# Best audio & voice apps for Mac

> Routing, recording, dictation and listening, done properly. 18 native apps, hand-picked by MacWorthy. Facts checked 2026-10-19.

Editor's picks: MacWhisper.

## Compared

| App | Price | Mac App Store | Homebrew | Open source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [MacWhisper](https://macworthy.com/apps/macwhisper/) | Free + Pro | No | `macwhisper` | No |
| [Superwhisper](https://macworthy.com/apps/superwhisper/) | Subscription | No | `superwhisper` | No |
| [VoiceInk](https://macworthy.com/apps/voiceink/) | Open source | No | `voiceink` | Yes |
| [Audio Hijack](https://macworthy.com/apps/audio-hijack/) | One-time purchase | No | `audio-hijack` | No |
| [Loopback](https://macworthy.com/apps/loopback/) | One-time purchase | No | `loopback` | No |
| [SoundSource](https://macworthy.com/apps/soundsource/) | One-time purchase | No | `soundsource` | No |
| [Fission](https://macworthy.com/apps/fission/) | One-time purchase | No | `fission` | No |
| [Airfoil](https://macworthy.com/apps/airfoil/) | One-time purchase | No | `airfoil` | No |
| [Doppler](https://macworthy.com/apps/doppler/) | One-time purchase | No | No | No |
| [TuningMac](https://macworthy.com/apps/tuningmac/) | One-time purchase | No | No | No |
| [echo99](https://macworthy.com/apps/echo99/) | Free | No | No | No |
| [FoxSay](https://macworthy.com/apps/foxsay/) | Open source | No | No | Apache-2.0 |
| [Kiiwi](https://macworthy.com/apps/kiiwi/) | One-time purchase | No | No | No |
| [Orca One](https://macworthy.com/apps/orca-one/) | One-time purchase | No | No | No |
| [Wispr Flow](https://macworthy.com/apps/wispr-flow/) | Free + Pro | No | `wispr-flow` | No |
| [FineTune](https://macworthy.com/apps/finetune/) | Open source | No | `finetune` | GPL-3.0 |
| [Lyrimuse](https://macworthy.com/apps/lyrimuse/) | Open source | No | No | GPL-3.0 |
| [Bass Plus](https://macworthy.com/apps/bass-plus/) | One-time purchase | Yes | No | No |

## The apps

- **[MacWhisper](https://macworthy.com/apps/macwhisper.md)** (editor's pick): Accurate transcription that stays on your Mac. MacWhisper runs Whisper models locally to transcribe recordings, meetings and podcasts, then exports subtitles and text.
- **[Superwhisper](https://macworthy.com/apps/superwhisper.md)**: Dictation that writes like you do. Talk anywhere and Superwhisper types it, cleaned up by AI modes that fix grammar, formatting or tone, with local models available.
- **[VoiceInk](https://macworthy.com/apps/voiceink.md)**: Open-source, on-device voice typing. VoiceInk transcribes your voice into any text field with local Whisper models and context-aware modes, and its source is public.
- **[Audio Hijack](https://macworthy.com/apps/audio-hijack.md)**: Record any audio, from any app. Build visual pipelines that capture apps, mics and system audio, apply effects and record or stream the result.
- **[Loopback](https://macworthy.com/apps/loopback.md)**: Cable-free audio routing. Create virtual audio devices that combine apps and inputs, ideal for podcasting, streaming and screen recording.
- **[SoundSource](https://macworthy.com/apps/soundsource.md)**: Per-app volume and effects, from the menu bar. Set volume per app, send each app to a different output and add EQ or effects to anything. SoundSource fixes Mac audio.
- **[Fission](https://macworthy.com/apps/fission.md)**: Lossless audio editing, fast. Trim, join and fade audio without re-encoding. Fission is the quickest way to tidy a recording.
- **[Airfoil](https://macworthy.com/apps/airfoil.md)**: Send any audio to AirPlay and Bluetooth speakers. Airfoil streams audio from any app to AirPlay, Bluetooth and Chromecast devices, in sync around your home.
- **[Doppler](https://macworthy.com/apps/doppler.md)**: A music player for the music you own. Doppler plays your MP3, FLAC and ALAC files in a beautiful library with no subscription and no streaming tricks.
- **[TuningMac](https://macworthy.com/apps/tuningmac.md)**: An equaliser and volume mixer for everything your Mac plays. TuningMac sits in the menu bar and applies a system-wide EQ, from simple presets to a 20-band parametric curve, with AutoEQ corrections for specific headphones. It also sets a separate volume per app, plays to several speakers at once and ducks music when a call starts, without installing an audio driver.
- **[echo99](https://macworthy.com/apps/echo99.md)**: Records and transcribes calls without a meeting bot. echo99 captures your microphone and the other side of any call as separate tracks, then transcribes and summarises on the Mac. It can start recording automatically when a call app takes the mic, remembers speakers between calls and exports labelled Markdown transcripts.
- **[FoxSay](https://macworthy.com/apps/foxsay.md)**: Hold a key, speak, and the text appears. FoxSay transcribes speech on the Mac with Parakeet or Whisper and pastes the result into the current app. Optional cleanup with a local model or your own API key fixes punctuation or reformats text, with different prompts per app, a history and a personal dictionary.
- **[Kiiwi](https://macworthy.com/apps/kiiwi.md)**: Recorded mechanical keyboard sounds for any keyboard. Kiiwi plays sampled switch sounds as you type in any app, chosen from dozens of recorded linear, tactile and clicky switches, with optional mouse click and scroll sounds. It lives in the menu bar and mutes with one shortcut.
- **[Orca One](https://macworthy.com/apps/orca-one.md)**: Dictation and meeting notes that never leave your Mac. Orca One transcribes speech on the Neural Engine and GPU, so you can dictate cleaned-up text into any app or record meetings into notes your AI tools can read. It needs Apple silicon and macOS 15, and a voice launcher is in beta.
- **[Wispr Flow](https://macworthy.com/apps/wispr-flow.md)**: Talk naturally and get tidy, written text. Wispr Flow turns speech into edited text in any app, dropping filler words and learning your names and jargon, with snippets and a personal dictionary. It also takes meeting notes; the free plan has limits and Pro removes them.
- **[FineTune](https://macworthy.com/apps/finetune.md)**: Per-app volume and EQ from the menu bar, free. FineTune sets the volume of each app separately, boosts quiet ones, routes apps to different outputs and applies a 10-band EQ with AutoEQ headphone profiles. Devices you reconnect get their routing and settings back.
- **[Lyrimuse](https://macworthy.com/apps/lyrimuse.md)**: Word-by-word lyrics for whatever is playing. Lyrimuse finds synced lyrics for Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music and several Chinese music services, and shows them in a window, under the notch, in the menu bar or floating over everything. It adds translations and readings for Japanese, Korean and Chinese lyrics.
- **[Bass Plus](https://macworthy.com/apps/bass-plus.md)**: More low end, and music that pauses when you talk. Bass Plus shapes system audio from the menu bar with bass modes, clarity, voice and loudness controls and per-device profiles. When your microphone turns on, it fades and pauses supported browser media, then resumes it afterwards.

HTML version: https://macworthy.com/categories/audio/