Guides/Vitals vs SoundSource
Vitals vs SoundSource
Quick answer
Vitals and SoundSource both give every app its own volume and mute from the menu bar. Vitals does it inside a full system monitor, so the same menu bar item shows CPU, memory, battery, temperature and the apps using the microphone, for $9 during the launch and $29 after. SoundSource is $49 and handles sound only; it adds a separate output, effects and a boost for each app. Choose Vitals if per-app volume is what you need; choose SoundSource if you need routing or effects.
VitalsSoundSource Choose Vitals if
- You want a volume and a mute for each app, from the menu bar
- You would rather run one app than a mixer and a system monitor
- You want to see which apps are using the microphone
- You want it for less than $49
Choose SoundSource if
- You want an app on its own speakers or headphones
- You want an equalizer or Audio Unit effects per app
- You want to boost a quiet app past 100%
- You want to try it before you pay
Where Vitals pulls ahead
One menu bar item instead of two
The Sound section sits in the same dropdown as CPU, memory, battery and temperature, with the apps behind each. SoundSource is audio only, so you would still run a system monitor next to it.
A lower price, with a system monitor included
Vitals is $9 during the launch and $29 after it, once. SoundSource is $49, for an app that handles sound only.
Nothing touched at 100%
Vitals takes an app's sound only while it is turned down or muted, with no driver or virtual device. At 100% the app plays exactly as it would without Vitals, and if Vitals quits, every app sounds as it did before.
Everything Vitals does
One app, one payment, every update for life.
- Processes grouped by app. Every helper process is added to the app that launched it, so a working Mac shows about 60 apps instead of about 1,000 processes, each with one figure for memory, CPU, energy, disk and network.
- A tab per subsystem. Overview, CPU, Memory, Disk, Network, GPU, Battery, Sound, Bluetooth and Projects, plus Containers while Docker runs, each with its live figures and the apps behind them.
- Inside your browser. Click Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Arc or Dia to see its memory and CPU split into tabs, extensions, graphics and the browser itself. Slack, VS Code and similar apps are split by window.
- 30 days of history. CPU, memory, energy, disk and network for the last hour, 12 hours, 24 hours, 7 days and 30 days, with the apps that used the most, ranked hour by hour for the last two days.
- What keeps the Mac awake, and the fans on. The Battery tab lists the apps holding sleep off, what each said it is doing and for how long. When the Mac runs hot, Vitals names the apps behind it, with Quit beside each.
- Alerts for misbehaving apps. A notification when an app keeps the CPU busy, keeps growing in memory, or hammers the disk or network.
- Dev servers and open ports, by project. Processes grouped by the project folder they run in, with their listening ports, and dev servers left idle for days pointed out and offered to stop.
- A menu bar you arrange. Every readout can be its own menu bar item: CPU, memory, GPU, network, disk, temperature or battery, as a value, a graph or both, ⌘-dragged into any order. Behind it, a dropdown with every metric, the busiest apps, and a tab for each metric.
- Arrange the window and the dropdown. Choose the window’s tabs and their order, and show, hide or reorder the sections, cards and lists on every tab. The dropdown has its own tiles and a List layout with one line per metric. Reset puts everything back.
- Docker containers. A Containers tab with every Docker container’s memory, CPU, network and ports, in the window and the dropdown, and Stop on each, after a confirmation.
- Sound and Bluetooth tabs. The Mac’s output device and level with a slider for every app playing sound, the microphone and the apps using it, and every connected Bluetooth device with its battery, lowest first.
- Units you choose. Celsius or Fahrenheit, bytes or bits for network speed, and CPU per core or per Mac, each with a live example in Settings.
- Temperatures and fans. CPU and GPU temperature on Intel and Apple silicon, M5 included, and fan speed. Hold any fan at a speed you choose, and hand it back to the Mac in one click. The menu bar temperature can follow the CPU, the GPU or the hottest sensor.
- Quit and force quit. Quit an app or a single process, always after a confirmation.
- Keyboard shortcuts and Shortcuts actions. Open the dropdown or the window from any app, and get a reading or the busiest app from the Shortcuts app.
- Export as an image. Save or copy a snapshot of the Mac as a 1200 × 630 share card or a dashboard image.
- In the Dock, if you like. Show in Dock keeps Vitals in the Dock like Activity Monitor. Opened by hand it shows its window; at login it stays in the menu bar.
What Mac users say
Now I find myself stealing quick glances at the menu bar, instead of taking another sip of coffee.
Ed Wiseman Emmy-winning director and producer macOS Activity Monitor is horrible when I’m juggling dev projects and local AI. Vitals is so much better.
Knowix Developer and AI builder cant keep vibecoding everything for $5, i get a finished product, clean ui, and bug fixes
Sai Krishna Founder of Superblog Common questions
Is Vitals a SoundSource alternative?
Yes, for per-app volume: a slider and a mute for every app with sound open, in the menu bar, for less than SoundSource costs, with a system monitor included. It does not send apps to other outputs or add effects; for those, SoundSource is the better pick.
Can Vitals send one app to different speakers?
No. Every app plays through the output chosen in System Settings → Sound, and Vitals sets each one's level. SoundSource can send each app to its own device.
Is there a trial?
No. Vitals has a 14-day refund instead: buy it, and if it is not for you, email and the money comes back.
Get Vitals for $9 while the launch price lasts
One-time paymentLifetime updates14-day refund
Get Vitals for $9How we compared
The SoundSource column comes from its maker's own site on September 30, 2026. Where the site does not say whether it does something, the cell says "Not stated". If a cell is out of date, email us and we will fix it.
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- Task Manager for Mac
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How to turn one app down with nothing installed, and why macOS has no mixer: Mac volume mixer: how to change the volume of one app.