MorendoFineTune vs Morendo: which one should I choose?
FineTune if you want one slider per app, free, open source and driverless: it also does the equalizer, routing and headphone correction. Morendo if you want buses you set once, an equalizer and a keyboard shortcut per bus, one bus to several outputs, latency shown on screen and an interface in French, for 19 € once. Both are built on macOS process taps, so neither installs a driver.
We make Morendo. This guide is not trying to change your mind if FineTune suits you: it saves you the quarter of an hour it would take to compare the two windows feature by feature.
What the two do the same
FineTune and Morendo were born from the same opening: since macOS 14.4, an app can intercept another app's sound without an audio driver. Both live in the menu bar, ask for a single permission at first launch, system audio recording, and uninstall by dragging the app to the Trash. Both give a volume to every app that plays, a ten-band equalizer, several outputs, global keyboard shortcuts, and both require macOS 15 or later.
If you stop reading here, take FineTune: it is free.
What FineTune has, and Morendo does not
- The price: free, open source under the GPL, installable through Homebrew.
- A boost of up to 4× for an app that is too quiet. Morendo stops at 100%.
- AutoEQ headphone correction, with thousands of importable profiles, and loudness compensation at low volume.
- Input control: the microphone level is adjusted in the same place.
- System details: alert volume, brightness and volume of an external display through DDC, Bluetooth devices connected from the menu.
- URL schemes to drive the app from Shortcuts, Raycast or a script.
It is a long list, and an honest one: FineTune is the most complete tool of the driverless generation for anyone who adjusts apps one by one.
What Morendo has, and FineTune does not
- Named buses, Media, Chat, Game, Other or your own, that keep their setting from one launch to the next. An app dragged into Chat stays there, after an update, even if another voice client replaces it.
- An equalizer per bus, with 21 presets written by use case: Footsteps on Game applies to every game, Clear voice on Chat applies to Discord and Zoom alike.
- Shortcuts per bus, with an on-screen confirmation panel. FineTune's shortcut targets whichever app is playing when you press it, which gets ambiguous when the game and Discord play together.
- One bus to several outputs at different levels: the game in the headset, the music in the room.
- Latency measured on your hardware and displayed, and the guarantee that an app left at 100% takes no delay at all.
- An interface in English and French, a publisher who answers by email, a signed and notarized DMG with automatic updates, and an invoice with VAT.
| FineTune | Morendo | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, open source | 19 € once, one Mac, 14-day trial |
| No driver, no admin password | Yes | Yes |
| Model | One slider per app | Named buses, set once |
| Boost above 100% | Up to 4× | No |
| Equalizer | 10 bands per app, 20 presets, AutoEQ | 10 bands per bus, 21 presets by use case |
| Keyboard shortcuts | On the app currently playing | Per bus, with on-screen confirmation |
| Outputs | Several, routing per app | One bus to several, a level per output |
| Latency shown | No | Measured, visible |
| Mic, alerts, DDC, Bluetooth, URL schemes | Yes | No |
| Languages | English | English, French |
| Minimum macOS | 15 | 15 |
Checked on September 10, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us, we fix it.
When FineTune is enough
Three common situations where we would tell you not to pay us.
One app is too loud. Spotify drowns the browser, or the other way round. One slider per app fixes that in ten seconds, and FineTune remembers it.
One app is too quiet. A video call participant you cannot hear, a badly mixed video: that is a job for boost, and Morendo has none.
A headset to correct. If you know AutoEQ and want your headset's curve applied permanently, FineTune does it, Morendo does not.
When Morendo is worth 19 €
You game with Discord. The game in Game, Discord in Chat, a shortcut that turns Chat down mid-match without knowing which app is "playing" at that instant. It is the case Morendo was written for, and the guide Lower Discord without lowering the game walks through it.
Several apps share a role. Discord, Zoom and Teams in Chat; Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube in Media. One setting, one equalizer, one shortcut per role, and a new app is sorted by dragging it in.
Two outputs at different levels. The same bus in the headset and on the speakers, each at its own level. FineTune routes an app to several outputs; Morendo routes a bus, with a level per output.
Add French, and someone to write to. If none of these points concerns you, FineTune is the right pick, and we would say so to a friend.
Try both, one at a time
FineTune is free, Morendo has a 14-day trial with every feature, no card. Test them one after the other rather than together, over a week of real use: what matters is not the feature list, it is how many times you reopen the window to redo a setting.
Frequently asked questions
Is FineTune really free?
Yes. FineTune is published under the GPL on GitHub, with no paid tier and no locked feature. The author accepts a donation without expecting one. You can install it from the repository or through Homebrew.
Can Morendo push an app above 100%?
No. Morendo sets a bus between 0 and 100%, and its equalizer can lift some frequencies, but it has no boost. For an app that is genuinely too quiet, FineTune's boost of up to 4× is the tool you need.
Can I import my FineTune settings into Morendo?
No, the two models are different: FineTune adjusts apps, Morendo adjusts buses. Recreating three buses and dragging your apps into them takes two minutes, and the setting then holds from one launch to the next.
Can I run both at the same time?
Try them one after the other. Two mixers capturing the same app end up adjusting each other, and you will no longer know which one is doing what. Quit one before launching the other, for as long as it takes to choose.
Download Morendo, 14-day trial See the comparison
Related guides: Lower Discord without lowering the game · Background Music alternative · A per-app equalizer without a driver