LUFS Loudness Target Calculator
Compare your measured loudness to a platform target like -14 or -16 LUFS and get the exact gain change, with a true-peak clipping check before you publish.
Publish at the right loudness
Every major platform normalises loudness, so a mix that is too quiet gets turned up and a hot one gets turned down — sometimes in ways that undo careful mastering. Measuring your integrated loudness and matching it to the target yourself keeps control of how the episode sounds, and the true-peak check stops a well-meaning volume boost from clipping on lossy playback.
Measure loudness on honest playback with consistent gain staging at the source, and size the final export with the Audio File Size Calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is LUFS and why does it matter?
LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) is a measure of perceived loudness across a whole track, not just its peaks. Streaming and podcast platforms normalise everything to a target LUFS so listeners do not have to ride the volume between shows. If your mix is far from the target it gets turned up or down automatically — knowing the number lets you deliver it at the right loudness yourself.
What loudness should a podcast be?
Apple Podcasts and many spoken-word guidelines aim for about -16 LUFS, while Spotify and YouTube normalise nearer -14 LUFS, and broadcast standards such as EBU R128 use -23 LUFS. This calculator lets you pick the target and tells you the exact gain to reach it. Because these figures are revised over time, confirm the current one in each platform's creator documentation.
How do I read the gain figure?
The gain is simply target minus measured. If your episode measures -20 LUFS and the target is -14, you need +6 dB (turn up). If it measures -12 against a -16 target, you need -4 dB (turn down). Apply that gain to the whole master, then re-measure to confirm you landed on target.
What is true peak and the clipping warning?
True peak (dBTP) is the highest level the waveform actually reaches, including peaks that appear between samples after conversion. Applying gain moves the true peak by the same amount, so boosting a quiet mix can push it past 0 and clip. This tool flags a risk when the adjusted peak would exceed about -1 dBTP; the fix is a true-peak limiter, or a slightly lower target.
Educational tool. Measure loudness and true peak with a meter in your software, and confirm the current target in each platform's own documentation. Not professional mastering advice.