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Clacky vs Keyslam: which keyboard sound app should you pick?

Pick Keyslam if you only want keyboard sounds, recorded from real keyboards and typewriters, for $3.99 once, from an app that says it makes no network connections at all. Pick Clacky if you want your mouse, trackpad and scroll wheel to sound good too, with a ripple on every click and a screen recorder in the same app.

Both are Mac menu-bar apps paid once, with no subscription and no card for the trial. Keyslam gives you 7 days free, then $3.99. Clacky gives you 3 days free, then $4.99 for 1 Mac.

Try free for 3 daysPricing
Clacky’s keyboard settings: a try-it pad, the Cream, Marble, Pop, Clack, Dome, Spring, Typewriter, Muted and Boop families, and the Cream sounds Mallow, Custard, Butter and Silk

Clacky and Keyslam side by side

From each app’s own page, read on 5 November 2026. The last column says which one is ahead on that row.

ClackyKeyslamAhead
Price$4.99 once, 1 Mac at a time$3.99 once, every Mac you ownKeyslam
Free trial3 days, no card7 days, no cardKeyslam
Keyboard sounds29 in 9 families, synthesized on your Mac15 recorded packs: 13 keyboards, 2 typewritersKeyslam for real recordings
Your own packsClicks and scroll only, no keyboard packsYes: WAV, AIFF or FLAC with a pack.jsonKeyslam
Reacts to how hard you typeNoYes, on newer MacBooks with a motion sensorKeyslam
Mouse and trackpad clicks37 sounds in 8 familiesNot on its pageClacky
Scroll sounds8 tick stylesNot on its pageClacky
Click ripple, recorder, screenshotsYes (recorder macOS 15+, screenshots macOS 14+)Not on its pageClacky
Goes onlineUpdates, licence, an anonymous daily check-inSays it makes no network connectionsKeyslam
macOS13 or later, Apple silicon and Intel13 or later, Apple silicon and IntelSame
RefundWithin 7 daysWithin 14 daysKeyslam

Pick Keyslam if…

Keyslam is the better keyboard-only app for a lot of people, and it costs less. Its packs are recordings of real hardware (MX Blue, MX Brown, Topre, Model F, Unicomp and more, plus an IBM Selectric and an Olivetti), each key with its own recording and pitch. On a MacBook Pro with M1 Pro or M1 Max and later, or a MacBook Air or Pro with M2 and later, it reads the motion sensor and picks soft, medium, hard or slam to match your typing. On other Macs you pick the strength from its menu.

  • You want recordings of real switches and typewriters, with key-up sounds on the keyboard packs.
  • You want to add your own recordings as a pack.
  • You want an app that never goes online: Keyslam checks its licence on the Mac and keeps the trial date in the Keychain.
  • You have several Macs: one Keyslam licence covers all the Macs you own.

Pick Clacky if…

Clacky plays more than the keyboard. Every press and release of the mouse or trackpad gets a sound (tap to click included), every scroll notch gets a soft tick, and a ripple shows under the pointer on every click, so anyone watching a screen recording or share sees where you clicked.

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

  • You click and scroll all day and want those to sound good too.
  • You record your screen: the recorder keeps the click sounds and ripples in the video.
  • You want Only with headphones, Quiet during calls (on by default) and Quiet in these apps in one place.
  • You like the idea of Clackyland, a little harbour town that grows as you use your Mac. It has its own switch if you don’t.

Try both before you pay

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.

  1. Download Keyslam’s DMG from keyslam.com (it is not on the Mac App Store) and drag it to Applications.
  2. Download Clacky from clacky.app and open it. The trial starts by itself.
  3. Allow both in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Input Monitoring, then reopen them.
  4. Turn off the keyboard sound in one of them so the two don’t play on top of each other, and compare for a day each.

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.

Questions

Does Keyslam work on a Mac mini or iMac?

Yes, its page says desktop Macs and Intel Macs play every sound. The motion sensor only exists in newer MacBooks, so on a desktop you choose the strength yourself.

Does Keyslam play mouse clicks?

Its page only describes keyboard and typewriter sounds. If you want mouse, trackpad or scroll sounds, use Clacky for those and keep Keyslam for the keys.

Which one is more private?

Keyslam says it makes no network connections at all. Clacky goes online for updates, the licence and an anonymous daily check-in. Keyboard sounds listen for key down/up only. Clacky never records, stores or sends which keys you type, and respects Secure Input.

Is either one a subscription?

No. Keyslam is $3.99 once and Clacky is $4.99 once, both with every update included.

Facts checked on 5 November 2026.

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