KiiwiCupertinoClicks alternative for Mac: Kiiwi vs CupertinoClicks
Updated October 2026. Prices and features checked against each app's own website.
CupertinoClicks and Kiiwi are close cousins. Both are menu bar apps that play mechanical keyboard sounds on your Mac, both add mouse click sounds, and both cost $4.99 once with no subscription. The differences are in what surrounds the sounds. CupertinoClicks adds a typing trainer and on-screen overlays. Kiiwi goes deeper on the recordings and adds typing stats.
Here's the honest comparison, written by the person who makes Kiiwi.
The short answer
- Choose CupertinoClicks if you're on macOS 13 Ventura, you want a notch visualizer or an on-screen keyboard overlay, or you like a tone pad and a built-in typing trainer.
- Choose Kiiwi if you want recordings made key row by key row, key-up sounds, scroll wheel ticks, typing stats with share cards, and a page for every switch where you can type on it and compare it with its rivals.
Kiiwi vs CupertinoClicks at a glance
| Kiiwi | CupertinoClicks | |
|---|---|---|
| Keyboard sounds | 32 named switches, 38 recordings | 30 presets: 26 switch profiles and 4 novelty sounds |
| How the sounds are made | Real recordings, each keyboard row recorded separately | Described as realistic switch recordings |
| Spatial audio | Yes, placed by key position | Yes, opt-in, panned by key zone |
| Key-up sounds | Yes, on 22 of 38 recordings | Not stated |
| Mouse click sounds | 8 packs, plus scroll wheel ticks | 5 click presets |
| Typing stats | Daily keys, streaks, best WPM, top apps, share cards | Keystroke counter, built-in typing trainer |
| Sound tuning | Volume, five pitch variants per key | Tone pad for thock and clack, volume |
| Extras | Hear every switch in the browser, off from anywhere with ⇧⌘K | Notch visualizer, on-screen keyboard overlay, Focus Mode |
| Try before you buy | Every switch plays in your browser | A free browser typing trainer previews the same sounds |
| Price | $4.99 once for the first 100 buyers, then $6.99 | $4.99 once |
| Macs per licence | 2 | 2 on the website licence |
| macOS | 14 Sonoma or later | 13 Ventura or later |
The switches
CupertinoClicks has 30 presets. By its own menu, 26 of them are switch profiles, among them Cherry MX Black, Blue and Brown, Drop Holy Panda, Topre Classic, Kailh Box Navy, Durock Alpaca and an IBM buckling spring. The other four are novelty sounds.
Kiiwi has those and more: 32 named switches in 38 recordings, because several are recorded more than one way, stock and lubed, or on ABS and PBT keycaps. You can open any of them to type on it, for example the Holy Panda, Topre, Cherry MX Blue and the buckling spring of an IBM Model M.
How they sound
Both apps place each key's sound by where it sits on the keyboard, so Q comes from your left and P from your right.
On the recordings, Kiiwi records the number, top, home and bottom rows separately, the way a real board sounds slightly different across its rows. Every sample is trimmed so the sound lands with your finger, and each key picks one of five pitch variants so a long sentence never sounds like one sample on repeat. 22 of the 38 recordings also play a sound when you release the key.
CupertinoClicks lets you shape the sound with a two-axis tone pad between a deeper thock and a brighter clack, and it offers latency levels in its settings.
The best way to choose is to listen. Type in the playground on Kiiwi's homepage, or open any switch to type on it.
Beyond the keyboard
Both apps play mouse sounds. Kiiwi has 8 click packs and six scroll wheel tick styles. CupertinoClicks has 5 click presets.
Kiiwi counts your typing (keys per day, streaks, your best WPM over a full minute and the apps you type in most) and turns your week into a share card. It counts how many keys, never which ones.
CupertinoClicks is built around practice and visuals: a typing trainer in the app and in the browser, an optional keyboard overlay that lights up keys in any app, a visualizer in the MacBook's notch, and a Focus Mode that mutes the sound in apps you choose, such as Zoom or games.
Privacy
Both apps only listen for the fact that a key was pressed, never record what you type. They ask macOS for different permissions: CupertinoClicks asks for Input Monitoring, and Kiiwi asks for Accessibility. Both are listen-only for this job, and you can take either away in System Settings. Kiiwi sends two things: a licence check and a daily check for updates. Your typing and your stats stay on your Mac. Read exactly what it does on Kiiwi's privacy page.
Price and where to buy
Both are $4.99 once, and neither is a subscription. Kiiwi's price is $4.99 once for its first 100 buyers, then $6.99. Each licence covers two Macs. Kiiwi downloads from its website and is notarized by Apple, so it opens like any other app.
Which should you pick?
- Pick CupertinoClicks if you're on macOS 13, want the notch visualizer or keyboard overlay, or want a typing trainer built into your sound app.
- Pick Kiiwi if you want recordings made row by row, key-up sounds, scroll ticks, typing stats and share cards, or a page to compare every switch before you choose.
Questions
What's the difference between Kiiwi and CupertinoClicks?
Both play mechanical switch sounds from the menu bar, add mouse clicks, and cost $4.99 once. Kiiwi has 32 named switches in 38 recordings, key-up sounds, scroll ticks and typing stats. CupertinoClicks has 30 presets, a tone pad, a typing trainer, a notch visualizer and a keyboard overlay, and it runs on macOS 13.
Does Kiiwi have the same switches as CupertinoClicks?
Most of the named ones, yes. Kiiwi has the Cherry MX Black, Blue and Brown, Holy Panda, Topre, Kailh Box Navy, Alpaca and an IBM buckling spring, among 32 switches in total. CupertinoClicks also includes four novelty sounds that Kiiwi does not.
Does Kiiwi work on macOS 13 Ventura?
No. Kiiwi needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later. CupertinoClicks runs on macOS 13.
Does Kiiwi have a notch visualizer or typing trainer?
No. Kiiwi stays focused on sound, with typing stats and share cards on top. CupertinoClicks has a notch visualizer, a keyboard overlay and a typing trainer.
Can I try Kiiwi before buying?
Yes, and you don't need to download anything. Try how each switch sounds in the playground on the homepage, then open any switch in the switch library to type on it. If it still isn't right for you, Kiiwi has a 14-day money-back guarantee.
CupertinoClicks is a product of its developer, Serhii Chernikov. Kiiwi isn't affiliated with CupertinoClicks. Details were checked on 8 October 2026 and may have changed since.
Sources: CupertinoClicks' own website and FAQ (presets, mouse sounds, price, macOS requirement, permissions, licence).
Hear Kiiwi before you decide
Type on any of the 38 recordings in your browser. No download, no account. Kiiwi needs macOS 14 or later, costs $4.99 once for the first 100 buyers and $6.99 after, and hears that a key was pressed, never what you typed.
Try the switches