"Is there a free Loopback alternative for Mac?"

"BlackHole is free and works on modern macOS and Apple Silicon. The tradeoff is setup time: you'll need 20-40 minutes in Audio MIDI Setup to configure it correctly, and your keyboard volume keys stop working by default after setup."

"What does Loopback actually do that cheaper apps don't?"

"Loopback lets you build a visual routing graph connecting specific apps to specific virtual audio outputs simultaneously. If you need Spotify going to one virtual device and your browser going to another at the same time, that's what Loopback is designed for. For sending all system audio to one place, you don't need that level of control."

"Can Soundshine replace Loopback for streaming?"

"For OBS streaming where you want to share system audio alongside a mic, yes. Soundshine creates a virtual microphone input that OBS can use as an audio source. If you need to route different apps to different tracks independently, Loopback is the better fit."

"Does Soundshine work on Apple Silicon and macOS 26 Tahoe?"

"Yes. Soundshine runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, and is compatible with macOS 26 Tahoe and later."

Loopback Is Too Much App: Mac Audio Routing Alternatives for Simpler Needs

Loopback comes up constantly when you search for Mac audio routing help. It’s excellent software, but $99 is a real price for a real purchase, and a lot of people end up buying it for use cases that something much simpler would handle fine.

This post explains what Loopback actually does, who it’s built for, and what to use instead if your needs are more straightforward.

What Loopback Is For

Loopback, made by Rogue Amoeba, is a visual audio routing application for macOS. It lets you build a node-based wiring diagram connecting specific apps to specific virtual audio outputs, with independent volume and channel controls for each source.

A practical example: you’re running a live podcast and you want Spotify going to your recording but not your guest’s headphone mix, your browser audio going to a separate channel for post-processing, and your microphone going to a third output for your streaming software. Loopback handles that kind of multi-source, multi-destination routing cleanly.

That’s a real problem, and Loopback solves it well. At $99 one-time, it’s a fair price for what it does at a professional level.

The issue is that most people searching for a “Loopback alternative” don’t have that problem. They want to play YouTube audio during a Zoom call, or get their Mac’s audio into OBS, or record what’s playing on their screen. For those use cases, you don’t need a routing graph with nodes and virtual wires.

The Honest Comparison: Three Options

There are three tools worth knowing about for Mac audio routing. Each occupies a different spot on the complexity and cost spectrum.

BlackHole (Free)

BlackHole is the free, open-source option and the direct spiritual successor to Soundflower. It installs a properly notarized virtual audio driver using Apple’s current APIs, so it works on macOS Catalina and later, including Apple Silicon.

BlackHole gives you raw virtual audio channels. Apps can send audio to those channels and receive from them. It comes in 2-channel and 16-channel variants.

Getting system audio into another app with BlackHole requires creating a Multi-Output Device in macOS’s Audio MIDI Setup utility. You create a combined device that plays through both your real speakers and the BlackHole virtual device simultaneously, then set that as your default output. It works, but setup takes 20-40 minutes if you haven’t done it before, and there’s a known side effect: keyboard volume keys stop working after you change the default output.

If you’re comfortable with macOS audio configuration and want to spend nothing, BlackHole is a solid choice. See our full guide to BlackHole for the step-by-step setup.

Price: Free Setup time: 20-40 minutes

Soundshine ($7.99 one-time)

Soundshine is a lightweight macOS menu bar app that handles the routing automatically. It installs a virtual audio driver and creates a “Soundshine Microphone” input that carries your system audio. Any app that accepts a microphone input, including Zoom, Google Meet, Discord, FaceTime, QuickTime, OBS, and Audacity, can use it as an audio source.

The guided installer sets everything up in about 30 seconds. After that, you flip a switch in the menu bar and select “Soundshine Microphone” in whatever app you’re using. Your volume keys keep working. Audio passes through to your speakers so you can still hear it while sharing.

Audio quality is 48kHz, 32-bit float stereo. There’s a free trial with an audio watermark if you want to test it before buying.

What Soundshine doesn’t do: it won’t route individual apps to separate outputs simultaneously. If you need that, you want Loopback.

Price: $7.99 one-time (free trial available) Setup time: 30 seconds

Loopback ($99 one-time)

Loopback by Rogue Amoeba is the professional option. Visual routing graph, per-source volume controls, multiple simultaneous virtual devices, the ability to combine hardware and software audio sources in any configuration you need.

If you’re running a multi-source podcast production, a professional streaming setup, or any workflow where you need to route different apps to different destinations independently, Loopback is purpose-built for that. See our detailed look at Loopback’s pricing and capabilities if you’re evaluating it seriously.

Price: $99 one-time Setup time: Moderate (node-based interface with a learning curve)

Side-by-Side Comparison

	BlackHole	Soundshine	Loopback
Price	Free	$7.99	$99
Setup time	20-40 min	30 sec	Moderate
System audio to one app	Yes (after setup)	Yes	Yes
Volume keys still work	No	Yes	Yes
Multi-source routing	Manual	No	Yes
Apple Silicon	Yes	Yes	Yes
macOS 26 Tahoe	Yes	Yes	Yes
Free trial	N/A	Yes (watermark)	Yes (watermark)

Which One to Choose

If you just need system audio into Zoom, Discord, OBS, or a recording app, and you want it working in under a minute: Soundshine.

If you want to spend nothing and don’t mind spending 30-40 minutes in Audio MIDI Setup: BlackHole.

If you’re doing professional audio production with multiple sources going to multiple destinations simultaneously: Loopback.

The mistake to avoid is buying Loopback for a $7.99 problem.

Setting Up Soundshine

If you’re going the Soundshine route, here’s the full process:

Download the app from soundshine.app/downloads/Soundshine-1.0.dmg.
Open the DMG and drag Soundshine to your Applications folder.
Launch Soundshine. A setup wizard walks you through installing the virtual audio driver. This takes about 30 seconds and requires your Mac’s admin password.
Click the Soundshine icon in your menu bar and flip the routing switch to on.
In your app (Zoom, QuickTime, OBS, etc.), go to audio settings and select “Soundshine Microphone” as the input source.

That’s the complete setup. No Audio MIDI Setup, no Multi-Output Devices, no sample rate matching.

If You’re Coming From BlackHole

If you’ve already been using BlackHole and want to switch, the main thing to undo is the Multi-Output Device. Open Audio MIDI Setup, select your Multi-Output Device, and delete it. Then set your normal speakers back as the default output in System Settings. Your volume keys will start working again.

Install Soundshine as above, and you’re done.

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