BlackHole is a free, open-source macOS virtual audio driver that lets any application send audio directly into any other application — all with zero latency and no signal degradation.
What is BlackHole?
BlackHole is a virtual audio device for macOS, built and maintained by Existential Audio, that creates one or more software audio buses your Mac treats exactly like real hardware. Once installed, it appears in System Settings and in every audio-aware app alongside your AirPods, your interface, your speakers — the OS simply cannot tell the difference. Plug an app's output into BlackHole, point another app's input at the same device, and audio flows between them with no conversion loss whatsoever.
It ships in two channel variants: a 2-channel build for simple stereo routing and a 16-channel build for more elaborate multi-bus setups where you need to keep stems, chat, music, and system audio on separate tracks simultaneously. Power users install both; they coexist without conflict.
What does BlackHole do best?
BlackHole excels at screen-recording and podcast capture — the two tasks where Mac audio routing has historically been maddening.
Before tools like this existed, recording a system's internal audio on a Mac meant either buying a dedicated app (Loopback, SoundFlower back in the day) or surrendering to the speaker-in-front-of-microphone absurdity. With BlackHole you build a multi-output device in Audio MIDI Setup that simultaneously drives your speakers and BlackHole 2ch, set that as your system output, then tell QuickTime, OBS, or Audition to record from BlackHole 2ch. Your guest hears you on headphones; your recording captures perfect 24-bit system audio. No third-party app subscription required.
DAW users find it equally valuable. Routing Spotify or a reference track from a browser into Logic Pro, Ableton, or Reaper for level matching used to require an audio interface loopback trick. BlackHole collapses that into a one-hop virtual cable.
- Zero-latency virtual cable — no buffering introduces delay between source and destination
- Bit-perfect signal path — no resampling, no compression, no colour
- 16 discrete channels — route stems, click tracks, and comms on separate buses simultaneously
- Plays well with Aggregate Devices — combine BlackHole with your interface in Audio MIDI Setup for simultaneous monitoring and recording
- Apple Silicon native — runs as a universal binary; no Rosetta overhead
Is BlackHole free?
Yes — BlackHole is completely free to download and use. Existential Audio publishes it on GitHub under a permissive open-source licence, and there is no paid tier, no watermark, and no feature gating. The project accepts voluntary donations and sponsorships, but nothing is paywalled.
Installation requires a quick package installer rather than a direct App Store download, because kernel-level audio drivers cannot be distributed through Apple's sandbox. On Apple Silicon Macs you will need to allow the system extension in Privacy & Security settings — a one-time step that takes about thirty seconds.
Who should use BlackHole?
BlackHole is for anyone on a Mac who has ever stared at an audio routing problem and wondered why the OS makes it so hard. That said, a few groups get the most out of it immediately.
Podcasters and streamers use it to feed system audio, guest audio from Zoom or Discord, and music beds into a single DAW track without bleed. Screen-recorders and tutorial makers use it to capture app audio cleanly in OBS or QuickTime without sacrificing speaker monitoring. Musicians and producers use it to route between apps — send a drum machine's output into a convolution reverb running in a different DAW, or feed a soft synth into a hardware-style FX chain. Developers building audio apps use it for testing signal paths without needing physical hardware in the loop.
If you are a casual user who just wants to record a FaceTime call once a year, BlackHole will work, but the Audio MIDI Setup configuration it typically requires is not zero-friction. Loopback from Rogue Amoeba is the more approachable (paid) alternative for that audience. For everyone else willing to spend ten minutes on setup, BlackHole is the serious tool.
What are the best BlackHole alternatives?
The closest direct competitors are Loopback (Rogue Amoeba, paid — gorgeous GUI, drag-and-drop routing, passes App Store-style review), Soundflower (the classic that BlackHole replaced — essentially unmaintained on modern macOS, avoid), and Audio Hijack (also Rogue Amoeba — records rather than routes, different use case). For Windows users crossing to Mac, VB-Audio VoiceMeeter does not exist here, but the mental model maps onto BlackHole plus a mixer like a DAW or the free MIDI Monitor ecosystem.
BlackHole wins on price and signal purity. Loopback wins on beginner-friendliness and GUI comfort. If you are already comfortable in Audio MIDI Setup and Core Audio concepts, BlackHole is the better choice in every other dimension.
