The one-line difference
Both apps live in your menu bar, read Notification Center through the macOS Accessibility API entirely on-device, and give each app its own notification sound. The difference is what happens next: Chirpy stops at sound, while TrillMark also flashes a color on screen with the app's name on it — so you can tell it was Slack vs. Mail vs. a reminder at a glance, and it still works when the sound is off, your headphones are out, or you can't hear at all.
What Chirpy does well
If per-app sound is the whole of what you want, Chirpy is a focused, polished option, and it's genuinely good at it. It's fair to say where it's strong:
Chirpy's strengths
A large library of 72+ bundled sounds; a powerful rule engine that matches by app, Slack channel, person or keyword with AND/OR logic and wildcards (like #prod-*); custom uploaded audio (.mp3/.wav/.caf); per-rule volume; and support for macOS 13 and Intel Macs as well as Apple silicon, plus a 3-day free trial. One-time $19.99.
That last line is the whole point of TrillMark. Chirpy can make your notifications sound different; it can't make them something you can see.
Where TrillMark is different
TrillMark starts from the same idea — a sound per app — and then does the part Chirpy doesn't:
- You can see it. Give each app a color, and when it notifies you TrillMark flashes that color on screen with the app's name drawn on it — a menu-bar blink, a band along a screen edge, or a full-screen wash. Because the name is on the flash, it works even if you're color-blind.
- Built Deaf / hard-of-hearing first. Every alert can be purely visual, at a brightness and speed you choose, with a gentle no-strobe option and a short log of recent alerts so one you looked away from isn't lost.
- Clip a song, right in the app. Cut a few seconds from a song you own to use as a sound — no exporting a file first.
- Louder when it matters. Boost an important app above 100%, up to 200%, so it cuts through music or a call.
- It costs less. One-time $7.99 launch price (regularly $14.99), up to 3 Macs, 14-day money-back — versus Chirpy's $19.99.
TrillMark vs Chirpy, side by side
| Capability | TrillMark | Chirpy |
|---|---|---|
| Different sound per app | Yes | Yes |
| Upload your own audio | Yes | Yes |
| Clip a song inside the app | Yes | No — upload a file |
| Bundled sounds | 24 | 72+ |
| Rule matching | Title & body keywords | App, channel, person, keyword + wildcards |
| Boost volume above 100% | Yes, to 200% | Per-rule volume |
| On-screen visual alert | Yes | No |
| Shows which app (labeled) | Yes | No visual |
| A color per app | Yes | No visual |
| Deaf / hard-of-hearing friendly | Yes — labeled + colored | Sound only |
| macOS version | 26 or later | 13 or later |
| Mac hardware | Apple silicon | Apple silicon + Intel |
| Try before you buy | 14-day money-back | 3-day free trial |
| Price (one-time) | $7.99 (reg. $14.99) | $19.99 |
No slight to Chirpy on the rows where it leads — more bundled sounds, a deeper rule engine, and support for older macOS and Intel Macs are real advantages if that's what you need. TrillMark trades some of that breadth for the thing Chirpy doesn't do at all: a notification you can see.
Made to be seen, not just heard
TrillMark works completely without sound. Every app's alert can appear as a flash in its color with its name on screen — a full-screen wash or a quiet band at the edge — so you always know who it is, in total silence. It's built for Deaf and hard-of-hearing users first, and just as helpful when your headphones are in or the room has to stay quiet.
You choose how bright each flash is and how long it lasts, with a gentle, no-strobe option if you're sensitive to flashing light. This is the part a sound-only app can't reach — no volume, tone or rule tells you which app fired when you're not listening. TrillMark tells you at a glance.
Which one should you choose?
Choose TrillMark if…
- You want to see which app notified you, not just hear it
- You're Deaf or hard of hearing, or often work in silence
- You want the sound and a labeled, colored on-screen flash
- You'd like to pay less ($7.99 vs $19.99)
Chirpy may fit better if…
- You only want custom sounds, with no visual side
- You lean on a deep rule engine (channels, wildcards)
- You need the biggest bundled-sound library
- You're on an older macOS or an Intel Mac TrillMark doesn't support
Sound and a flash you can see
Give the apps that matter their own sound and their own labeled color, and know which app notified you without stopping to look — even in silence. One-time $7.99, up to 3 Macs, 14-day refund. Apple silicon, macOS 26+.
Get TrillMarkMore reading: how per-app notification sounds work on Mac · setup guides for Slack, Mail, Teams and more.