System audio capture tools, compared
Every serious way to record what your computer is playing, on macOS and Windows, with an honest account of where each one is the better choice. These are comparisons rather than instructions; if you already use AudioRoute and want the step-by-step, those live in the guides.
BlackHole is free and the common starting point on Mac, but it is a virtual cable, so you reroute your output and set up an aggregate device. VoiceMeeter is free and far more powerful on Windows, at the cost of a real learning curve. Loopback and Audio Hijack are excellent and Mac-only, and priced well above a capture tool. Sound Siphon is Mac-only too. AudioRoute is the narrow one: capture into a DAW track, a virtual input or a WAV, the same way on both platforms, EUR 39 one-time with a 14-day trial.
All the tools, side by side
BlackHole, Loopback, VoiceMeeter, Sound Siphon, Audio Hijack and AudioRoute in one table: platform, price, how each one captures, and which fits which job. Start here.
AudioRoute vs BlackHole
BlackHole is free and widely used. Where it still wins, where the setup cost shows, and how to move across in about five minutes.
Loopback alternative
Rogue Amoeba's Loopback is an excellent routing tool. If the job is capturing system audio into a DAW or a file, here is the narrower, cheaper answer, on Windows as well as Mac.
VoiceMeeter alternative
VoiceMeeter is free and very capable, and it asks a lot of you up front. Where each one wins, and when the simpler tool is the right call.
VoiceMeeter for Mac: it does not exist
There is no macOS build, and a virtual machine will not get you one. The Mac equivalents, sorted by the job you actually need done.
Audio Hijack alternative
Audio Hijack is a deep session-based recorder, and it is Mac only. When that depth is worth it, and when a plug-in on a track is all you needed.
Sound Siphon alternative
Mac only, and newer macOS keeps re-asking it for permission. The same core job on both platforms, with the permission prompt asked once.