Free Loopback Alternatives for Mac

There are many alternatives to Loopback for Mac if you are looking for a replacement. The best free Mac alternative is JACK Audio Connection Kit, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 10 alternatives to Loopback and six of them are free and available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free Mac alternatives to Loopback are BlackHole Audio Loopback Driver, Soundflower, VB-Audio Virtual Cable and Source-Nexus Suite.

filter to find the best alternatives

Loopback alternatives are mainly Audio Routers, but if you're looking for Audio Recorders you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Mac + Free and Mac + Open Source and Windows + Audio Router and Mac + Audio Router. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Loopback.
Loopback iconLoopback
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Configure audio routing using virtual devices on macOS, supporting up to 64 channels, customization of mixes, and capturing from hidden sources with Loopback.

More about Loopback
More about Loopback
Loopback alternatives page was last updated Jul 8, 2025
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  1. JACK Audio Connection Kit icon

    JACK Audio Connection Kit

     53 likes
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    JACK is a professional sound server daemon that provides real-time low latency connections for both audio and MIDI data between applications that implement its API. The API can be used through either JACK1 or JACK2.

    19 JACK Audio Connection Kit alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    JACK Audio Connection Kit screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Virtual Audio Cable
    2.  Connecting audio streams
    3.  Support for MIDI
    4.  Multi Channel
    5.  Low Latency
    6.  Sound drivers
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  Works Offline
    9.  Native application
    10.  Macro Recording

    JACK Audio Connection Kit VS Loopback

     
    Comments about JACK Audio Connection Kit as an Alternative to Loopback
    ubster
    Positive Aug 28, 2018
    -4

    super lite and opensource, also paying attention to latnecy

    Loopback Icon
    JACK Audio Connection Kit icon

    • Most users think JACK Audio Connection Kit is a great Loopback alternative.

    • JACK Audio Connection Kit is the most popular Mac & Linux alternative to Loopback.

    • JACK Audio Connection Kit is the most popular Open Source alternative to Loopback.

    • JACK Audio Connection Kit is Free and Open SourceLoopback is Paid and Proprietary
    • JACK Audio Connection Kit is LightweightLoopback is not according to our users
  2. BlackHole Audio Loopback Driver icon

    BlackHole Audio Loopback Driver

     23 likes
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    BlackHole is a modern macOS virtual audio driver that allows applications to pass audio to other applications with zero additional latency.

    18 BlackHole Audio Loopback Driver alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    BlackHole Audio Loopback Driver screenshot 1

    BlackHole Audio Loopback Driver Features

    1.  Virtual Audio Cable
    2.  Works Offline
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  Low Latency
    5.  Support for MIDI
    6.  No registration required
    7.  Music Looper
    8.  Sound drivers

    BlackHole Audio Loopback Driver VS Loopback

     
    Comments about BlackHole Audio Loopback Driver as an Alternative to Loopback
    ike
    Positive Jul 8, 2025
    0

    It redirects audio between application just like Loopback. It is a little more complicated but on the up side it have no recording limit.

    Guest
    Negative Mar 29, 2020
    0

    It doents have an interface

    Loopback Icon
    BlackHole Audio Loopback Driver icon

    • Most users think BlackHole Audio Loopback Driver is a great Loopback alternative.

    • BlackHole Audio Loopback Driver is Free and Open SourceLoopback is Paid and Proprietary
  4. Soundflower icon

    Soundflower

     43 likes
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    Soundflower is a Mac OS X system extension that allows applications to pass audio to other applications. Soundflower is easy to use, it simply presents itself as an audio device, allowing any audio application to send and receive audio with no other support needed.

    20 Soundflower alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Example
    Discontinued

    The project seems no longer developed. Last version, 2.0b2, released in December 2014, can be still downloaded from GitHub.

    Soundflower Features

    1.  Connecting audio streams
    2.  Sound drivers
    3.  Simple installation
    4.  Virtual Audio Cable

    Soundflower VS Loopback

     
    Comments about Soundflower as an Alternative to Loopback
    Ian Dorfman
    Positive Apr 24, 2020
    -1

    Soundflower offers extremely similar functionality to Loopback, including audio passthrough, audio stream connecting, and recording. It is also free and open source.

    Guest
    Positive Jul 22, 2020
    0

    At least it's free, and works extremely well for streaming. Sadly I can't hear my output without a multi-output device.

    Loopback Icon
    Soundflower icon

    • Some users think Soundflower is a great Loopback alternative, some don't.

    • Soundflower is Free and Open SourceLoopback is Paid and Proprietary
  5. VB-Audio Virtual Cable icon

    VB-Audio Virtual Cable

     39 likes
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    VB-Audio CABLE is a Windows Audio Driver working as a Virtual Audio Cable. After installing the VB-CABLE driver, a new playback device appears in the audio device list and can be set as default device. VB-CABLE can be set as the default device, just like any regular audio device.

    23 VB-Audio Virtual Cable alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    Control panel

    VB-Audio Virtual Cable Features

    1.  Music Looper
    2.  Virtual Audio Cable
    3.  Connecting audio streams

    VB-Audio Virtual Cable VS Loopback

     
    Comments about VB-Audio Virtual Cable as an Alternative to Loopback
    Ian Dorfman
    Positive Apr 24, 2020
    -3

    Though only available on Windows, VB-Audio Virtual Cable offers equivalent functionality to what Loopback offers macOS, with support for audio signal routing and passthrough, recording, and multichannel support.

    Loopback Icon
    VB-Audio Virtual Cable icon

    • Some users think VB-Audio Virtual Cable is a great Loopback alternative, some don't.

    • VB-Audio Virtual Cable is Freemium and ProprietaryLoopback is Paid and Proprietary
  6. Source-Nexus Suite icon

    Source-Nexus Suite

     4 likes
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    Multi-function creative suite for Mac and Windows including direct-routing with AAX, VST, and AU plugins, high-quality browser based sessions for music and video collaboration, a virtual remote-production studio, desktop routing with virtual drivers, and much more.

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    Source-Nexus Suite

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Support for VST Plugins
    2.  Virtual Audio Device

    Source-Nexus Suite VS Loopback

     
  7. SoundDesk Virtual Devices icon

    SoundDesk Virtual Devices

     5 likes
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    The SoundDesk Virtual Devices are connectors that you can use to route audio across apps.

    17 SoundDesk Virtual Devices alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    SoundDesk Virtual Devices screenshot 1

    SoundDesk Virtual Devices Features

    1.  Virtual Audio Cable
    2.  Connecting audio streams
    3.  Sound drivers

    SoundDesk Virtual Devices VS Loopback

     
6 of 6 Loopback alternatives