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How to route audio between apps on macOS

3 min read

Out of the box, macOS can play audio out of apps and record audio into apps — but it has no way to connect the two. If you want to send a browser tab into a video call, pipe a synth into a recorder, or feed system sound into OBS, you need a virtual audio device: a fake "speaker" that other apps can use as a "microphone."

Here are your three options, in order of effort.

Option 1: A virtual driver plus Audio MIDI Setup (free)

BlackHole is a free, open-source virtual audio driver. Install it, then in the source app choose BlackHole as the output device, and in the destination app choose BlackHole as the input device. Audio flows from one to the other.

The catches: BlackHole has no interface, so there is nothing to adjust — no volume control, no mixing UI. If you also want to hear the audio you're routing, you have to open Audio MIDI Setup and build a multi-output device by hand, and every device in the chain must run at the same sample rate or you'll get silence or crackling.

It works well, and plenty of people are happy with it. It just asks you to be your own audio engineer.

Option 2: A pro routing suite ($109)

Loopback by Rogue Amoeba is the high end of this category: a drag-and-drop wiring canvas where you combine apps, mics, and channels into virtual devices any way you like. It's excellent, and if you run a podcast studio or live rig it's worth every penny of its $109 price.

For occasionally sending app A into app B, though, it's a lot of tool.

Option 3: A routing app in the middle ($10)

SoundPipe sits between the two. Like BlackHole, it creates virtual audio devices; like Loopback, it gives you an actual interface. You pick a source (an app or a microphone), pick a destination, and the route is live — with a per-channel volume slider, automatic sample-rate handling, monitoring through your own headphones, and under 15 ms of latency. The driver installs with one click from the app.

It's a one-time $10 purchase, and the free trial runs the full app in 20-minute sessions, so you can check it works with your setup before paying anything.

Which should you pick?

  • Comfortable in Audio MIDI Setup, need zero features? BlackHole, free.
  • Complex multi-device studio routing? Loopback, $109.
  • Just want app-to-app audio with volume control? Try SoundPipe free.
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