LUFS & dB Converter
LUFS is referenced to full scale, so a LUFS value states directly how far below full scale a signal sits. It's also K-weighted and integrated over time, so it isn't interchangeable with an unweighted dB or RMS reading of the same audio.
Streaming & broadcast loudness targets
Enter your track's integrated LUFS to see how much a platform would turn it up or down on playback to reach its published target. This is reference information, not mastering guidance -- master to what your genre and material call for, not to a platform's number. The platform normalizes your finished master at playback time regardless; it doesn't reward arriving at its target already. Platforms normalize independently of this page -- this just shows the difference, not what any platform will actually do to your file.
| Target | Target LUFS | Playback gain |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify | -14 LUFS | — |
| YouTube | -14 LUFS | — |
| Amazon Music | -14 LUFS | — |
| TIDAL | -14 LUFS | — |
| Apple Music (Sound Check) | -16 LUFS | — |
| Deezer | -15 LUFS | — |
| EBU R128 (European broadcast) | -23 LUFS | — |
| ATSC A/85 (US broadcast) | -24 LUFS | — |
dB to gain ratio
A dB change is a logarithmic ratio. This converts a dB value to the linear amplitude (voltage) ratio it represents, and the power ratio it implies -- both directions.
Peak-to-Loudness Ratio (PLR)
PLR is a standard mastering metric: true peak minus integrated loudness. A higher PLR means more headroom between the loudest peak and the overall level -- generally more dynamic; a lower PLR means the track sits closer to its own peak throughout -- generally more compressed or limited. It's a different measurement from this database's own "dynamic range" field (which is crest-factor based) -- see Methodology.
FAQ
What's the difference between LUFS and dB?
dB (decibel) is a general-purpose logarithmic ratio -- it can describe almost anything relative to almost anything else, including a signal relative to full scale (dBFS), a change in level (dB gain), or a ratio of two amplitudes with no reference to loudness at all. LUFS is specifically an integrated, K-weighted loudness measurement referenced to full scale, standardized for describing how loud a whole track or program sounds. Every LUFS value is a kind of dB measurement, but not every dB measurement is a LUFS value.
Why would I convert LUFS to dB below full scale?
Because LUFS already states that number directly (dB below full scale = -LUFS), converting between them is really just a sign flip -- useful when you're more used to thinking in headroom-from-the-top terms than in LUFS terms, or when comparing to a spec written the other way around.
Why do streaming platforms normalize loudness?
So that a quiet, dynamic recording and a loud, heavily limited one play back at roughly the same perceived volume without a listener reaching for the volume knob between tracks. Mastering a track significantly louder than a platform's target usually just gets it turned down on playback -- it doesn't make the track sound louder to the listener, it just uses up headroom and dynamic range for no benefit. The reverse mistake is worse: mastering down to match a platform's target directly, rather than to what your genre calls for, throws away density and impact your track needs to sound competitive next to everything else in the same normalized playback queue -- which was mastered to commercial loudness first and turned down afterward, the same way yours will be.
What's true peak, and why isn't it the same as sample peak?
Sample peak only looks at the digital samples themselves. When audio is converted back to an analog waveform, the reconstruction filter can overshoot between samples -- true peak (dBTP) estimates that reconstructed peak, so it can read higher than the sample peak of the same file. Mastering with headroom against true peak, not just sample peak, avoids introducing clipping or distortion after conversion to lossy formats.
What is Peak-to-Loudness Ratio actually telling me?
How much space there is between a track's loudest instantaneous moment and its overall perceived level. A track that's heavily limited to sound consistently loud will have most of its content close to true peak, giving it a low PLR. A track with more natural dynamic contrast -- quiet verses, loud choruses -- spends most of its time well below true peak, giving it a higher PLR.