LUFS Loudness Targets by Platform
For social and streaming video, master to -14 LUFS integrated with a true peak no higher than -1 dBTP. That one file suits YouTube, Spotify and Tidal, is a safe convention for TikTok and Instagram, and sits 2 LU from Apple Music. Apple Podcasts asks for -16 LKFS. Broadcast and film are quieter: -23 LUFS, -24 LKFS, -27 LKFS.
The chart below cites every figure and marks which ones platforms publish. The calculator turns a measured loudness into the gain offset to apply and checks whether it would clip. If you edit in Valmera, the agent can normalize your video’s final mix to -14 LUFS for you, on the preview and the export.
ffmpeg -af loudnorm=print_format=json.-21.3 LUFS +7.3 dB = -14.0 LUFS. That is a single linear offset applied to every sample: it changes level and nothing else — not balance, not tone, not dynamic range.
-9.0 dBTP +7.3 dB = -1.7 dBTP, against a ceiling of -1.0 dBTP. You land 0.7 dB under it, so no limiting is needed and nothing about the sound changes.
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -af "volume=+7.3dB" -c:v copy output.mp4volume is a straight multiplication with no limiter in it, which is the whole point: if the peak clears, nothing should be touching your transients.
Loudness Targets and True-Peak Ceilings
| Platform & source | Integrated target | True peak | What the number is |
|---|---|---|---|
YouTube YouTube publishes no figure. The gain it applied to any given video is readable in the player's Stats for nerds panel, as "content loudness". | about -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | Measured, not published Playback target — turns loud uploads down, leaves quiet ones quiet |
TikTok There is no TikTok loudness specification. Every fixed number quoted for TikTok online is somebody's measurement, and the measurements disagree. | not published | -1 dBTP advisable | No specification exists Unknown — reports of its normalization behaviour contradict each other |
Instagram / Reels Meta encodes Reels and Stories with xHE-AAC, whose loudness management adapts to the playback environment rather than normalizing to one figure. Engineering at Meta, 2023 | no fixed number | -1 dBTP advisable | Adaptive by design Playback target that moves — loudness is managed against the listening context |
Spotify (music) Spotify for Artists states the -14 LUFS target, the -1 dBTP ceiling for lossy formats, the tighter -2 dBTP for masters above the target, and positive gain for softer masters. Spotify for Artists | -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP (-2 dBTP if you deliver louder than -14 LUFS) | Published Playback target — applies gain in both directions |
Apple Music (Sound Check) Apple says that with Sound Check, a setting in the iOS Music app, "content with loudness or Sound Check metadata will consistently have playback levels at -16 dB". Apple publishes no true-peak figure for music; -1 dBTP is convention. Apple, Audio requirements | -16 LUFS | -1 dBTP advisable | Playback level published Playback target, only when the listener has Sound Check on |
Amazon Music Amazon publishes no mastering specification. -14 LUFS with the tighter -2 dBTP ceiling is the figure mastering engineers report consistently. Sage Audio | -14 LUFS | -2 dBTP | Not published Playback target — turns loud content down |
Tidal Tidal offers loudness normalization but publishes no numeric mastering requirement. -14 LUFS is a working playback reference, not a delivery contract. APU Software | -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | Not published Playback target, applied album-aware |
Apple Podcasts Apple asks that "the overall loudness remains around -16 dB LKFS, with a +/- 1 dB tolerance, and that the true-peak value doesn't exceed -1 dB FS". Apple accepts mono and stereo and gives no separate mono figure. Apple Podcasts for Creators | -16 LKFS, +/-1 dB | -1 dB true peak | Published Delivery recommendation — you hit it, measured per ITU-R BS.1770-5 |
Spotify (podcasts) Spotify's loudness normalization page covers music tracks and does not mention podcasts. Spotify for Artists | not published | -1 dBTP advisable | No podcast figure published Unknown for spoken word — Spotify's published -14 LUFS normalization is written for music |
Netflix Netflix Sound Mix Specifications & Best Practices v1.6: average loudness -27 LKFS, tolerance +/-2 LU, dialog-gated; peaks must not exceed -2 dBTP. Netflix Partner Help Center | -27 LKFS, +/-2 LU, dialog-gated | -2 dBTP | Published Delivery spec — a contract, measured per ITU-R BS.1770-1 |
EBU R 128 (European broadcast) EBU Recommendation R 128 sets the Programme Loudness Level at -23.0 LUFS and the Maximum Permitted True Peak Level at -1 dBTP. EBU R 128 (PDF) | -23.0 LUFS, +/-0.5 LU | -1 dBTP | Published Delivery spec — +/-1 LU is permitted for live programmes |
ATSC A/85 (US television) ATSC A/85, Techniques for Establishing and Maintaining Audio Loudness for Digital Television. The anchor element is dialogue, which is why -24 LKFS and -23 LUFS are not the same measurement made twice. ATSC | -24 LKFS, about +/-2 LU | -2 dBTP | Published Delivery spec — anchored on dialogue, enforceable under the CALM Act |
The Apple and Spotify rows were re-checked against their own pages on October 6, 2026.
The table holds two kinds of number. A playback target is applied to your file after upload: you can’t miss it, so fighting it only costs dynamic range. A delivery spec is a number you’re asked to hit: Netflix, EBU R 128 and ATSC A/85 are contracts, and Apple Podcasts publishes -16 LKFS as its recommendation. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Amazon and Tidal publish no figure, so their rows are measurements or conventions that can change without notice.
What Normalization Does to Your Upload
A normalizing platform measures your file’s integrated loudness, compares it to its target and applies one gain offset to the whole file at playback. Nothing is re-encoded louder, and your dynamics are untouched.
Direction matters. YouTube turns loud uploads down and leaves quiet ones alone; Spotify also raises softer masters. Export at -9 LUFS by squashing everything and YouTube turns you down 5 dB to land where you would have been anyway, minus your transients. Export at -23 LUFS and nothing is applied: you play back 9 dB quieter than the next video in the feed. And normalization never fixes balance: music that buries the voice stays buried.
LUFS, True Peak, dBFS and RMS
| Unit | What it measures | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| LUFS / LKFS | Perceived loudness: a K-weighted, gated average (integrated = the whole programme) | Hitting a platform or delivery target |
| dBTP (true peak) | The highest point of the reconstructed waveform, including between samples | Staying under a -1 or -2 dBTP ceiling |
| dBFS (sample peak) | The largest sample value stored in the file | Spotting digital clipping, not judging loudness |
| RMS | Average power over a window, with no hearing weighting | Rough metering; bass-heavy mixes read louder than they sound |
Platforms normalize on integrated loudness; momentary (400 ms) and short-term (3 s) readings are for metering while you work. Gating and loudness range are explained in What Is LUFS?
Normalize and Mix Your Video’s Audio in Valmera
Valmera is an AI video editor for footage you already have. Say “master it to -14 LUFS,” or that the export sounds quiet, and the agent turns on master loudness: the final mix is normalized to -14 LUFS integrated with a -2 dBTP true-peak target and a hard ceiling, on the preview and the export, so what you approve is what ships. Every preview also gets an audio check that measures integrated loudness and true peak and flags a mix that is too quiet, too hot or clipping.
It is one social and streaming target, not a dial. For an Apple Podcasts deliverable (-16 LKFS) or a broadcast one (-23 LUFS or -24 LKFS), export without mastering and master the audio in a dedicated tool. Mastering changes overall loudness, not the balance between voice, music and effects; the controls below handle balance.
How to Master a Video to -14 LUFS in Valmera
- 1Upload your videoMP4, MOV, M4V, MKV or WebM, up to 100 GB and 3 hours. Add music, voiceover or sound effects in the same chat.
- 2Get the balance rightMusic sits as a bed at -18 dB under speech with smooth ducking, and leads at -4 dB where nobody talks. Ask for any layer louder or quieter: “the music is too loud under my voice.”
- 3Turn on masteringType “master it to -14 LUFS.” Mastering is a setting on the edit, applied to the final mix at every render, so later changes stay mastered.
- 4Check the preview, then exportThe preview is mastered exactly like the export. Listen on a phone speaker, then export a full-resolution MP4 rendered from your original file.
Master the final mix to -14 LUFS for YouTube and TikTok.The music is drowning out my voice. Bring it down under the talking.Remove the background music from my recording but keep the speech.Audit the audio mix: list every track, its level, and whether mastering is on.Mix Balance: What Each Control Does
| What you hear | What fixes it | Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Music fights the voice | Under speech, music is a bed at -18 dB with smooth sidechain ducking that follows the voice and swells back in the gaps; with no speech it leads at -4 dB | add_music, set_music_fit |
| One added layer is too loud or quiet | Changes the level of a music, sound-effect or voiceover item | set_audio_gain |
| The speaker is uneven across sections | Volume automation on the original footage’s audio over a time span | set_volume |
| Music is baked into the recording | Splits the soundtrack into speech and everything else, then mutes or ducks the music; strong, but not surgical on dense mixes | separate_music |
| You’re not sure what’s in the mix | Reports every music, voiceover and sound-effect item with its gain, ducking and mastering, and flags a file playing twice | audit_audio_mix |
| The export sounds quiet next to other videos | Normalizes the final mix to -14 LUFS with a -2 dBTP true-peak target and a hard ceiling | set_master_loudness |
How the music dips under a voice is explained in sidechain ducking, and choosing and fitting a track is covered on add music to video.
Hit Any Other Target by Hand
For a -16 LKFS podcast, a -23 LUFS broadcast master or a client spec:
- Finish the mix. Integrated loudness covers the whole programme, so adding music or a silent tail afterwards changes it.
- Measure two numbers: integrated LUFS and the highest true peak. Any EBU R 128 meter reports both, as does ffmpeg:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -af loudnorm=print_format=json -f null - - Apply the difference as one gain offset. Target minus measured; the calculator above does the arithmetic and predicts the new true peak.
- Limit only if the ceiling is breached. If the new true peak exceeds -1 dBTP (-2 for Netflix, Amazon and ATSC A/85), a true-peak limiter brings it back. Tolerances run from +/-0.5 LU (EBU R 128) to +/-2 LU (Netflix), so stop once you are inside yours.
Limits
Valmera masters to one target, -14 LUFS with a -2 dBTP true-peak target; there is no setting for -16, -23 or -24. Studio has no loudness meter, so ask the agent for the integrated loudness and true peak its preview check measured. Music separation is strong but not surgical on dense mixes, and there is no audio denoise (“studio sound”).
Loudness in a Real Workflow
Podcast and interview editors can see the whole workflow, from cleanup to clips, on the podcasters page. Every audio level and default is listed in the audio and music docs.
Using Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor? The same set_master_loudness, audit_audio_mix and mixing tools are available through Valmera’s MCP server.
Creating an account and uploading are free. Editing requires a subscription — see plans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Made with Valmera: real exports
Master Your Video Without Opening a Meter
Upload your footage, say “master it to -14 LUFS,” and approve a preview mastered exactly like the export. Creating an account and uploading are free. Editing requires a subscription.
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