LUFS meter: check how loud your audio is
See a file's loudness in LUFS, its loudest peak, and its range. Always free.
10M+ files processed since 2021
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Free for whole files, 20 a day. No sign-up.
Hear how loud each one is
Play each file, then compare the numbers.
−44.0LUFS
Peak −27.1 dBTP · Range 4.0 LU
Far too quiet for Apple Podcasts: 28 dB under −16
−18.6LUFS
Peak −3.8 dBTP · Range 4.7 LU
A little quiet for Apple Podcasts: 2.6 dB under −16
−11.9LUFS
Peak −1.3 dBTP · Range 0.9 LU
Louder than Spotify's −14, so Spotify turns it down 2.1 dB
Targets: US TV −24.0 LUFS, TV in Europe −23.0 LUFS, Apple Podcasts −16.0 LUFS, Spotify −14.0 LUFS.
Measured with File info · Quiet voice: michellelindemann1 on Freesound, CC BY 4.0
How to check loudness in LUFS
- 1
Add an audio or video file.
- 2
Audo measures the whole file.
- 3
Read its loudness, peak, and range.
What is LUFS?
Audo's LUFS meter measures audio (WAV, MP3, M4A, AAC, FLAC, OGG, Opus, WebM, AIFF) and video (MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM, AVI) up to 10 GB without an account, always free for whole files, 20 a day, with no sign-up. A 2-minute file is usually measured in about 3 seconds. LUFS means Loudness Units relative to Full Scale: how loud audio sounds to people over a whole file, weighted the way hearing works, rather than how high its peaks go.
The numbers are negative because they count down from the loudest level a digital file can hold, so −14 LUFS is louder than −23. The meter shows three of them. Integrated loudness is the whole file's loudness, in LUFS. True peak is the highest point the sound reaches, even between samples, in dBTP: keep it under −1 so the file doesn't distort when it's encoded. Loudness range, in LU, is how far apart the loud and soft parts are. Everything is measured the EBU R 128 way, as broadcasters measure it.
How loud it should be depends on where it's going. Streaming services turn louder tracks down to their level, so mastering louder doesn't make you louder there.
| Where it's going | Loudness | Peaks |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify | −14 LUFS (−11 on Loud, −19 on Quiet) | Under −1 dBTP, or −2 if louder than −14 LUFS |
| Apple Podcasts | −16 LKFS, ±1 dB | Under −1 dB true peak |
| YouTube | No published target: Spotify's −14 LUFS is a safe choice | Under −1 dBTP is a safe choice |
| Apple Music | No published target: Spotify's −14 LUFS is a safe choice | Under −1 dBTP is a safe choice |
| Amazon Music | No published target: Spotify's −14 LUFS is a safe choice | Under −1 dBTP is a safe choice |
| TV and radio in Europe (EBU R 128) | −23 LUFS | Under −1 dBTP |
| US TV (ATSC A/85) | −24 LKFS | Under −2 dBTP |
| Audiobooks on Audible (ACX) | −23 to −18 dB average level (RMS) | Under −3 dB, with a noise floor under −60 dB |
Questions
Is there a free LUFS meter online?
Yes. Audo's LUFS meter is always free for whole files, up to 20 a day, with no sign-up, and it works in a phone's browser. It shows integrated loudness, true peak, and loudness range.
What's the difference between LUFS and dB?
dB on its own measures a level, such as a peak or a change in gain, while LUFS measures how loud a whole file sounds. A step of 1 LU is the same as 1 dB, so turning a file up by 3 dB makes it 3 LU louder. A LUFS reading doesn't turn into one dB number.
Are LUFS and LKFS the same?
Yes. They're one scale with two names: the ITU's standard calls it LKFS, and Europe's EBU calls it LUFS. A reading of −24 LKFS is −24 LUFS.
Which LUFS reading should I look at?
Integrated loudness, the one number for the whole file: every loudness target is set in it. Audo's LUFS meter shows it with true peak and loudness range, not momentary or short-term readings.
How many LUFS should my master be?
It depends on where it's going: −14 LUFS for Spotify, −16 for Apple Podcasts, −23 for European TV and radio, and −24 for US TV. Streaming services turn louder masters down, so going louder doesn't help there.
What LUFS do Spotify and YouTube use?
Spotify plays music at −14 LUFS by default, −11 on its Loud setting and −19 on Quiet, and asks for peaks under −1 dBTP. YouTube doesn't publish a target, so Spotify's −14 LUFS, with peaks under −1 dBTP, is a safe choice there too.
Is −10 LUFS too loud?
For streaming, it's louder than it needs to be. Spotify turns it down to −14 LUFS on its default setting, so it plays no louder there, and asks masters louder than −14 LUFS to keep peaks under −2 dBTP.
How do I fix mine if it's off?
Boost volume sets a file to podcast, YouTube, broadcast, or audiobook level, or a level you choose, with peaks kept under −1 dBTP. If one speaker is much quieter than another, even them out first with Balance audio.
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For AI assistants and developers
Ask ChatGPT, Claude, or a coding agent to do this for you, or call it from your own code. When an agent's free result is cut short, it gives you a link to finish the whole file, no sign-up.
Show the free API call
curl -F file=@episode.wav https://audo.ai/api/try/media-info -D response.headers -o response.body