If you have exported audio for a podcast or a video platform, you have probably seen a target like "−14 LUFS" or "−16 LUFS". It looks technical, but the idea is simple, and getting it right is one of the easiest ways to make your content sound professional next to everything else people listen to.
What LUFS measures
LUFS stands for Loudness Units relative to Full Scale. It measures how loud audio sounds to a person over a stretch of time, rather than how high its loudest peak is.
That difference matters. Two files can have exactly the same peak level but sound very different in loudness: one might be a quiet conversation with a single loud laugh, the other a constantly energetic voice. A peak meter says they are the same; a loudness meter tells you what a listener will actually experience.
A few terms you'll see:
- Integrated loudness: the average loudness of the whole file, measured in a way that ignores silence. This is the number targets refer to.
- Short-term and momentary loudness: loudness over the last few seconds or fraction of a second. Useful while mixing, not for the final target.
- LU: a difference in loudness. Going from −16 LUFS to −14 LUFS is 2 LU louder.
- dBTP (true peak): the highest level the waveform reaches once it is turned back into sound, which can be slightly above the highest sample.
Because the scale is relative to the maximum level (0), the numbers are negative. Closer to zero means louder: −14 LUFS is louder than −16, which is louder than −23.
Why loudness targets exist
Listeners hate reaching for the volume. Streaming services, podcast apps and broadcasters try to deliver programmes at a consistent loudness, and many of them measure loudness and turn content up or down to match a reference. Mastering to the target means:
- Your audio isn't turned down for being too loud, which would leave it sounding squashed and flat for no gain.
- Your audio isn't left quieter than everything around it, which makes it seem weak.
- The jump between your content and the next item in the queue is small.
Common targets
These are widely used reference points. Platforms change their practices, so treat them as sensible defaults rather than law.
| Where it's going | Common target | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Online video (YouTube and similar) | −14 LUFS | A common reference for streaming video |
| Podcasts | −16 LUFS | Widely used for spoken word, with peaks at or below −1 dBTP |
| Broadcast TV and radio | −23 LUFS (EBU R 128) or −24 LKFS (ATSC A/85) | Strict requirements; check the broadcaster's spec |
| Short-form social video | Often treated like online video | Phones play loud; avoid going beyond your long-form level |
Our tool's loudness presets follow these: Podcast (−16 LUFS), YouTube (−14 LUFS), Broadcast (−23 LUFS) and Off if you want to master it yourself.
Loudness is not the same as "make it louder"
Hitting a loudness target is about the overall level of the finished file. It is not about squashing everything with heavy compression. A good result keeps natural dynamics, with emphasis still sounding like emphasis, while landing at the right average and keeping peaks below the ceiling.
Two common mistakes:
- Normalising to peak instead of loudness. Peak normalisation makes the loudest sample hit a level, but tells you nothing about how loud the file feels. A single cough can leave the whole episode quiet.
- Ignoring true peak. MP3 and AAC encoders can push peaks slightly higher than in the original. A true-peak limit around −1 dBTP gives them room, so the encoded file doesn't distort.
Clean first, then set loudness
Loudness normalisation raises or lowers everything, including background noise. If a recording has a hiss or a fan and you raise it to −14 LUFS, the noise comes up too. That is why the order matters:
- Remove the noise so that what gets raised is the voice.
- Set the loudness of the clean audio to the target.
- Limit the true peak so encoding doesn't clip.
Our tool does all three in one pass: drop a file into the tool, choose the loudness preset, preview the cleaned version against the original, and download. For video, the picture is copied untouched; only the audio is replaced. See clean audio for YouTube or podcast audio cleanup for presets matched to each.
How to check loudness yourself
Most audio editors and many video editors include a loudness meter or a "loudness normalisation" export option. Measure the integrated value of the whole finished file, not a short section, and check the true peak reading as well.
When comparing your file with a reference (another podcast, a video you like), make sure you're comparing files measured the same way.
Quick answers
- Which target should I use? Podcasts: −16 LUFS. Online video: −14 LUFS. Broadcast: whatever the broadcaster specifies, often −23 LUFS.
- One file for both podcast and YouTube? Make two exports: the difference is small, but each platform gets what it expects.
- Does it matter for short clips? Yes, if anything more so: viewers scroll quickly and a quiet clip loses them.
For the rest of the export settings that go with loudness, see the best export settings for podcast audio.