Download MiniMeters for Mac

In the edit

If you already keep an eye on your levels with a basic meter, MiniMeters is the next step up. It's a straightforward audio metering application and plug-in suite for macOS, and it slots into a session in a few useful places.

Spot problem areas with a frequency spectrum display

• Checking individual tracks with a frequency spectrum display, so you can spot problem areas before they pile up.
• Watching buses and the master with a LUFS meter that's spec compliant since v0.7.0 — handy for judging loudness across a mix.
• Running as a standalone app to check system audio, whether that's a quick playback test or a room check.

Works on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 10.15 or newer

• Works on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, with macOS 10.15 or newer.
• The installer comes as a .dmg file, and the official help says to open MiniMeters.pkg during installation.
• Version 1.0 landed on 2025-08-01, and the latest release, 1.0.30, fixes long-standing bugs and small UI issues.

How MiniMeters stacks up against other Mac metering tools

There are a handful of audio metering apps on macOS, and each one takes a slightly different approach. MiniMeters sits somewhere between the big all-in-one analysers and the tiny menu-bar meters you might already have tucked away.

Compared with Youlean Loudness Meter, MiniMeters is noticeably lighter on its feet. For a quick glance at what's happening across the frequency range, MiniMeters keeps everything in one place.

Meters by Blue Cat Audio is another option, especially if you want a full suite of analysis tools that can be dropped into any DAW. Where MiniMeters differs is the standalone mode. You can run it on your desktop while you play audio from any source — YouTube, Spotify, a video call — and see the metering in real time. That's harder to set up with Blue Cat's plug-ins unless you route audio through a separate host.

AudioTools by Studio Six Digital is aimed more at acoustic measurement and field work. MiniMeters stays focused on what happens inside your mix. It doesn't try to measure room response or RTA in the same way, so if you're mainly checking levels and frequency balance on a track, MiniMeters gives you what you need without extra features you won't use.

A session with MiniMeters, start to finish

Let's say you've finished arranging a track and you're starting the mix. You open your DAW and load a session with about thirty tracks. Before you touch a fader, you launch MiniMeters as a standalone app and set it to monitor system audio. You play the rough mix from the start and watch the LUFS meter. It's reading around -16 LUFS integrated, which is a bit louder than you expected for this style. You make a mental note to bring the overall level down later.

Next, you open MiniMetersServer in your DAW and route the master bus to it. Now the metering display is driven directly by your DAW output rather than the system audio, which gives you a more accurate reading. You solo the kick drum and look at the frequency spectrum. There's a bump around 60 Hz that feels a little boxy. You reach for an EQ and cut a couple of decibels there. The spectrum display updates instantly, so you can see the change before you even play the loop again.

You move on to the bass guitar. The waveform display shows that the sustain is uneven across notes, with some hitting harder than others. You adjust the compressor threshold and watch the waveform even out. The stereo meter confirms that the bass is sitting in the centre, which is what you want.

By the time you reach the chorus, you toggle between the mix and a reference track by switching the input in MiniMetersServer. The LUFS meter shows that your chorus is a few decibels quieter than the reference. You push the master fader up a little and check again. The peak meter catches a transient that's clipping, so you back it off and let the limiter handle the rest.

At the end of the session, you close MiniMetersServer and leave the standalone app running for a quick playback check before you export. It's become part of the routine without getting in the way.

Mixing engineers keep a dedicated metering window visible outside the DAW

MiniMeters is useful for anyone who works with audio on a Mac, but three groups tend to lean on it more than others.

Mixing engineers benefit from having a dedicated metering window that stays visible even when your DAW's mixer is scrolled to a different section. You can park MiniMeters on a second screen or beside your arrange window and keep an eye on the master bus without switching views. The LUFS meter is especially helpful when you're balancing a mix against a commercial reference, because you can match loudness without guessing.

Mastering engineers often work with a single stereo file and need to check every detail before committing. The frequency spectrum and waveform displays give you a clear picture of the material without adding processing. If you're comparing different masters of the same track, MiniMeters lets you A/B the inputs quickly through the server setup, which saves time when you're trying to decide between two versions.

Producers who record at home get a lot of value from the standalone mode. When you're tracking vocals or acoustic instruments, you can run MiniMeters on the same Mac and watch the levels without adding latency to your recording chain. It also helps with monitoring your listening environment — if you play pink noise through your monitors and check the spectrum display, you can spot frequency imbalances in the room that might affect your mix decisions.

Long-standing bugs fixed for better stability in certain DAW configurations

• Fixed long-standing bugs that affected stability in certain DAW configurations.
• Small UI improvements across the spectrum and waveform displays.
• General polish to the standalone and server modes.

New this release

• v1.0.30 fixes long-standing bugs and small UI issues.

Mac it needs

• macOS 10.15 or newer
• Intel or Apple Silicon