EQBaseEQBase vs eqMac
Last checked: August 4, 2026 · eqMac v1.8.15
EQBase and eqMac solve the same problem: macOS has no system-wide equalizer, and both add one by routing your Mac's audio through a virtual output device before it reaches your speakers or headphones. Their feature lists overlap heavily.
We'd rather you pick the right one than the one we sell, so here is the short version:
- Choose eqMac if you want free and open source, you're on a Mac older than macOS 14, or you want the lowest price. It's a well-established project, it's actively maintained, and it costs less than EQBase at every tier.
- Choose EQBase if you care about what the processing does to the signal: zero added latency, transparency you can verify live, convolution with measured correction files, linear-phase and dynamic EQ, crossfeed, and a headphone library about twice the size.
Where eqMac wins
Worth stating plainly, because these are real advantages and no comparison table from a vendor should bury them.
- Price. eqMac Pro is $3/month, $30/year, or $40 once. EQBase Pro is $4.99/month, $39.99/year, or $79.99 once. If cost is the deciding factor, eqMac wins outright.
- It runs on far older Macs. eqMac supports macOS 10.13 and later. EQBase requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later, because it's built on APIs that don't exist on older systems. If your Mac can't run Sonoma, EQBase is not an option for you at all.
- It's open source. eqMac is published under the Apache 2.0 licence, so you can read exactly what it does and build it yourself. EQBase is closed source. For a program that installs an audio driver, some people reasonably treat that as decisive.
- It's been around longer, with a large user base and years of releases behind it.
Where EQBase is different
These are the things EQBase was built to do that we don't find equivalents for in eqMac's published feature list.
- Zero added latency. Every stage passes the direct signal at the same frame. Even the convolution engine runs its head as a direct filter so the tail lands exactly where the head stops. Two features add latency and both are opt-in and disclosed in the app: the true-peak limiter (2 ms) and linear-phase EQ.
- Transparency you can check, not just trust. With everything flat or bypassed, EQBase is bit-perfect: samples leave exactly as they arrived. The app verifies this continuously against the live signal and shows the result, rather than asking you to take "transparent" on faith.
- Sound Correction by convolution. Load a measured impulse response and it is applied exactly, sample for sample, instead of being approximated with EQ bands.
- Linear-phase and dynamic EQ in the Expert equalizer, alongside the usual minimum-phase filters.
- Crossfeed using the bs2b algorithm, for long headphone sessions.
- 8,600+ headphone corrections from the AutoEQ project, against eqMac's advertised 4,600+.
- Auto Switch, which changes preset automatically based on your output device or the app in front, and per-device memory for volume, balance and preset.
- Loudness-matched A/B compare and global hotkeys, so you can judge a change by tone rather than by volume.
Feature comparison
| EQBase | eqMac | |
|---|---|---|
| Price, monthly | $4.99 | $3 |
| Price, yearly | $39.99 | $30 |
| Price, one-time | $79.99 | $40 |
| Free tier | ✓ | ✓ |
| Minimum macOS | 14.0 | 10.13 |
| Open source | – | ✓ |
| Basic & 10-band EQ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Parametric EQ (Pro) | 24 bands | unlimited |
| Spectrum analyzer (Pro) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Separate L/R EQ (Pro) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Per-app volume (Pro) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Audio Unit hosting (Pro) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Spatial audio (Pro) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Headphone corrections | 8,600+ | 4,600+ |
| Crossfeed | ✓ | – |
| Convolution / impulse responses | ✓ | – |
| Linear-phase & dynamic EQ | ✓ | – |
| Auto Switch by device or app | ✓ | – |
| Loudness-matched compare | ✓ | – |
| Zero added latency | ✓ | not stated |
| Live bit-perfect verification | ✓ | not stated |
A "–" means we could not find the feature in that product's published documentation, and "not stated" means the product makes no claim either way. Neither is a claim that something doesn't work. If we've got a detail wrong, tell us and we'll correct this page.
What they have in common
Both install a user-space virtual audio device rather than a kernel extension, both work with any output device, both offer a free tier that is genuinely usable, and both let you process every sound your Mac makes rather than one app at a time. If you only need tone controls for everything, either will do the job and eqMac will do it for less.
How to decide
Both have a free tier, so the honest answer is to try them. EQBase's free tier includes the 10-band equalizer, all 8,600+ headphone corrections, Auto Switch, global hotkeys and loudness-matched compare, with no time limit; Pro adds the deeper tools and carries a 14-day refund. If you're not sure whether you need a system-wide equalizer at all, start with does macOS have a built-in equalizer?
Comparison compiled August 4, 2026 from eqmac.app and the eqMac GitHub repository (latest release v1.8.15, published April 24, 2026). eqMac is not affiliated with EQBase or Bold Biscuit. Prices and features change; check both sites before buying. See also EQBase vs Boom 3D.