Is my audio uploaded to normalize it?

No. The file is decoded in your browser, loudness is measured there, one gain change is applied there, and the result is saved straight to your device. Nothing is uploaded or stored.

What loudness should I normalize to?

Around −14 LUFS with a −1 dBTP ceiling suits Spotify, YouTube and Tidal; Apple Music sits nearer −16 LUFS; broadcast to EBU R 128 is −23 LUFS. Streaming services turn loud masters down rather than reject them, so these are reference points, not pass marks.

Does normalizing damage the audio?

No. Normalizing is a single gain change applied to every sample equally, so balance, dynamics and transients are untouched. Only a limiter or compressor changes the sound, and this tool never applies one.

Why did it stop short of the loudness target?

Because reaching it would have pushed the true peak past your ceiling. Going further needs limiting, which changes the mix — so the gain stops at the ceiling and tells you it did.

What is the difference between LUFS and peak normalization?

Peak normalization sets the loudest sample to a ceiling and ignores how loud the track feels. LUFS normalization measures perceived loudness over the whole programme, which is what streaming platforms actually compare.

Free tool

Audio Normalizer

Bring a mix to a loudness target or a peak ceiling with one gain change — measured to the same standard streaming services use, and nothing else touched.

Your file never leaves the tab. Decoding, loudness measurement and export all happen in your browser, and nothing is uploaded or stored.

Choose the file to normalize

WAV, MP3, FLAC, AIFF, M4A, OGG — up to 250 MB.

Detail

How this works

Loudness here is integrated loudness to ITU-R BS.1770-4 — the gated, K-weighted measurement in LUFS that Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube use to decide how loud your track is relative to everyone else's. True peak comes from 4x oversampling, so it catches inter-sample peaks a plain sample-peak reading misses.

The tool then applies exactly one gain change. It does not limit, compress, clip or EQ. That means it can always hit a peak ceiling, but it can only hit a loudness target when there is headroom for it: a very dynamic master may need limiting to reach −14 LUFS, and rather than doing that quietly, the gain stops at your ceiling and says so.

For delivery, aim at the platform target with a −1 dBTP ceiling and leave the rest alone. Mastering louder than the target gains you nothing on a normalising platform — it is simply turned back down, minus the dynamics you spent to get there.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

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