Level Hound › Level Hound vs Voicemeeter
Level Hound vs Voicemeeter
Updated November 10, 2026
Voicemeeter is a virtual audio mixer for Windows: you get mixer strips and buses and route everything yourself. Level Hound is a microphone app for Windows that processes your voice automatically and hands it to other apps as a virtual microphone. Both are free to download. Choose Voicemeeter if you want a full manual mixer with many inputs and outputs; choose Level Hound if you mainly want your voice to sound finished everywhere without learning a mixer.
Sources. Voicemeeter facts on this page were read from voicemeeter.com, and SteelSeries Sonar facts from steelseries.com/gg/sonar, on November 10, 2026. Products change; check those pages for the current details. Level Hound is made by Quill Hound, which wrote this page.
At a glance
| Level Hound | Voicemeeter | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Microphone processing and routing app with an AI producer | Virtual audio mixer, in Standard, Banana and Potato editions |
| Price | Free. No subscription, no account | Free to use with all functions; donationware, and users are expected to pay a licence if they find it useful or use it professionally. Potato is activated with a code obtained by donation |
| Inputs and outputs | Your microphone plus up to four co-host mics; Level Hound Mic, with optional Stream and Chat mics | Standard: 3 inputs, 3 outputs. Banana: 5 and 5. Potato: 8 and 8 |
| Who sets the levels | The AI producer adjusts gain, EQ, compression and noise suppression as you speak | You do, with compressor/gate and EQ controls; Potato adds a full parametric EQ and a multiband compressor |
| Noise removal | Built in, and it warns you if another app is also suppressing noise | Potato lists a Denoiser |
| Virtual devices | Level Hound Mic runs on VB-CABLE, a separate one-time install, in the current release | Virtual inputs and outputs are included, with virtual ASIO I/O |
| Audio over the network | No. The optional phone remote controls the app; it does not carry audio | VBAN: 4 streams in and out in Standard, 8 in Banana and Potato |
| Recording | Records mic, desktop and each app on its own track; replay buffer of the last minute | 8-channel recorder in Banana and Potato (MP3, WAV, BWF, AIFF) |
| Extras | Soundboard, voice changer on your own GPU, type to speak, Stream Deck plugin, OBS scene rules, local API | Programmable macro buttons; 3D panoramic and binaural effects; reverb in Potato |
| Windows support | Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit | Windows, including 24H2 and ARM64 systems |
What Voicemeeter does better
- More routing. Potato mixes eight inputs to eight buses. If you run several hardware devices, instruments or a second PC, Voicemeeter has a channel count Level Hound does not.
- Virtual devices are included. Voicemeeter comes with its own virtual inputs and outputs. Level Hound currently relies on VB-CABLE, which you install separately.
- ASIO and network audio. Voicemeeter offers virtual ASIO I/O and VBAN for sending audio between computers. Level Hound offers neither.
- Manual control. Every strip, bus and effect is yours to set. If you know what you want from a mixer, nothing is automated away.
- ARM64. Voicemeeter lists support for ARM64 Windows systems.
What Level Hound does differently
- It sets itself up. The AI producer listens as you speak and adjusts gain, EQ, compression and noise suppression, so there is no gain staging to learn.
- It repairs itself. When a Windows update, reboot or sleep changes your default mic, renames a device or drops a route, Level Hound puts it back and tells you what it fixed.
- It finds the cause of problems. A sound check explains crackle and dropouts, and Level Hound spots Discord, Windows enhancements or NVIDIA Broadcast processing your voice a second time.
- It is built for talking. Soundboard on hotkeys, a voice changer that runs on your own GPU, ducking, echo cancellation for calls, and automatic mix-minus so callers never hear themselves.
- It steps back for games. Game mode steps back automatically when a full-screen game starts, and anti-cheat safe mode keeps Level Hound's own driver out of the way. See the compatibility list.
Where SteelSeries Sonar fits
SteelSeries Sonar is another virtual audio mixer for Windows, offered as a free download and described by SteelSeries as working with any headset and any mic. Its page lists a mixer for game, chat, media, aux and mic channels, drag-and-drop routing of apps to those channels, a parametric EQ, ChatMix, AI noise cancellation, spatial audio, presets and a Streamer Mode. Sonar is built around how games sound in your headset, which Level Hound does not try to match. Level Hound is built around how your voice sounds to everyone else.
Which should you choose?
- Choose Voicemeeter if you want a manual mixer with many inputs and buses, ASIO, or audio between PCs, and you are comfortable setting levels and EQ yourself.
- Choose SteelSeries Sonar if game sound, spatial audio and EQ presets matter most.
- Choose Level Hound if you want your microphone to sound finished in Discord, OBS and calls with as little setup as possible, plus a soundboard and voice effects.
Common questions
Is Level Hound a Voicemeeter alternative?
Level Hound overlaps with Voicemeeter for one job: getting a microphone, cleaned up, into Discord, OBS and calls on Windows. Level Hound sets levels, EQ, compression and noise suppression automatically, while Voicemeeter is a manual virtual audio mixer with more inputs, outputs and routing options. Both are free to download.
Can I use Level Hound and Voicemeeter together?
Level Hound Mic appears in Windows as an ordinary recording device, so any app that lets you choose a microphone can select it, the same way Discord and OBS do. Level Hound then handles the voice and the other app handles its own routing.
Related: route one mic to Discord and OBS and virtual audio cable setup.
Level Hound is free for Windows 10 and 11. No account, no subscription.