AudioPriorityBar alternatives.
AudioPriorityBar is genuinely good, genuinely free, and the reason a lot of people stopped fighting their Mac's audio settings. It is also dormant, and macOS refuses to open its build without a manual override. If either of those matters to you, here are the six apps that do the same job, checked against their own source and release pages.
Written by Yash Raj, published 15 September 2026. Updated 18 October 2026. Roadie is mine, so it sits last and the table comes first.
Three honest reasons to look
None of these are reasons to dislike AudioPriorityBar. They are the three things people actually hit.
- It has not been touched since December 2025. The repository was created on 27 December 2025 and the last commit landed on 29 December 2025. Four releases, all from that same weekend. It works, but nobody is fixing it if macOS changes something.
- Gatekeeper rejects the download. The shipped
v1.2.1app is ad-hoc signed, not signed with an Apple Developer ID. Runningspctl -a -vvv AudioPriorityBar.appreturnsrejected: no usable signature, so you have to Control-click and Open it past the warning. The bundle identifier is stillcom.example.AudioPriorityBar. - It overrules you. It watches the default input and output device directly, so the moment you pick a device by hand in Control Center, it puts its own top-ranked device back. That is the intended design, and the escape hatch is the Custom (✋) mode, which turns auto-switching off entirely. There is no middle setting.
The alternatives at a glance
| AudioPriorityBar | LockAudio | SoundAnchor | Sound Control | SoundSource | Roadie | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, MIT | Free, MIT | €2.99 direct, after 30-day trial | Direct purchase or App Store subscription | $49 | $9.99 once, 3 Macs |
| Approach | Ranked lists | Pins one device | Ranked lists + app mixer | Priority devices + per-app | Priority + per-app output | Ranked lists |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | System input priority | Yes |
| Output | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Per-app routing | Yes |
| Notifies you | No | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | No | Yes, with undo |
| Respects a manual pick | Only in Custom mode | Not applicable | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Yes, until devices change |
| Notarized | No | Yes | See vendor | Yes, App Store | Yes | Not yet |
| Last updated | Dec 2025 | Sep 2026 | See vendor | Active | Aug 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| macOS | 13+ | 13+ | See vendor | Check edition requirements | 15+ | 13+ |
SoundAnchor and Sound Control details rechecked on 18 October 2026 against their linked official pages. Other competitor columns retain the 15 September source review. Unverified behavior is marked explicitly; this is not a new hands-on comparison.
LockAudio — the maintained free one
Free, MIT, and the only free option here that is both notarized and actively released: version 2.0.3 shipped in September 2026, and it auto-updates through Sparkle. It runs about 1.4 MB, needs macOS 13 or later, and shows optional notifications telling you which device tried to take over.
The difference is the model. LockAudio pins one forced input and one forced output and puts them back when something steals them. It is not a ranked list, so it has nothing to fall back to when your pinned device is unplugged. If you use one mic and one pair of speakers and the problem is AirPods barging in, that limitation never shows up and this is the app to try first.
SoundAnchor — closest to AudioPriorityBar
By Flavio De Stefano. SoundAnchor supports ranked input and output devices and now also offers an app mixer. Its direct-download version has a 30-day trial, then a €2.99 one-time license. A paid Mac App Store edition is also available; check the price in your storefront. The mixer requires macOS 14.4 or later and System Audio Recording permission. We have not verified its current manual-override behavior hands-on.
Sound Control — priority plus per-app audio
From Static Z Software, with device priorities, per-app volume, routing, and effects. The vendor distinguishes a direct purchase from the Mac App Store subscription; those purchases are not interchangeable. Check the current price and macOS requirements for the edition you choose. This is an option when you want both system-device priorities and per-app controls.
SoundSource — priority and broader audio control
$49 from Rogue Amoeba, version 6.1.2, macOS 15 or later. SoundSource 6 includes system device priority as well as per-app output routing and effects. Its manual documents separate preferred input, output and sound-effects orders, plus hidden-device exclusion. These features were rechecked on 18 October 2026. Full comparison →
SoundLock — the minimal one
Free and source-available (not open source), one release from July 2026, ranked input and output lists with offline device persistence and a retry after Bluetooth pairing. It is a very small project with a single check: if the current default is not your top-ranked connected device, set it. No notifications, no avoid list, no updater, not notarized.
Roadie — mine, and what it does differently
$9.99 once for up to 3 Macs after a full 7-day trial, macOS 13 or later. Same ranked-list model as AudioPriorityBar, with the edge cases handled: a device you pick by hand stays the rule until your connected devices change, every automatic correction shows a notification with one-click undo, an avoid list keeps webcam mics and display speakers out of the running, Bluetooth gets a settling window so reconnects do not double-switch, and if another app fights back Roadie stops after three attempts instead of looping.
The honest gap: Roadie is not notarized yet, so first launch needs Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security. LockAudio beats both of us on that today. Early sales fund the Apple Developer membership, and signed builds are the first roadmap item.
Try Roadie free for 7 days No account, no audio access, $9.99 once after that.
Which one
- One mic, one output, AirPods are the whole problem: LockAudio. Free, notarized, maintained.
- You want another ranked-list app: SoundAnchor has a 30-day direct-download trial, then a paid license. AudioPriorityBar remains a free option.
- You also want per-app volume and routing: Compare Sound Control’s direct and subscription editions, and SoundAnchor’s mixer.
- You want per-app routing and effects above all: SoundSource at $49.
- You pick devices by hand sometimes and want to see what changed: Roadie. Roadie vs AudioPriorityBar, in detail →
Related
Quick answers
Is AudioPriorityBar still maintained?
Not actively. The repository was created on 27 December 2025 and its last commit is from 29 December 2025, with all four releases published that same weekend. The app still works on macOS 13 and later, but no one is currently shipping fixes for it.
Why does macOS refuse to open AudioPriorityBar?
The released build is ad-hoc signed rather than signed with an Apple Developer ID certificate, so Gatekeeper reports “no usable signature” and blocks the first launch. Control-click the app and choose Open, then confirm in System Settings under Privacy and Security.
What is the best free alternative to AudioPriorityBar?
LockAudio, if you use one microphone and one output. It is MIT licensed, notarized, updated in September 2026, and notifies you when it puts a device back. For another ranked-list option, SoundAnchor offers a 30-day direct-download trial followed by a paid license; it is not free indefinitely.
Does any alternative let me pick a device by hand without it switching back?
Roadie treats a manual pick as the new rule until your connected devices change. AudioPriorityBar offers Custom mode to disable automatic switching. We have not verified SoundAnchor's current manual-override behavior hands-on.