Soundflower for Mac Is Dead: The 3 Best Alternatives in 2026

If you’re trying to install Soundflower on a modern Mac, you’re going to have a bad time. It doesn’t work — and hasn’t worked reliably since macOS Catalina. The app is no longer maintained, and Apple’s security requirements have made its approach to audio drivers obsolete.

The good news: there are better options. This guide covers why Soundflower stopped working and the three best alternatives for routing audio on macOS in 2026.

Why Soundflower Stopped Working

Soundflower was a free virtual audio cable for macOS developed by Cycling ‘74 and later open-sourced. For years, it was the go-to tool for routing audio between apps.

The problems started around 2014, when Cycling ‘74 abandoned active development. By the time macOS Catalina arrived in 2019, Soundflower had become effectively unusable for most people. Here’s why:

Unsigned kernel extension. Soundflower relied on a kernel extension (kext) to install its virtual audio driver. Starting with macOS Catalina, Apple began blocking unsigned kernel extensions by default as part of System Integrity Protection (SIP). Soundflower’s kext was never updated to meet Apple’s notarization requirements.

No Apple Silicon support. Soundflower was never rebuilt for M1/M2/M3/M4 processors. On Apple Silicon Macs, it simply doesn’t run.

No active maintenance. There are no official bug fixes, no security patches, and no compatibility updates. Every macOS version that ships makes Soundflower less likely to work.

If you’re on an older Intel Mac running High Sierra or Mojave, you might still get Soundflower running with some effort. On any modern Mac, move on.

The 3 Best Soundflower Alternatives

1. BlackHole (Free)

Best for: Technical users and professionals who need multi-app audio routing.

BlackHole is the direct spiritual successor to Soundflower — open source, free, and built to work with modern macOS. It installs a properly notarized audio driver using Apple’s current APIs, so it doesn’t get blocked by SIP.

BlackHole creates virtual audio channels that apps can send and receive from. It comes in 2-channel and 16-channel variants.

The catch: BlackHole gives you raw audio plumbing, but you have to do the wiring yourself. To get system audio into a recording or calling app, you need to create a Multi-Output Device in Audio MIDI Setup — a process that takes 20–40 minutes if you haven’t done it before, and has a known side effect: your keyboard volume keys stop working after setup.

For users comfortable with macOS audio configuration, BlackHole is excellent. For everyone else, see options 2 and 3.

Setup time: 20–40 minutes Price: Free

2. Soundshine ($7.99 one-time)

Best for: Sharing system audio in video calls and recording — quick, native, hassle-free.

Soundshine is a lightweight (~5 MB) macOS menu bar app that handles audio 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 — Zoom, Google Meet, Discord, FaceTime, QuickTime, OBS, Audacity — can use it as an input source.

Unlike BlackHole, Soundshine doesn’t require you to create Multi-Output Devices or touch Audio MIDI Setup. You install it, flip a switch in the menu bar, and select “Soundshine Microphone” in your app. Your volume keys keep working normally.

Setup time: 30 seconds Price: Free trial (with audio watermark) / $7.99 one-time purchase

3. Loopback ($99)

Best for: Professional broadcasters, podcast producers, and anyone who needs complex routing graphs.

Loopback by Rogue Amoeba is the most powerful virtual audio routing app on macOS. It lets you build a visual wiring diagram connecting specific apps to specific virtual outputs, with fine-grained control over each source. You can route Spotify to one virtual device, your browser to another, and your microphone to a third — all simultaneously.

If you’re running a professional streaming or podcast production setup with multiple audio sources and need to route them independently, Loopback is worth the price.

For anyone who just needs to get system audio into Zoom or record what’s playing on their Mac, Loopback is far more tool than necessary.

Setup time: Moderate (visual node-based interface) Price: $99 one-time

Which Soundflower Replacement Is Right for You?

Use Case	Best Choice
Share audio in Zoom/Meet/Discord	Soundshine
Record system audio in QuickTime	Soundshine
Route audio to OBS for streaming	Soundshine or BlackHole
Complex multi-app routing	BlackHole or Loopback
Professional broadcast/podcast production	Loopback
Maximum budget: $0	BlackHole

How to Switch From Soundflower to Soundshine

If you’ve been struggling with Soundflower and want to move to something that just works:

Uninstall Soundflower — if it’s installed, open Terminal and run the Soundflower uninstaller, or manually remove it from /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/. Restart your Mac.
Download Soundshine from soundshine.app and run the guided installer. It handles the audio driver setup automatically in about 30 seconds.
Click the menu bar icon and flip the Routing switch to “on.”
In your app (Zoom, QuickTime, OBS, Discord), select “Soundshine Microphone” as your audio input.

You’re done. No Audio MIDI Setup, no Multi-Output Device configuration, no volume key workarounds.

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