LUFS Audio Volume Guide: How Loud Should Podcasts, Videos and Music Be?

Audio that is too quiet feels amateur. Audio that is too loud becomes tiring or distorted. LUFS helps solve that problem because it measures perceived loudness, not just the highest peak in the waveform.

This guide explains practical loudness targets for creators: podcasts, YouTube videos, online lessons, interviews, music demos and social clips. The goal is not to chase one magic number, but to prepare audio that sounds consistent across devices.

What LUFS means in practice

LUFS stands for Loudness Units relative to Full Scale. In simple terms, it estimates how loud audio feels to a listener over time. That makes it more useful than peak level alone. Two files can peak at the same level and still feel very different if one is heavily compressed and the other has wide dynamics.

The standard loudness family is based on ITU-R BS.1770, while EBU R 128 is a widely used broadcast recommendation. EBU describes R 128 as a recommendation for loudness normalisation and maximum true peak level, with a programme loudness reference of -23 LUFS.

How we recommend testing your own audio

Use a short real sample before processing the full file. For voice content, choose 30 to 60 seconds that include normal speech, a louder phrase, a pause and any background music. Normalize that sample first, listen on headphones and phone speakers, then apply the same setting to the complete file.

Which loudness target should you choose?

A practical browser workflow

1. Import the audio and listen to a representative section.
2. Remove long silences or obvious mistakes before loudness adjustment.
3. Apply volume normalization with a conservative target.
4. Compare before and after at the same playback volume.
5. Export a copy and keep the original file unchanged.

Common mistakes

The most common mistake is trying to fix a bad recording with loudness alone. If the original is clipped, noisy or full of room echo, normalization will only make those problems more obvious. Clean the recording first, then adjust level.

Another mistake is exporting many compressed copies. If you need to test multiple targets, keep one original WAV or high-quality source and export the final compressed file only once.

Technical references

• EBU R 128 loudness normalisation recommendation
• ITU-R BS.1770 loudness measurement recommendation

A natural next step

After choosing a target, test it on the devices your audience actually uses. For most creators, the best loudness setting is the one that remains clear on a phone, comfortable on headphones and consistent beside your other published content.