Apps & Tools

Podcast Level Meter

Name: Podcast Level Meter
Author: Infinite Creation

Monitor your microphone in real time. Aim for the target zone to hit platform LUFS standards without clipping.

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Enable Your Microphone

This app measures your live audio levels so you can check them before you record. Your audio is never recorded or sent anywhere, all processing is local to your browser.

Your browser will ask for permission. Click "Allow" when prompted.

Current

−∞

dBFS

Peak Hold

−∞

dBFS

Approx. LUFS

−∞

integrated (est.)

−60−48−36−24−18−12−60

Silent ← Target Zone (−18 to −12 dBFS) → Clipping

Platform Targets

Podcast working target−16 LUFS

A practical spoken-word starting point. Follow the current delivery specification when one is provided.

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Apple Podcasts reference−16 LKFS

Apple's published podcast guidance is around −16 LKFS with a ±1 tolerance and a true peak no higher than −1 dBFS.

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Spotify music reference−14 LUFS

Spotify publishes this normalization reference for artists and music. Do not treat it as a universal podcast delivery target.

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Broadcast (EBU R128)−23 LUFS

TV and radio broadcast standard. Much quieter than streaming.

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Recording Tips

Aim for peaks between −18 and −12 dBFS when speaking. This leaves headroom for post-processing.
The approx. LUFS estimate uses a rolling RMS average with a speech-content correction. True LUFS requires K-weighting. Use a DAW for the final check.
Consistent level beats loud level. Your DAW can normalise to any LUFS target in one step.
If the bar hits red, move back from the mic or turn down the gain on your audio interface.
For music beds, aim for −24 to −20 dBFS so your voice stays dominant in the mix.

Knowledge Base

How to Use the Podcast Level Reference

The Podcast Level Reference separates a practical podcast starting point from platform-specific guidance. Platforms may normalize audio differently, so use the current client or distributor specification whenever one is available.

Understanding LUFS

LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) measures perceived loudness over time, not peak levels. A podcast peaking at -3 dB but averaging -23 LUFS sounds quieter than one peaking at -0.1 dB averaging -16 LUFS.

Platform Targets

Podcast working target: -16 LUFS integrated is a practical spoken-word starting point, not a universal platform rule.
Spotify music reference: Spotify publishes -14 LUFS for music normalization. Podcast delivery guidance should be checked separately.
YouTube: use the current programme or delivery specification rather than assuming a single universal podcast target.
Broadcast/Radio: -23 LUFS (EBU standard) for professional content.

Mixing to Loudness Spec

Measure LUFS with a loudness meter (Waves WLM, FabFilter Pro-Metering, Youlean Loudness Meter, last one is free). Aim for -16 LUFS integrated (full episode average). Mix with headroom. Don't maximize peaks to -0.1 dB or platforms will reduce your loudness further.

Loudness Wars Myth

Louder is not better. Mix naturally, master to the intended delivery specification, and leave enough true-peak headroom for encoding and distribution.

FAQ

Q: Should I mix louder than -16 LUFS to stand out?
A: No. A louder master does not guarantee louder playback, and excessive level can reduce headroom or introduce distortion.

Q: Why does my podcast sound quiet compared to music?
A: Music is mastered to -14 LUFS. Podcasts to -16 LUFS. That 2 dB difference is noticeable but platform-driven, not a mistake.

Monitoring while you record

A live meter answers a different question from a file measurement. While recording, the thing to protect is headroom, because a clipped peak is destroyed at the moment of capture and no processing recovers it. Loudness targets are a delivery concern, handled afterwards when the whole programme exists.

Aim peaks somewhere around minus twelve to minus six decibels below maximum. That leaves room for the laugh, the raised voice or the cough nobody planned, all of which arrive well above conversational level. Recording with peaks near maximum leaves no margin and gains nothing, since raising a quiet file later is trivial and repairing a clipped one is impossible.

Watch the average rather than the peaks for consistency. Peaks jump around constantly and tell you little about whether a speaker is holding a steady level. A meter showing average level makes drifting away from the microphone visible while there is still time to say something about it.

Set levels with the speaker talking as they will actually talk. People are noticeably quieter during a level check than once a conversation starts, so a level set on a polite test sentence turns out five or six decibels too hot within a minute. Ask for a normal answer to a real question rather than a count to ten.

Monitor on headphones throughout. A meter shows level and says nothing about a cable developing a fault, a fan starting up, or a microphone being knocked off axis. Hearing the recording as it is captured catches the failures a meter cannot describe, and those are the ones that ruin a session.

Vocabulary

Peak level. The highest instantaneous level reached, and the thing to keep below maximum while recording. Says little about perceived loudness, which is why delivery uses a different measurement.

Headroom. The margin between your normal recording level and the maximum. Protects against unexpected loud moments, and costs nothing because quiet recordings are raised easily afterwards.

Clipping. What happens when a signal passes the maximum a digital system can represent, flattening the top of the waveform into distortion. Permanent at the moment of recording and not repairable afterwards.

Gain staging. Setting levels sensibly at each point in a chain so no stage is starved or overdriven. Good gain staging at the preamp produces a cleaner result than correcting level later in software.