Klack Alternatives: Mechanical Keyboard Sounds on Mac

The main Klack alternative on Mac is Mechvibes. It's free, open source, runs on Mac, Windows and Linux, and supports custom sound packs. Gubb also plays system-wide keyboard sounds as one feature of a notes and clipboard app, but it forgets your sound settings every time it launches.

There are three common reasons to look past Klack. It costs money, it's Mac only, and it comes with six keyswitch sounds (none of the reviews we found mention custom packs). macOS has no setting that plays mechanical click sounds as you type, so you need an app either way.

The short list:

• Mechvibes: best free alternative. It ships with 10 keyboard packs and 4 mouse packs, supports community and custom packs, and runs on Mac, Windows and Linux.
• Gubb: best if you also want quick notes, clipboard history and timers, with keyboard sounds as an extra. It has 12 packs but resets them at every launch.
• Klack itself: the only one of the three described as playing separate key-down and key-up sounds with random pitch, plus a one-press toggle.

We make Gubb, so weigh our view accordingly. We've tried to be fair to every app here.

Klack alternatives at a glance

Prices and details as of November 2026.

Klack

Klack is a Mac menu bar app, written in Swift, that does one thing: it plays mechanical keyboard sounds as you type.

What it's good at:

• It plays different sounds for key-down and key-up, and it randomly shifts the pitch up and down as you type, so repeated keys don't all sound identical.
• You choose from six keyswitch sounds.
• Command-Control-K (⌘⌃K) turns it on and off, so you can mute it for a call without opening anything.
• According to 9to5Mac, Klack does not collect any user data.

What it lacks:

• It's Mac only.
• None of the reviews we found mention custom or imported sound packs, so assume you're limited to the six sounds.
• It costs money, while Mechvibes is free.

Price: a third-party review gives $5 on the Mac App Store. We couldn't confirm the current price or whether there's a trial, so check the App Store listing before you buy. The latest version we saw was 1.7.2, in a review from around March 2025.

Who should keep it: anyone who likes one of the six sounds and wants press-and-release clicks plus a quick on/off shortcut.

Mechvibes

Mechvibes is a free, open-source app that plays keyboard and mouse sounds with every keystroke and click. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and its official home is the Mechvibes GitHub repository.

What it's good at:

• It ships with 10 keyboard sound packs (Cherry MX, EG and Topre switches) and 4 mouse packs.
• There's a community library of packs, and you can make your own. That's the main reason to choose it if none of Klack's six sounds suit you.
• Ctrl+Alt+M turns all sounds on or off.
• You can switch the output device (headphones, speakers or a virtual device) in its settings without restarting the app.
• It has themes and ambient sounds, and it runs in the background.
• The same app works on every desktop OS, which helps if you switch between a Mac and a PC.

What it lacks:

• It only does keyboard and mouse sounds.
• Mechvibes 3 replaced both the original Electron app (Mechvibes 2) and MechvibesDX. Older reviews and tutorials may describe one of those, so screenshots and steps you find elsewhere might not match.

Price: free and open source, as of November 2026.

Who should pick it: most people looking for a Klack alternative. Start here if you want it free, want more packs or mouse sounds, or use more than one operating system.

Gubb keyboard sounds

Gubb is a notes app first. It's a small window for quick notes, checklists and Kanban boards, with clipboard history, voice-to-text into notes, timers and break reminders built in. Keyboard sounds are one of its features. They're system-wide, so they play while you type in any app, not only in Gubb.

What it's good at:

• 12 bundled packs: "Default", "NK Cream", "EG Oreo", "EG Crystal Purple", and ABS and PBT versions of Cherry MX Black, Blue, Brown and Red.
• A volume slider from 0 to 100 % in steps of 5.
• It detects key presses with a listen-only event tap and doesn't send what you type anywhere.
• The same price also gets you notes, to-dos, clipboard history, a countdown and stopwatch timer, and break reminders.

What it lacks (and this matters for this job):

• Nothing is remembered. Every time you open Gubb, keyboard sounds are off again, and the pack and volume go back to "Default" and 100 %. You have to switch them on and pick your sound each session.
• Key releases make no sound, so you get one click per key rather than Klack's press-and-release pair.
• There's no shortcut to toggle sounds. You turn them on and off in Settings.
• You can't import custom packs, and it plays sounds for key presses only.
• Sounds only play while Gubb is running.

Price: $59 one-time for a lifetime license that activates on up to 3 devices, as of November 2026. The direct download from gubb.net comes with a 7-day free trial, and there's also a Mac App Store version. Gubb is available for Windows on the Microsoft Store, but keyboard sounds are documented for macOS, so we don't promise them on Windows.

Who should pick it: people who already want a quick-notes or clipboard app and would enjoy keyboard sounds as an extra. If keyboard sounds are the only thing you want, Klack or Mechvibes is the better tool, and Gubb's reset at every launch will annoy you.

Turn on keyboard sounds in Gubb

1. Open Gubb and move the pointer to the right edge of the note to show the button column.
2. Click Settings.
3. Choose Keyboard Sounds.
4. Turn on Enable keyboard sounds.
5. If macOS asks, allow Gubb under Input Monitoring. If sounds still don't play, quit and reopen Gubb, then repeat step 4.
6. Pick a pack under Sound Type and set Volume.

Repeat steps 4 and 6 each time you open Gubb. The keyboard sounds section of the help center covers the same setup.

Which Klack alternative to pick

• Pick Mechvibes if you want it free, want custom or community packs, want mouse click sounds, or use Windows or Linux as well as a Mac.
• Pick Gubb if you want a notes, clipboard and timer app anyway and don't mind turning sounds on each time you open it.
• Stay with Klack if one of its six sounds suits you and you value key-up sounds, pitch variation and a one-press toggle.

If keyboard sounds don't play

1. Permission not granted. An app that clicks along while you type in other apps has to see your key presses, and macOS must allow that, usually under Input Monitoring. Open System Settings, go to Privacy & Security, then Input Monitoring, and make sure the app is switched on. Restart the app after changing this. Gubb doesn't show an error when the permission is missing; the sounds just don't play.
2. The app isn't running. Gubb's sounds stop when you quit Gubb. Check the menu bar for its icon.
3. Sounds switched off after a relaunch. In Gubb this is expected. Turn Enable keyboard sounds back on.
4. Volume or output. Check the app's own volume (Gubb's Volume slider) and your Mac's output device. Mechvibes lets you pick the output device in its settings.
5. Two apps clicking at once. If you're trying a new app, quit or turn off the old one, or you'll hear doubled sounds.

Should you switch at all?

Klack does its one job well. The separate key-down and key-up sounds with random pitch are a detail neither alternative is described as matching, the ⌘⌃K toggle is convenient, and the reported price is low. If your only complaint is wanting a different sound, try each of its six switches before moving.

Switch to Mechvibes if price, custom packs or other platforms are the issue. Consider Gubb only if keyboard sounds are a nice extra on top of an app you'd use for notes and clipboard history. Our guide to adding keyboard sounds on Mac walks through setup in more detail, and our list of menu bar apps for Mac covers other small utilities.

FAQ

Does Gubb remember my keyboard sound settings?

No. As of November 2026, keyboard sounds are off at every launch, and the pack and volume reset to "Default" and 100 %. You turn them on again in Settings ▸ Keyboard Sounds.

Is there a free Klack alternative?

Yes. Mechvibes is free and open source, runs on Mac, Windows and Linux, and supports custom sound packs.

Do keyboard sound apps record what I type?

They have to detect each key press to play a sound, which is why macOS asks for Input Monitoring. Gubb uses a listen-only tap and doesn't save keystrokes to its database or send them anywhere. The current build does print key events to its local debug console while sounds are on, and that output stays on your Mac. 9to5Mac reports that Klack collects no user data. Mechvibes is open source, so anyone can read its code.

Does macOS have built-in keyboard sounds?

No. macOS has no setting that plays click sounds as you type on a physical keyboard, so you need an app like the ones above.