LUFS Meter: Check Your Track's Loudness for Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music
Measure integrated loudness, true peak and loudness range. Free, no signup, and your file stays on your device.
Check the loudness of your track
Drag and drop your audio file here
or
Max 200 MB · MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4A, OGG or a video
Measured in your browser: the audio is not uploaded
What is a LUFS meter?
LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) measures how loud a track sounds to the ear, not only how high its peaks go. Streaming services measure the integrated LUFS of every track and turn loud ones down so that everything plays at a similar level. This meter measures your file the same way, following ITU-R BS.1770-4 and EBU R128, and shows what each service will do with it.
Measuring loudness
Decoding audio...
Track
--
LUFS
Integrated loudness
--dBTP
True peak
--LU
Loudness range
--LUFS
Max short-term
--LUFS
Max momentary
--dBFS
Sample peak
Loudness over time
Short-term loudness (3 s window). Dashed line: the -14 LUFS streaming reference. Light line: integrated loudness of the whole track.
What streaming services will do
Service
Reference
Your track
Playback
* How this service handles tracks quieter than its reference is not documented by the service.
Spotify values come from the Spotify for Artists documentation (normalization on, default Normal level; Loud is -11 LUFS and Quiet -19 LUFS). The other levels are the reference levels commonly reported for each service; they can change. On Apple Music, normalization applies when Sound Check is on.
Bring your track to streaming level
The Balanced, Warm and Bright presets of our mastering tool aim for -14 LUFS with a true peak limiter, in your browser. The limiter can land a few tenths of a LU below the target. Free to try; a free account is asked only to download the master.
Integrated loudness with the K-weighting filter and the -70 LUFS and -10 LU gates of ITU-R BS.1770-4, loudness range as in EBU Tech 3342, true peak with 4x oversampling.
Six services at a glance
See in one table how Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, Amazon Music, TIDAL and Deezer will adjust your track, and by how many dB.
100% in your browser
The measurement runs entirely on your device. Your audio is never uploaded, so you can check unreleased tracks.
Free, no account
No signup and no limit on the number of files. Nothing to install: it works on desktop and on phones.
How to Read Your Results
Integrated loudness (LUFS) is the average loudness of the whole track, the number streaming services use. Quiet passages below the gates do not pull it down. Most streaming services play music at around -14 LUFS, Apple Music at around -16 LUFS.
True peak (dBTP) estimates the highest level of the waveform between samples, which is what a converter or an MP3 or AAC encoder will see. Keeping it below -1 dBTP leaves room for lossy encoding; Spotify recommends -2 dBTP for masters louder than -14 LUFS.
Loudness range (LU) describes how much the loudness varies over the track. Heavily limited pop and electronic music often measure 3 to 6 LU; acoustic, classical and film music can go well beyond 10 LU.
Short-term and momentary loudness are measured over 3 s and 0.4 s windows. Their maximum shows the loudest section of the track, which can be several LU above the integrated value. To bring a track to a streaming level, use our mastering tool; to prepare a mix, the equalizer and the noise reducer also run in your browser.
Streaming Loudness Reference Levels
Service
Reference level
Louder tracks
Spotify
-14 LUFS (Loud: -11, Quiet: -19)
Turned down
YouTube
-14 LUFS
Turned down
Apple Music
-16 LUFS (Sound Check)
Turned down
Amazon Music
-14 LUFS
Turned down
TIDAL
-14 LUFS
Turned down
Deezer
-15 LUFS
Turned down
These are playback reference levels, not upload requirements: no service rejects a track for being louder or quieter. Spotify documents its levels in Spotify for Artists; the other values are the levels commonly reported for each service and can change.
Key Takeaways
Streaming services play music at a reference loudness: -14 LUFS on Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music and TIDAL, -15 LUFS on Deezer, -16 LUFS on Apple Music with Sound Check.
A master louder than the reference is turned down. It does not sound louder than other tracks, but the limiting used to make it loud stays in the sound.
Spotify turns quieter tracks up only as far as their peaks allow, keeping the true peak at -1 dB.
Keep the true peak below -1 dBTP (below -2 dBTP for loud masters) to avoid distortion after MP3, AAC or Ogg encoding.
This meter runs in your browser: the file is not uploaded, it is free and needs no account.
Frequently Asked Questions
What LUFS should I master to for Spotify?
Spotify plays music at -14 LUFS by default and recommends a master around -14 LUFS integrated with a true peak below -1 dBTP. A louder master is accepted but turned down; in that case Spotify recommends keeping the true peak below -2 dBTP.
Is -14 LUFS a rule I have to follow?
No. It is the level at which most services play music, not an upload requirement. Many commercial releases are louder than -14 LUFS and are simply turned down. What matters is how the track sounds after that adjustment.
What is the difference between LUFS, dBFS and dBTP?
dBFS and dBTP describe peak levels: the highest sample, and the highest point of the waveform between samples. LUFS describes perceived loudness over time, with a frequency weighting close to human hearing. Two tracks with the same peak can be several LU apart.
Why does my DAW or plugin show a different value?
Check that you compare the same measurement: integrated (whole track), short-term (3 s) or momentary (0.4 s). Mono files are measured as one channel, as ITU-R BS.1770 specifies, which reads 3 LU below the same audio in stereo; some plugins treat mono as dual mono. MP3 and AAC files can also decode slightly differently from one program to another. In our tests on reference signals, integrated loudness matches the open-source libebur128 library within 0.01 LU.
What does a true peak above 0 dBTP mean?
The waveform goes above full scale between samples. The file may show no clipped samples, but a converter or an MP3, AAC or Ogg encoder can clip it. Lower the level or use a true peak limiter, which our mastering tool includes.
Is my file uploaded?
No. Your browser decodes and measures the file on your device. The audio and the file name are not sent to our servers. We record anonymous usage statistics: that a measurement was run, how long it took and its rounded results (loudness, true peak, loudness range, duration, number of channels), plus the page statistics of Google Analytics.
Which formats can I measure?
MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4A, AAC, OGG, Opus, the sound of MP4, MOV and WebM videos, and most formats your browser can play, up to 200 MB. Some browsers, such as older versions of Safari, cannot read OGG files; a WAV or MP3 copy solves it. Very long files can exceed the memory of a phone; a computer handles them better.
Is the LUFS meter free?
Yes. It is free, with no account and no limit on the number of files. The mastering tool is free to try as well; a free account is asked only to download a master.