Clacky vs Keyboard Sounds Pro: which is better on a Mac?

Pick Keyboard Sounds Pro if…

Keyboard Sounds Pro is the most adjustable free option we found. You can set a profile for each app, change volume, pitch, pan and EQ per output device, set hotkeys, show the modifier keys you press on screen for tutorials and streams, and import or export profiles to share. Mac support arrived in version 0.3.2 as one universal DMG, next to Windows and Linux installers.

• You use a Mac and a PC and want the same app on both.
• You want to build your own keyboard and mouse profiles.
• You like detailed audio controls.

Pick Clacky if…

Clacky is a native Mac menu-bar app, signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens like any other app. It plays the mouse and the trackpad (tap to click included), ticks for every scroll notch, and keys that sound a little left or right by where they sit on the keyboard. It also draws a coloured ripple under the pointer and records your screen with the clicks in the video, which helps if you were planning to make tutorials.

Keyboard sounds listen for key down/up only. Clacky never records, stores or sends which keys you type, and respects Secure Input.

• You want trackpad and scroll sounds, not only keys and mouse buttons.
• You want a click ripple that any recorder or screen share shows.
• You’d rather pick from ready-made sounds than build your own.

What to know before you install

Keyboard Sounds Pro’s release notes don’t say whether the Mac app is notarized. If macOS blocks the first launch, you can usually right-click the app and choose Open, or click Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security. Any keyboard sound app also needs Input Monitoring there.

keyboardsounds.net describes Keyboard Sounds, with a desktop app for Windows and Linux and a command-line version. The Pro app on GitHub is the one with the Mac DMG. You can run both. Turn off the Keyboard Sounds tile in Clacky’s My Kit, and Clacky keeps playing your clicks and scroll ticks while the other app plays your keys.

Where these facts come from

Checked on 5 November 2026. Prices are in US dollars, before tax. Apps change, so check each page before you buy.

• Keyboard Sounds Pro: GitHub README and releases
• Keyboard Sounds: keyboardsounds.net
• Clacky: clacky.app, privacy and the 17-app guide