acknowledgment that developers need process-level audio access, and it is why LitLink's mixer requires macOS 14.2 or later.
The technical approach matters because it affects reliability across macOS updates. LitLink's reliance on a first-party API means Apple maintains backward compatibility. Third-party drivers must be updated whenever Apple changes the audio stack, and users who explored the per-app volume control options on Mac know that driver-based tools occasionally break after system updates.
Can You Get a Free Volume Mixer for Mac?
Background Music's GitHub repository shows intermittent maintenance with gaps between releases. The virtual audio device it creates works on both Intel and Apple silicon Macs, but users report occasional audio glitches during device switching. The project has no commercial backing, so bug fixes and macOS compatibility updates depend on volunteer contributors.
LitLink's free tier also includes its one-toggle virtual audio cable for system-wide routing and microphone passthrough. Users who later need individual apps sent to different outputs, per-app EQ, or audio recording can upgrade to Pro, but nothing about the volume mixer itself sits behind the paywall.
How Do You Set Up a Volume Mixer on Mac?
LitLink's advantage is zero system configuration. The Process Tap API does not require changing the default audio output device or installing additional drivers. You keep your preferred speakers or headphones as the system default while LitLink manages per-app volumes transparently in the background, and the whole mixer is reachable from the menu bar:
Streamers and content creators who already manage audio routing through OBS appreciate that LitLink's volume mixer does not interfere with existing audio device configurations. Users who need per-app audio routing alongside volume control handle both in the same app by upgrading to Pro, which sends each application to its own output device.
Marcel Iseli is an indie developer, DJ, and music producer with over 20 years behind the decks and in the studio. Rooted in hip hop culture, he collects drum machines, samplers, and vintage audio gear. LitPads grew out of that obsession: decades of triggering samples on hardware led him to build the software equivalent he always wanted.