Free loudness meter & streaming preview
Upload a master to measure its integrated LUFS, true peak, and dynamic range, along with estimated gain changes at selected streaming references. Listen to loudness and codec previews to compare.
Free, and no account needed. The numbers you just read are on every review link: send one, and your client hears the master at streaming loudness before they approve. What Soneam does.
Loudness FAQ
What LUFS should I master to for Spotify?
Spotify uses about −14 LUFS as its Normal-mode playback reference. This is not a required mastering level. Applied gain depends on headroom and playback settings; normalization may also be disabled. Choose loudness for the song and genre, and check the delivery recommendations for the service you use.
What is a safe true peak (dBTP) for streaming?
−1 dBTP is what most specs ask for, and Amazon asks for −2. Platforms re-encode to lossy codecs (AAC, Ogg) which can push inter-sample peaks higher, so the headroom is there to stop the encode clipping. The reading does not establish whether distortion is audible. Compare the source and decoded audio, and check the recipient’s requirements.
What is the difference between LUFS, dBFS and true peak?
LUFS measures perceived loudness over time, and it is what normalization acts on. The other two are about instants. Digital audio stores discrete samples: sample peak (dBFS) is the highest one stored, while true peak (dBTP) is the height of the waveform playback reconstructs through them, which can rise above every stored sample. Reconstruction can produce peaks above 0 dBTP even when no stored sample exceeds 0 dBFS. Lossy encoding and decoding can change those peaks again. This tool measures it with 4× oversampling (ITU-R BS.1770).
Does making my master louder help on streaming?
With normalization enabled, the service adjusts playback gain to reduce loudness differences. The result depends on playback settings and available headroom; normalization can also be off. Compression, limiting and clipping still shape the sound after a gain adjustment. Choose the sound for the song and genre, and check the delivery recommendations separately.
What loudness targets do Apple Music and YouTube use?
Apple Music normalizes to about −16 LUFS and YouTube to about −14 LUFS. YouTube only turns loud masters down, while Apple's Sound Check adjusts in both directions. A hot master is turned down on both, and a quiet one is turned up on Apple and left alone on YouTube.
What loudness should a podcast episode be?
Apple Podcasts recommends overall loudness around −16 LKFS, with a ±1 dB tolerance, and true peak at or below −1 dB. This tool uses −19 LUFS as its mono reference; that is not a separate mono requirement stated by Apple. Confirm the format and channel layout with your publisher.
Is my uploaded file stored?
Your master is analyzed and deleted on the spot, and never used to train AI. Playback uses the copy already in your browser, so the master never streams back from us. If you select a codec preview, that encode is made before the master is deleted, lives for 30 minutes so you can listen, and is then deleted as well.
Go deeper: will Spotify turn down your master? · streaming loudness targets for every platform · LUFS, true peak & dynamic range explained · A/B two masters at matched loudness
