EarTrumpet vs Microsoft PowerToys
We give EarTrumpet and Microsoft PowerToys the same GPA: 3.2 out of 4.0. They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Microsoft PowerToys
Free Microsoft utilities for customizing Windows 10 and 11
Free
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAEarTrumpetVery good | 3.2GPAMicrosoft PowerToysVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree on the Microsoft Store with no in-app purchases, and the source is on GitHub. The project takes sponsors, but nothing is held back if you don't chip in. | AIt costs nothing. Every utility is free and open source under the MIT license, and there's no paid edition to be nudged towards. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe whole app is free. The Store terms even let you install it on up to ten Windows devices under one Microsoft account. | AAll of it is free, from GitHub, the Microsoft Store or WinGet. The one thing that can cost money is pasting with AI, and only if you connect an online model provider that charges for usage. |
| Features | AIt does one thing and does it fully: a volume slider per app, moving an app's sound to another playback device, and switching the default device in two clicks. There's a standalone mixer with peak meters, plus hotkeys and scroll-wheel control. | AMore than 30 utilities in one install. FancyZones for window layouts, Command Palette as a launcher, key and shortcut remapping, bulk renaming, a color picker and text lifted off the screen with OCR. That's a lot of jobs people install separate apps for. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. Install it from the Microsoft Store, click the tray icon, drag a slider. It follows light and dark mode and comes in more than 20 languages. | BNo store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. One settings app turns each utility on or off, which keeps things tidy. There are fiddly corners though: apps running elevated need PowerToys run as administrator before FancyZones can snap them. |
| Platforms and integrations | DWindows only: Windows 10 version 1803 and later, and Windows 11. There's no Mac or Linux version, and the only tie-in listed is Feedback Hub. | DWindows only: Windows 11, or Windows 10 version 2004 or newer, on x64 or ARM64. Advanced Paste can connect to OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Mistral or Ollama, and it installs through WinGet. Nothing for Mac or Linux. |
| Best for | a separate volume for each app on Windows | a free box of Windows extras from Microsoft |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: EarTrumpet and Microsoft PowerToys. How we grade
Where they differ
- EarTrumpet is free. Microsoft PowerToys is free.
- EarTrumpet also covers menu bar app.
- Microsoft PowerToys also covers launcher, window management, file management and keyboard and mouse remapping.
In commonFree planWindowsOpen source
At a glance
| EarTrumpet | Microsoft PowerToys | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | The US Microsoft Store lists the app as Free with no in-app purchases, and it can also be installed with winget or Chocolatey. The GitHub project accepts sponsors. | Every utility is free and open source; there is no paid edition. Optional AI pasting can incur usage charges from the model provider you connect. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Windows | ||
| Made by | File-New-Project | Microsoft |
| Price read from | apps.microsoft.com | learn.microsoft.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
EarTrumpet
- Windows users who want a different volume for each app
- People who switch often between speakers, headsets and other outputs
- Anyone who wants a free volume mixer that matches the Windows 10 and 11 look
Microsoft PowerToys
- Windows users who want window layouts, a launcher and key remapping from one free install
- Developers and power users who work mostly from the keyboard
- People who prefer open-source tools published by the maker of the operating system
Worth knowing
EarTrumpet
- Windows only. The README lists Windows 10 version 1803 and later and Windows 11 as supported.
- When the app crashes it sends diagnostic details, such as exception, version and system settings, to Bugsnag, as its privacy document describes.
- Automatic updates are listed as coming through the Microsoft Store; winget and Chocolatey are offered as command-line installs.
- The license is the MIT License with a preface that bars three named companies from reproducing, distributing or adapting the software.
Microsoft PowerToys
- Windows only: it needs Windows 11 or Windows 10 version 2004 or newer on a 64-bit x64 or ARM64 processor.
- Paste with AI is off by default and needs a model provider; online providers require your own API key and may charge for usage.
- Keyboard Manager remaps apply only while PowerToys is running, do not work on the log-in screen and cannot differ between keyboards.
- FancyZones cannot snap some listed apps, and apps running elevated need PowerToys to run as administrator.
Key features
EarTrumpet
- Per-app volume
- Controls the volume of both classic and modern Windows apps, app by app, from a flyout opened at the system tray icon.
- Move apps between devices
- An app's audio can be moved from one playback device to another, so different programs can play through different outputs.
- Default device in two clicks
- The flyout manages the default playback device, and the context menu keeps shortcuts to the legacy volume mixer and app volume preferences.
- Standalone mixer with peak meters
- A standalone volume mixer window is included, and audio activity is visualized with peak meters that are aware of multiple channels.
- Hotkeys and scroll wheel
- Hotkeys are configurable and can adjust several devices at once, and optional settings change the volume with the scroll wheel anywhere or over the tray icon.
- Matches the Windows look
- The flyout follows light and dark mode and every accent color, and the interface has been translated into more than 20 languages.
Microsoft PowerToys
- FancyZones
- A window manager for custom zone layouts. Hold Shift while dragging a window to snap it into a zone, or let Win+arrow keys move windows between zones. Layouts are built in a grid or canvas editor.
- Command Palette
- A launcher opened with Win+Alt+Space that starts apps, runs commands, searches files and the web, calculates and switches windows. Community extensions install from a built-in Extension Gallery.
- Keyboard Manager
- Remaps single keys and shortcuts, globally or for one app, and can map a key or shortcut to a text sequence, an app launch or a URI.
- Advanced Paste
- Pastes clipboard content as plain text, Markdown, JSON or a file, extracts text from images with local OCR, and can transform text through an optional AI provider that you configure.
- File Explorer tools
- PowerRename renames files in bulk with search and replace or regular expressions, Image Resizer resizes images from the right-click menu, and File Locksmith shows which processes are using a file.
- Screen and text tools
- Color Picker samples colors anywhere on screen, Text Extractor copies on-screen text with OCR, Screen Ruler measures pixels, and ZoomIt zooms, annotates and records the screen for presentations.
Plans
EarTrumpet
EarTrumpet$0
The complete app. The Store terms allow installing it on up to ten Windows devices while signed in to a Microsoft account.
Microsoft PowerToys
PowerToys$0
All utilities, installed from GitHub, the Microsoft Store or WinGet. Free and open source under the MIT license.
