eqMac alternatives for Mac
eqMac is good and free, and most people asking this question want one of three things it does not do: skip the virtual driver, get more parametric bands for free, or actually measure the room. This list is written by the team behind the last one, Spectra, so it puts Spectra last and says what each app does better than eqMac. Six of the eight are free.
FineTune
Per-app volume, routing and EQ, with AutoEq profiles per output device.
Where it beats eqMac: Per-app everything, a Homebrew cask, and the largest user base of the group.
Caveat: Graphic EQ capped at 10 filters per profile; open Bluetooth desync reports without a maintainer reply as of September 2026.
OnlyEQ
Unlimited parametric bands and the widest AutoEq and peqdb import support in the field.
Where it beats eqMac: If you have a parametric file from anywhere, OnlyEQ loads it, for nothing.
Caveat: Installed with a curl-to-bash script, not notarized, and its update signing key was reported lost.
CoreEQ
16 free parametric bands plus a fixed ladder, in a deliberately small app.
Where it beats eqMac: Sixteen parametric bands and per-output profiles for free.
Caveat: No headphone library and no file import yet; unsigned build.
GlassEQ
A process-tap EQ that imports AutoEq, REW and impulse-response files.
Where it beats eqMac: REW and IR import, which almost nothing else on the Mac does.
Caveat: Alpha, ad-hoc signed and not notarized; a paid version is planned.
Radioform
A notarized, GPL-licensed 10-band EQ with genre presets.
Where it beats eqMac: Notarized and simple.
Caveat: Uses a virtual driver rather than the tap; last release March 2026.
SoundRouter Dore
Pay-what-you-want EQ with a browser hearing test and an ambience mode.
Where it beats eqMac: Free, and the hearing-test idea is genuinely different.
Caveat: Unsigned and unnotarized; its capture method is not documented.
SoundSource
Rogue Amoeba's per-app audio router and mixer, with a 10-band EQ, AutoEq headphone profiles, custom 32-filter parametric profiles from a text file, and Audio Unit hosting on every app.
Where it beats eqMac: Per-app routing, volume and effects, and it loads your own parametric files. The best-built app on this list.
Caveat: Paid, and it does not measure anything either.
Spectra
A system-wide parametric EQ on Apple's process-tap API that measures your room with the iPhone you already own and fits a correction to it. No measurement microphone, no virtual driver, and every output keeps its own calibration, Bluetooth included.
Where it beats eqMac: It measures. eqMac and everything above apply static curves; Spectra plays pink noise, listens through your iPhone, and corrects what your room is actually doing.
Caveat: Needs macOS 26.2, the strictest requirement on this list. No per-app EQ, no AutoEq file import yet, a small curated headphone library, and Pro costs more than eqMac Pro's $40 lifetime. The free tier is a 10-band graphic EQ with an account; the measurement is in Base at $59 one time.
Three questions
- Headphones with a known curve? OnlyEQ or FineTune, free. SoundSource if you also want per-app control.
- Speakers on a desk that sound wrong? The curve is not the problem, the room is. That is what Spectra measures. Sonarworks measures it better and costs several times more plus a microphone; that comparison is here.
- Just want it louder? Boom 3D, and none of the rest of us.
Corrections welcome at general@spectraaudio.tech. If an app above is misdescribed, it will be fixed.