Loopback vs BlackHole (vs no driver at all)
Loopback and BlackHole both create virtual audio devices that move sound from one app to another; neither records anything by itself. BlackHole is free and you wire it up by hand in Audio MIDI Setup. Loopback costs US$99 and does the same job in a window, with app sources, mixing and monitoring built in. If all you want is a recording of what your Mac plays, on macOS 14.4 or later you need neither: a recorder that captures system audio directly is simpler.
Most “Loopback vs BlackHole” questions are really a different question: do you need audio to go somewhere while it plays, or do you just want a file? Answer that first and the choice mostly makes itself.
Routing is not recording
Routing means sending audio from one place to another while it plays: your DAW into a video call, a music player and a mic into a streaming app, one DAW into another. Loopback and BlackHole do this by giving your Mac an extra sound device that other apps can choose as an input.
Recording means turning sound into a file. For that you need a recorder: QuickTime Player, Audacity, a DAW, or an app built to record system audio. With BlackHole or Loopback, the recorder listens to the virtual device. Since macOS 14.4, a recorder can also capture other apps’ sound directly, once you allow it under Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording, with no virtual device at all.
Loopback, BlackHole and no-driver recorders compared
| Tool | Price | What it does | Records? | Your output and volume keys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BlackHole | Free (donations welcome) | A virtual device in 2, 16 or 64 channels. You build Multi-Output and Aggregate Devices yourself in Audio MIDI Setup. | No, needs a recorder | To record and hear at once you switch to a Multi-Output Device, and the volume keys stop working |
| Loopback | US$99 | Virtual devices that combine apps and inputs, with per-source volume, channel mapping, monitoring and pass-thru devices | No, needs a recorder | Captures apps directly, so your output can stay as it is |
| PrintBus | US$39 once | Records whatever the Mac plays into named, trimmed WAV or AIFF files, one per track | Yes | Unchanged |
| Piezo | US$29 | Records an app or an input, started and stopped by you | Yes | Unchanged |
| Audio Hijack | US$69 | Records any app, the whole system or inputs through a chain of blocks, with effects, mic mixing and schedules | Yes | Unchanged |
| AirCheck | US$39 | Records system audio or an input into date-named WAV or MP3 files | Yes | Unchanged |
Prices in US dollars, checked 4 October 2026. Loopback 2.5.0 (31 August 2026) supports macOS 14.5 to 27. Piezo and Audio Hijack support macOS 14.4 to 27. AirCheck needs macOS 14 and an Apple silicon Mac. BlackHole runs on macOS 10.10 and later.
BlackHole: free, and you wire it yourself
BlackHole, from Existential Audio, is open source and free. It adds a device called BlackHole 2ch (or 16ch, or 64ch): send audio to it and it comes back out as an input. That’s all it does, and it does it with no added latency.
Everything else is up to you and Audio MIDI Setup. To record the Mac’s sound and still hear it, you make a Multi-Output Device with your speakers and BlackHole and switch your output to it, which costs you the volume keys. To add a mic, you make an Aggregate Device as well. It can’t pick out one app’s sound either: it gets whatever is sent to it, which means the whole Mac unless that app has its own output setting, as DAWs do. Our BlackHole guide covers the setup step by step.
BlackHole is the right pick when you’re happy in Audio MIDI Setup, you’re on an older macOS, or you need routing and the budget is zero.
Loopback: routing with a mixing desk
Loopback, from Rogue Amoeba, does what BlackHole does through a wire-based window instead of Audio MIDI Setup. You add sources (one or more apps, a mic, an interface), wire them to output channels, and the result appears as a sound device every app can use. Each source gets its own volume, you choose which devices to monitor through, and a device can have up to 64 channels. Because it pulls audio from apps directly, you can send one app into a call without changing your Mac’s output.
It costs US$99, or US$134 bundled with Audio Hijack (upgrades from Loopback 1 are US$49). The free trial applies limitations until you buy. Loopback is worth it if you route audio often, combine several sources, or need it to work every time in front of an audience.
No driver at all
macOS 14.4 added a way for apps to record other apps, or the whole Mac, once you give permission. Nothing is installed in your audio system and your output stays as it is. If your goal is a file, this is the simplest path:
- PrintBus records whatever your Mac plays. Press record once; each take starts on the first sound and saves itself when the audio stops, trimmed, and songs from supported music players are named “Artist - Title”. It doesn’t route, mix in a mic or record a single chosen app.
- Piezo is cheaper and simpler: pick an app or input, press record, press stop.
- Audio Hijack does far more than either: several sources at once, a mic mixed with app audio, effects, schedules.
- AirCheck records system audio or an input with no driver, on Apple silicon Macs, and names files by date and time.
- OBS Studio (free) captures desktop or single-app audio with its macOS Audio Capture source, for streams and screen recordings.
Which do you need? Pick by the job
| The job | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Record what your Mac plays as audio files | A no-driver recorder: PrintBus, Piezo or AirCheck | No routing to build or undo. BlackHole plus Audacity works too, and is the answer before macOS 14.4. |
| Send a DAW into a video call | Loopback, or BlackHole for free | The call app needs a device to choose as its mic. That’s routing; a recorder can’t do it. |
| Stream with OBS | OBS’s own macOS Audio Capture source; add Loopback or BlackHole for a pre-mixed feed | OBS captures app audio itself on macOS 13 and later. A virtual device helps when you want one combined mix, such as a DAW with plug-ins. |
| Podcast with a remote guest | Audio Hijack to record; Loopback to play music or clips into the call | Audio Hijack records your mic and the call together. Loopback lets your guest hear the extras. |
| Record a single app | Piezo or Audio Hijack | Both let you choose the app. PrintBus records the whole Mac instead (leaving out DAWs and call apps unless you turn them on). |
Questions
Is BlackHole as good as Loopback?
For moving clean audio from one place to another, yes: BlackHole adds no latency and costs nothing. Loopback is easier and does more: it can take audio from individual apps, mix several sources with their own levels and monitor them, without Multi-Output Devices or lost volume keys.
Do I need Loopback to record system audio?
No. Loopback doesn’t record by itself. On macOS 14.4 and later, recorders like PrintBus, Piezo and Audio Hijack capture system audio directly with no virtual device. On older versions, BlackHole and a recorder like Audacity do it for free.
What’s a free alternative to Loopback?
BlackHole. It does the core job, a virtual device that passes audio between apps, and you combine it with Multi-Output and Aggregate Devices in Audio MIDI Setup. For streaming, OBS Studio can also capture app audio itself.
Does Loopback work on Apple silicon and the latest macOS?
Yes. Loopback has run natively on Apple silicon since version 2.2.1 (January 2021), and 2.5.0, released 31 August 2026, supports macOS 14.5 to 27. Older macOS versions use Rogue Amoeba’s legacy downloads.
Can Loopback or BlackHole record audio on their own?
No. Both create a device for other apps to use. You still need a recorder (QuickTime Player, Audacity, a DAW or Audio Hijack) listening to that device.
What about Soundflower?
Soundflower was the free routing tool before BlackHole. Its last release was in 2014 and it doesn’t run on Apple silicon Macs, so use BlackHole instead.