Volume² vs EarTrumpet vs Volumouse: which Windows volume tool?

Volume², EarTrumpet and Volumouse all improve on the Windows volume control, and all three are free. They solve different problems, though. This is an honest side-by-side, written by the author of one of them, so we've stuck to what each program's own documentation says and linked to it.

Checked in September 2026 against Volume² 1.1.9, EarTrumpet 2.3 and Volumouse 2.21.

The short version

EarTrumpet is the best-looking per-app mixer. Click its tray icon and every program gets a slider, and you can move programs between speakers and headphones.
Volumouse is a tiny rules engine for the mouse wheel, and it still runs on very old versions of Windows.
Volume² is about controlling the volume without opening anything: the wheel over the taskbar, screen edges or any window, hotkeys, a skinnable on-screen display, a tray icon that shows the level, and a scheduler.

Side by side

	Volume²	EarTrumpet	Volumouse
Price	Free (the Microsoft Store and Steam editions are paid and support development)	Free	Free
License	Freeware	Open source (MIT, with an added clause)	Freeware
Windows	XP through 11 (64-bit from 1.1.9.469; 1.1.9.468 for 32-bit)	10 (1803 and later) and 11	98 through 11
Mouse wheel	Over the tray icon, taskbar, tray, desktop or window titles; along screen edges; anywhere with a modifier key or mouse button	Over its tray icon, or anywhere while its flyout is open	Rules: modifier keys, a held mouse button, over the taskbar or title bars, screen corners and edges, specific windows
Hotkeys	Yes: volume, mute, switching devices, brightness, media keys, per-app mute	Yes: opening the flyout, mixer and settings, and device volume	Yes, as an alternative to the wheel
Per-app volume	The active program or a chosen list, with one extra set of keys for a single program	A slider for every program in the tray flyout	A rule can target a specific program
Move a program to another device	No (use the Windows mixer)	Yes	—
Switch the default device	Yes: favourites, a device window, a hotkey	Yes, from the tray icon	—
On-screen indicator	Text, skin or bar style; about 40 skins; can hide the Windows popup	None of its own	A vertical or horizontal bar with size, position and transparency options
Peak meters	A separate meter window with 27 skins	Multi-channel meters in the flyout	—
Automation	Scheduler (set volume, switch device, run a program) and a local web control page	—	—
Where to get it	Installer, portable, Microsoft Store, Steam, Chocolatey, winget	Microsoft Store, winget, Chocolatey	Installer or zip from NirSoft

A dash means we couldn't find the feature in that program's own documentation. If it's there and we missed it, tell us in the comments and we'll fix the table.

EarTrumpet

EarTrumpet replaces the speaker icon's flyout with one that lists every program playing sound, each with its own slider and a live level meter. You can change the default device from its tray icon and send a program to a different output. It follows Windows' light and dark mode and accent colour, updates through the Microsoft Store, and won the Microsoft Store Community Choice Award in 2022.

Its wheel support is deliberately narrow: over its own tray icon, or anywhere while the flyout is open. It doesn't draw its own volume indicator.

Choose EarTrumpet if you mainly want to see and set every program's volume in one place, and move programs between devices.

Volumouse

Volumouse is a small NirSoft utility built entirely around the mouse wheel. You write rules: "when Alt is held", "when the pointer is over the taskbar", "when this window is in front", and each rule says what the wheel controls, including a specific program's volume on Windows Vista and later. It shows a simple bar while you scroll and can use hotkeys instead of the wheel. It runs without installing and supports Windows versions back to 98.

Choose Volumouse if you want fine-grained wheel rules in a very small program, or you're on an old version of Windows.

Volume²

Volume² sits in between and adds what the other two don't. The wheel works over the taskbar, the tray, the desktop, window title bars and screen edges, or anywhere with a held key. The on-screen indicator comes in three styles with about 40 skins, and it can replace the Windows popup. The tray icon shows the level as a number, with 47 tray skins. It also has hotkeys for devices, brightness and media, a scheduler that sets the volume or switches devices at a set time or when a device changes, and a small web page for controlling it from your phone on the local network. It's translated into 33 languages.

Its per-app control is keyboard-first: the wheel and keys can follow the program in front, or one program can get its own keys. It isn't a full per-app mixer like EarTrumpet's, and it can't move a program to a different device.

Choose Volume² if you want to change the volume without opening anything, and you'd like to choose how the indicator looks.

Can I use more than one?

They overlap less than you'd think. EarTrumpet is a mixer you open; Volume² and Volumouse work in the background. If you try Volume² with another tool that also hooks the mouse wheel, give each one different triggers so they don't both react to the same scroll.