How to Set a Different Volume for Each App on Mac

macOS does not have a per-app volume mixer. System Settings has one output volume for the whole Mac, so the only built-in way to balance two apps is to use the volume slider inside each app, when it has one. To give every app its own slider, including apps without one, you need a menu bar mixer such as Faders.

Below are the honest built-in options, what each can and can't do, and then the faster way.

#What macOS gives you

Open System Settings and click Sound. Apple's guide to changing sound output settings lists what you can set there:

• Output volume, for the whole Mac
• Mute
• Balance, between left and right
• Alert volume, under Sound Effects, for system alert sounds only

That is the full list. There is no row per app, and Control Center's Sound control is the same single slider. Alert volume is the closest thing to a separate level, and it only covers the beeps macOS makes.

Apple also spells out how app sliders relate to it: apps with their own volume controls can only go as high as the Mac's output volume, and they don't override what you choose in Sound settings. So every in-app slider works as a fraction of the system volume.

#Way 1: Use each app's own volume slider

Many apps that play sound have a slider of their own. Set the Mac's volume to the loudest level you want for anything, then turn the individual apps down.

#Music

1. Open Music and start playing something.
2. At the bottom of the Music window, click the Volume button and drag the slider.

Apple's Music volume guide notes that the maximum is limited by your computer's volume setting. Music can also store a volume per song (select it, choose Song > Get Info, click Options, then drag the volume slider), and Sound Check in Music > Settings > Playback evens out loud and quiet tracks.

#Streaming and video apps

Most music players, video players and web video players have a volume control in their playback bar. Turn the music app down there and leave the call app at full volume, and you have a rough mix.

#What this way can't do

• Many apps have no volume control at all: chat apps, games, system sounds from other apps, and lots of small utilities.
• Every slider lives in a different window, so changing the balance during a call means hunting for each one.
• Nothing can go louder than the system volume. A quiet video stays quiet.

#Way 2: Mute browser tabs

If the noise comes from a web page, browsers can silence it.

#Safari

Apple's guide to muting audio in tabs gives two moves:

1. To mute the tab you're viewing, click the Audio button in the Smart Search field.
2. To keep the current tab playing and mute all the others, Option-click the same button.

#Chrome

Right-click a tab and choose Mute site. This silences every tab from that website until you choose Unmute site from the same menu.

#What this way can't do

Muting is all or nothing. You can't set a tab to 40 %, and you can't change the browser's volume relative to your music app, only cut it off.

#Way 3: Audio MIDI Setup (and why it doesn't help)

Audio MIDI Setup, in Applications > Utilities, sounds like the place for this. It isn't. Apple's Audio MIDI Setup guide covers setting up audio devices, external speakers, aggregate devices and playing audio through several devices at once. Everything in it works per device, not per app. A Multi-Output Device can send the same sound to two outputs, but every app still plays through it at the same level.

#Way 4: Juggle the system volume

The last manual way is the one most people end up with: pause the music before a call, press the volume keys, and turn it back up afterwards. It works, but it's the opposite of a mix. Every change moves everything.

#The faster way: Faders

Faders adds the volume mixer macOS doesn't have. It lives in the menu bar, and every app that is making sound gets its own row with a slider, a mute button and a live meter. Levels are remembered, so Slack stays at 60 % tomorrow too.

A few things it does that the built-in ways can't:

• Apps without a slider get one. Chrome, Slack and other apps that play sound through hidden helper processes are gathered into a single row each.
• Louder than 100 %. The top of each slider is a boost zone up to 200 %, with a limiter so boosted sound doesn't crackle.
• Calls handled for you. When Zoom, Teams, Meet, FaceTime, Slack or Discord starts using the microphone, other apps fade to 30 % and come back when the call ends.
• A different output per app. Play Through sends any app to its own speakers or headphones, and moves it back to your main output if that device disappears.
• Volume keys for monitors. HDMI and DisplayPort displays usually show a crossed-out speaker when you press the volume keys. Faders adds software volume for them.

It is built on the audio taps Apple added in macOS 14.2, so it needs macOS 14.2 Sonoma or later, runs on Apple silicon and Intel, and has no driver to install. Apps you leave at 100 % are never touched, and when nothing is playing it uses 0.0 % CPU. macOS asks you to allow system audio access, a prompt that uses the word "record"; Faders only adjusts sound live, in memory, and saves or sends nothing.

One honest limit: a browser plays all of its tabs through one audio process, so Faders sets the volume of the browser as a whole, not of each tab. For a single noisy tab, use the tab mute above.

#FAQ

#Does macOS have a per-app volume mixer?

No. System Settings > Sound has one output volume for the whole Mac, plus a separate alert volume for system sounds. To set apps to different levels you use each app's own slider, or a mixer app like Faders.

#Can Audio MIDI Setup change the volume of one app?

No. Audio MIDI Setup works with devices: speakers, interfaces, aggregate and multi-output devices. Every app playing through a device shares its volume.

#How do I make one app louder than the others on Mac?

Set the Mac's volume high, then lower the other apps with their own sliders. An app can't go above the system volume on its own; to push a quiet app past 100 %, you need a tool with a boost, such as Faders.

#Can I set a different volume for each browser tab?

Not with macOS or a mixer app, because a browser plays all its tabs through one audio process. Safari and Chrome can mute tabs or sites, and many websites have their own volume slider in the player.

#Which macOS version do I need for per-app volume with Faders?

macOS 14.2 Sonoma or later, on Apple silicon or Intel. It relies on audio taps Apple introduced in macOS 14.2.