How to control Sonos from a Mac
There are four ways: Sonos's own Mac app, the Sonos web app, AirPlay, and a third-party controller. All four work on a Mac with Apple silicon.
Updated
1. Sonos's own Mac app
Sonos makes a free app for macOS, downloaded from sonos.com rather than the Mac App Store. Since its update of 25 August 2026 it runs natively on Apple silicon, so it no longer needs Rosetta. Sonos notes that its desktop app does not have every feature of the phone app.
Pick it if you want the official app and its basic controls: rooms, volume, groups and your music services.
2. The Sonos web app
Sonos also runs a web app at sonos.com/web-app. It works in Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Edge, with nothing to install. It covers the basics — play and pause, choose what to play, group rooms — but not setting up speakers or changing system settings.
Pick it if you don't want to install anything, or you use more than one computer.
3. AirPlay from the Mac
Sonos speakers that support AirPlay 2 show up as outputs on the Mac. Choose one in Control Center under Sound, or from the AirPlay button in the Music app, and the Mac's audio plays on it.
This streams what the Mac is playing; it does not control Sonos itself. Grouping, the Sonos queue and your Sonos favourites stay in the Sonos apps.
Pick it if you want a film, a video call or anything else the Mac plays to come out of a Sonos speaker.
4. A third-party controller: Doppelgänger
Third-party apps talk to your speakers directly over your home network. Doppelgänger is one of them: a desktop controller for Sonos, made for the Mac. It shows every room in one window and uses the music services your Sonos system is already signed in to, with no second login.
It also does three things Sonos's own apps don't:
- Scenes. One click restores a whole arrangement: which rooms are grouped, and every speaker's volume. How it works.
- Any radio station by its stream URL. No TuneIn listing needed, with now-playing text and your own artwork. How it works.
- Turn a station into a playlist. Listening to a station or radio mix from your music service? Doppelgänger notes the songs as they play and saves the list as a Sonos playlist. How it works.
It needs a Mac with Apple silicon and a Sonos S2 system on the same network. Every feature is free for 14 days; after that it stays free for one room, or €29.95 once for your whole home. All features · Pricing.
Pick it if you control Sonos from your Mac every day and want more than the basics.
At a glance
| Sonos Mac app | Sonos web app | AirPlay | Doppelgänger | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free | Free | Free for one room; €29.95 once for all |
| Install | From sonos.com | None, in the browser | Built into macOS | From this site |
| Your Sonos music services | Yes | Yes | No: plays what the Mac plays | Yes |
| Group rooms | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Scenes, radio by stream URL, station to playlist | No | No | No | Yes |
Questions
Is there a Sonos app for Mac?
Yes. Sonos makes a free Mac app, downloaded from sonos.com, and a web app that runs in the browser. Third-party controllers such as Doppelgänger are a third option.
Does the Sonos Mac app run on Apple silicon?
Yes. Since its update of 25 August 2026, Sonos's Mac app runs natively on Apple silicon and no longer needs Rosetta.
Can I play my Mac's sound on Sonos?
Yes, on Sonos speakers that support AirPlay 2: pick the speaker under Sound in Control Center. That sends the Mac's audio to the speaker; it does not control Sonos.
Do I still need the Sonos app on my phone?
Yes, for setting up speakers, adding music services, firmware updates and Trueplay. Everyday listening — rooms, groups, volume, your music services — works from the Mac.