Audio Stem Separation
We tested and ranked 29 Audio Stem Separation apps for Mac — updated August 2026.
Every app here was run on our own Apple-silicon Macs and scored on the published rubric — capability, craft, privacy, value. We watch the network while we test. How we rank →
You have a finished mix and you need the vocals on their own — for a karaoke night, a remix, or to practice your bass part against the rest of the band. Stem separation apps use AI to pull a mixed recording apart into isolated layers: vocals, drums, bass, guitar, piano, or broader instrument groups. The best ones do it entirely on your Mac, so the track you are splitting never leaves your hard drive.
We scored 29 stem-separation apps in the Mac App Store across capability, craft, privacy, and value. The field ranges from dedicated two-stem vocal removers to full DAWs with six-way splitting, and from completely offline tools running Demucs or Apple's Neural Engine to cloud-reliant services whose processing happens on a server. Here are the strongest options.
The ranking — all 29
Logic Pro: Make Music
Apple Inc.Apple's flagship DAW brings a six-way Stem Splitter that cleanly isolates drums, bass, vocals, guitar, piano, and other instruments on-device. It is the most polished option here, though stem separation is a single feature inside a heavyweight production environment.
” Use Stem Splitter to separate nearly any mixed audio recording into six distinct parts... Requires iPadOS 26 with Apple A17 Pro chip or later — test note
djay - DJ App & AI Mixer
Algoriddim GmbHThe category leader for DJing, with Neural Mix providing real-time on-device isolation of vocals, drums, and instrumentals. Separation is a side feature of a deeply polished app — and it only works on local files, not streamed music.
” NEURAL MIX: Isolate vocals, drums, and instrumentals in real time (not available with Apple Music or Spotify) — test note
StemLab: Vocal Remover, Stems
Lauper Labs, LLCA standout dedicated splitter: four- or six-stem AI separation runs fully on-device, then drops you into a real multi-track mixer with effects, A/B looping, recording, and flexible export. No cloud queue, and a one-time lifetime purchase keeps it subscription-free.
” 'runs the AI separation entirely on your device'; 'your music never leaves the device' — test note
Remixlive - Make Music & Beats
MIXVIBESA polished beat-making and live-loop app that tacks on AI stem separation to let you remix any song. It is well-rated for performance work, but separation is peripheral and the app does not confirm whether it runs on-device.
” Remix any song with our AI Stem separation algorithm — test note
Unmix AI Voice Drums Extractor
Beat Squad LLCA simple AI splitter that turns songs — or pasted media URLs — into vocal and instrument stems for practice and remixing. Handy for quick karaoke exports, but the URL-download workflow and absence of any on-device claim suggest server-side processing.
” split songs into separate stems - vocals and instruments - using AI — test note
Video Audio Splitter MSV Remix
Future Moments LLCA focused tool that separates a video's soundtrack into voice, music, and ambience stems for remixing and cleanup. It fills a genuine niche — stem separation applied to video audio — but never claims on-device processing and charges aggressively.
” uses advanced AI to instantly separate and enhance the sound from any video; Split your video's audio into clean, editable tracks, called stems — test note
ClutchCut Audio
QIANG GAOA native Mac DAW that runs CoreML Demucs and Open-Unmix separation, voice isolation, Whisper-style transcription, and 54-voice Kokoro TTS — all fully on-device with no fees. Broad local AI ambitions in a single free package.
” 100% on-device AI handles transcription, voice isolation, stem separation, mastering, and multilingual text-to-speech ... no internet required; 4-stem CoreML separation via Demucs v2 and Open-Unmix — test note
VocalRemover: Vocal Separation
Weida FanA clean, privacy-first vocal remover that runs a deep neural network on your device to split songs into vocals and instrumental. It exports in ALAC, AAC, and PCM with A/B comparison — fully local, free, and no-nonsense.
” deep neural networks to split a song; let the model separate it on-device; Runs entirely on your device—no uploads, no cloud processing — test note
Logic Pro
Apple Inc.The Mac-native edition of Apple's pro DAW, with the same six-way Stem Splitter isolating drums, bass, vocals, guitar, piano, and other instruments on Apple Silicon. A one-time $199.99 purchase with no subscription, it is the gold standard — and a heavy investment if splitting is your only goal.
” Use Stem Splitter to separate nearly any mixed audio recording into six distinct parts; AI Session Players; Mastering Assistant — test note
Vocal Remover · Stem Splitter
Oleh LohinovSplits any song into vocals, drums, bass, and other stems on-device using the Demucs v4 model, with per-stem volume control and export. Free, offline, and requiring no account — a focused, private four-stem splitter.
” right on your device using the Demucs AI model. No internet required; On-Device Processing - your music never leaves your phone — test note
How to choose Audio Stem Separation for Mac
The first question is how many stems you actually need. Two-stem apps give you a vocals track and an everything-else track — fine for karaoke or isolating an acapella. Four-stem splitters separate drums, bass, vocals, and other instruments, which is enough for most remix and practice workflows. Six-stem tools add guitar and piano as distinct outputs, useful if you are transcribing or re-arranging individual parts.
Next, check where the processing happens. Apps like StemLab and ClutchCut Audio run separation entirely on your device — your audio never leaves the Mac. Others, like Unmix AI, accept pasted URLs and show signs of server-side processing, which means your music travels to someone else's infrastructure. If you are working with unreleased material or client sessions, on-device processing is worth prioritizing.
Model quality varies. Several apps run Meta's open-source Demucs network; Logic Pro uses Apple's own Neural Engine model. The underlying model matters more than the app's marketing copy — Demucs v4 and Logic's Stem Splitter both produce clean, artifact-light stems, while generic or unnamed models can sound phasier.
Finally, consider what you do after the split. Some apps drop you into a mixer with effects, looping, and export controls; others hand you raw audio files. If you plan to remix in your own DAW, a simple file export is all you need. If the stem splitter is your entire workflow, built-in mixing tools save a step.
Questions people ask
Can I extract an instrumental from a song on a Mac without uploading it?
Yes. Several apps on this list run the entire separation model on your Mac's processor or Neural Engine. StemLab states that it "runs the AI separation entirely on your device" and "your music never leaves the device." ClutchCut Audio advertises "100% on-device AI" with "no internet required." After an initial model download these tools work fully offline, keeping your audio private.
What is the difference between two-stem and six-stem separation?
A two-stem split gives you vocals and instrumentals — enough for karaoke or acapella extraction. A four-stem split adds separate drums and bass tracks. Six-stem separation, offered by Logic Pro's Stem Splitter and some dedicated apps, also isolates guitar and piano individually, which is more useful for transcription, re-arrangement, or detailed remixing of individual parts.
Do I need a full DAW just to separate stems?
No. Dedicated splitters like Vocal Remover · Stem Splitter and VocalRemover handle separation and export without the overhead of a production environment. Logic Pro is the highest-rated option here, but if you only want to pull vocals or stems from a track, a focused app will do the job faster and at no cost.