# How to Change the Volume in Smaller Steps on Mac

Updated: November 12, 2026

Supercharge: Price: $20, one-time purchase, plus tax where applicable. Platforms: macOS. Get it from: [Setapp](https://go.setapp.com/stp181?refAppID=742&utm_medium=vendor_program&utm_content=button), [Gumroad](https://sindresorhus.gumroad.com/l/supercharge?wanted=true). Free trial: [download](https://sindresorhus.com/supercharge#trial). Requires macOS 26.4 or later. Free older versions for macOS 15: [download](https://sindresorhus.com/supercharge#older-versions).

URL: https://sindresorhus.com/guides/volume-smaller-steps-mac

Hold Option+Shift while you press a volume key. The volume changes in smaller steps. To get smaller steps without holding keys, use [Supercharge](https://sindresorhus.com/supercharge).

## With Supercharge

1. Open [Supercharge](https://sindresorhus.com/supercharge), and give it the access that it asks for in [“Device Control and Data Access”](https://sindresorhus.com/apps/faq#device-control-access).
1. Open the Supercharge settings, and click “Tweaks”.
1. In the “Keyboard” section, set “Volume key step size” to “Half” or “Quarter”.
1. Press a volume key. The volume changes in smaller steps.

“Brightness key step size” does the same for the brightness keys. Hold Option while you press a key to get a normal step. It may not work with some keyboards that are not from Apple.

## Without an app

- **Volume:** Hold Option+Shift, and press the volume up or down key.
- **Brightness:** Hold Option+Shift, and press the brightness up or down key.

[Apple’s keyboard shortcuts.](https://support.apple.com/102650) This is enough when you only sometimes need a small change. Supercharge is for when you want small steps each time, like with headphones, where a normal step is loud.