What is LUFS?
LUFS stands for Loudness Units relative to Full Scale. It is the standard unit used to measure the perceived loudness of audio, as opposed to peak level which only measures the highest point in the waveform. LUFS takes into account how humans actually hear volume, making it a much more useful measure for mixing and mastering.
What does LUFS stand for?
LUFS stands for Loudness Units relative to Full Scale. It is sometimes written as LKFS, which stands for Loudness K-weighted relative to Full Scale. Both terms refer to the same measurement and are used interchangeably across different loudness standards.
What is a LUFS meter?
A LUFS meter measures the integrated loudness of an audio file according to the ITU-R BS.1770 standard. It analyses your audio and returns values for integrated loudness, loudness range, true peak, and momentary and short-term loudness. This tool runs entirely in your browser and supports MP3, WAV, FLAC, and other common formats.
What is integrated loudness?
Integrated loudness is the average loudness of your entire audio file measured in LUFS, with quiet sections below a certain threshold gated out. It is the most important number for matching streaming platform targets, since services like Spotify and Apple Music normalize based on integrated loudness rather than peak level.
What is loudness range (LRA)?
Loudness range measures the dynamic variation in your track, expressed in Loudness Units (LU). A low LRA means the track is dynamically consistent throughout. A high LRA means there are significant volume differences between quiet and loud sections. Most mastered music sits between 6 and 12 LU.
What is true peak?
True peak measures the highest inter-sample peak in your audio, which can exceed 0 dBFS after digital-to-analogue conversion. Streaming platforms typically require true peak to be no higher than -1 dBTP, and -2 dBTP is a common safe target for mastering. Staying within this limit prevents distortion in the decoded audio.
What is momentary and short-term loudness?
Momentary loudness measures the loudness over a 400 millisecond window and shows the loudest peaks in your track. Short-term loudness measures over a 3 second window and gives a picture of how loud individual sections feel. Both are useful for checking drops, choruses, and other loud moments without relying on integrated loudness alone.
How loud should my master be?
It depends on where you are releasing. Spotify normalizes to around -14 LUFS integrated. Apple Music targets -16 LUFS. YouTube targets -14 LUFS. Tidal targets -14 LUFS. SoundCloud does not normalize, so louder masters play louder there. A good general target for streaming is -14 LUFS integrated with a true peak no higher than -1 dBTP.
What LUFS should I aim for on Spotify?
Spotify normalizes playback to around -14 LUFS integrated. If your master is louder than that, Spotify will turn it down. If it is quieter, it will play at its original level. Mastering to -14 LUFS integrated gives you the most consistent playback experience across Spotify and most other major platforms.
What is audio normalization?
Audio normalization is the process streaming platforms use to adjust playback volume so that all tracks play at a consistent perceived loudness. Each platform has its own loudness target, and any track that exceeds it gets turned down automatically. This is why mastering louder than the target no longer gives you a volume advantage on streaming.
What is loudness normalization?
Loudness normalization is the same concept as audio normalization but refers specifically to the LUFS-based system used by streaming platforms. Rather than normalizing to a peak level, the platform measures integrated loudness and adjusts gain accordingly so every song plays back at a similar volume regardless of how it was mastered.