LUFS Loudness Normalization Calculator

Subtract your measured integrated loudness from the target loudness. Because loudness units are decibel-based (1 LU equals 1 dB), the difference is the exact gain to apply. For example, a track at -20 LUFS aimed at Spotify's -14 LUFS needs -14 minus -20, which is plus 6 dB of gain.

This calculator uses each platform's documented normalization target: Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, and Tidal at -14 LUFS, Apple Music at -16 LUFS, broadcast under EBU R128 at -23 LUFS, and US TV under ATSC A/85 at -24 LUFS. You can also enter a custom target and ceiling for any other destination.

True peak (dBTP) is the highest reconstructed level of the analog waveform, which can sit above the sample peak. Headroom is the gap between your true peak after gain and the platform's ceiling, usually -1 dBTP. If the post-gain peak crosses the ceiling, the track clips or gets limited, so the calculator flags it and shows the largest safe boost.

Only up to a point. Services that normalize loudness always turn down tracks that are louder than the target, but they limit how far they boost a quiet track so the true peak stays under the ceiling. Spotify, for instance, applies a limiter at -1 dBTP rather than push peaks over the cap, so a very quiet master may not reach the full target.

A negative gain means the track is louder than the target and needs to come down. A master at -8 LUFS sent to a -14 LUFS target needs -14 minus -8, which is -6 dB. Turning it down lowers the true peak by the same amount, so attenuation always increases your headroom under the ceiling.

No. LUFS measures perceived loudness using the ITU-R BS.1770 K-weighting filter and gating, which tracks how loud audio sounds rather than its raw energy. RMS is an unweighted average level and peak or true peak is the maximum amplitude. Two tracks with the same peak can have very different LUFS, which is why normalization targets are set in LUFS.