What LUFS means
LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) is a measure of how loud a track sounds, not just how high its peaks are. It weights frequencies the way human hearing does and averages over the whole track, ignoring silence. Streaming services use it to level songs against each other so you do not have to reach for the volume knob between tracks.
Streaming loudness targets
| Platform | Approx. target | Behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify | −14 LUFS (default setting) | Turns loud tracks down; can turn quiet tracks up |
| YouTube | about −14 LUFS | Turns loud tracks down; does not boost quiet ones |
| Apple Music (Sound Check) | −16 LUFS | Adjusts both ways when Sound Check is on |
| Tidal | about −14 LUFS | Normalises when the setting is on |
Platforms change their settings from time to time, and listeners can switch normalisation off. Treat these as a guide and check the platform’s current documentation.
Do I have to master to −14?
No. If your master is louder than the target, the platform simply lowers it, so being much louder gains nothing and costs dynamics. If you want the best result, finish with a true peak a little under 0 dBFS (many engineers use −1 dBTP) so converted MP3 or AAC versions do not clip, and keep the loudness in the −14 to −9 LUFS range your genre expects.
True peak and loudness range
- True peak estimates the height of the waveform between samples, which can be higher than the sample peaks and is what causes clipping after lossy encoding. The figure here is an estimate from 4x oversampling.
- Loudness range (LRA) shows how much the loudness moves between quiet and loud sections. Dense, modern pop and rap often sit at 3–6 LU.
Measuring a vocal on its own
Vocals are not mastered to streaming targets by themselves, but the number is still useful: a vocal that measures far below the beat’s section loudness usually needs more level or compression. The vocal checker looks at the other health signs.
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Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as the loudness meters in mastering software?
It follows the same ITU-R BS.1770 / EBU R128 method: K-weighting, 400 ms blocks and the standard two-stage gate. Results typically agree with professional meters to within about a tenth of a dB. The true peak is an estimate.
What LUFS should my song be?
Streaming services normalise to around −14 LUFS, but many loud genres are mastered hotter (about −9 to −7) and the platform turns them down. Master for how it sounds, and make sure the true peak is safe.
Does the format matter?
Measure your WAV or FLAC master if you can. An MP3 can read slightly differently from the file it came from.
Is my audio uploaded anywhere?
No. The measurement runs in your browser.
More free tools
Vocal Checker
Spot clipping, noise, rumble and level problems.
BPM Finder
Drop in a song or beat, get the tempo. Includes tap tempo.
Key Finder
Find the key and Camelot code of any song or beat.