What Is LUFS? Loudness Explained Simply
Updated July 2026 · by Loopin
LUFS is the unit streaming platforms use to measure how loud your track sounds — and it’s the number that decides whether your master holds its own next to commercial releases. Here’s what it means, simply.
LUFS measures perceived loudness
LUFS stands for Loudness Units relative to Full Scale. Unlike a peak meter, which only catches the highest instantaneous level, LUFS estimates how loud audio actually sounds to your ears over time — weighting frequencies the way human hearing does and averaging across the track. It’s a much better match for ‘how loud is this, really’ than a peak reading.
Because it tracks perceived loudness, LUFS is the unit everyone agreed on for comparing songs fairly. A quiet acoustic ballad and a slamming dance track can be metered, compared and balanced against each other — which is exactly what streaming platforms do.
Integrated, short-term and momentary
You’ll see LUFS in three flavours. Integrated LUFS is the average loudness over the whole song — the headline number you master to. Short-term LUFS measures roughly the last three seconds, useful for spotting a chorus that jumps out. Momentary LUFS reacts almost instantly, handy for catching a single loud moment.
For mastering, integrated is the one that matters most, because that’s what streaming services use to decide how to adjust your track. When someone says ‘master to −14 LUFS’, they mean integrated — the average across the entire song.
LUFS vs peak: don't confuse them
Peak and LUFS answer different questions. Peak (especially true peak, in dBTP) is about headroom — how close you are to clipping. LUFS is about loudness — how loud the track feels overall. A song can hit 0 dB peaks and still measure quietly in LUFS if it’s sparse and dynamic; another can be very loud in LUFS while peaking lower.
You manage both at once: aim for a loudness target in LUFS while keeping a safe true-peak ceiling so nothing distorts. The standard recipe is around −14 LUFS integrated with peaks at −1 dBTP. See how loud a master should be for the full picture.
The targets that matter
Streaming platforms normalise playback to a loudness target, so a track far above it gets turned down and a quiet one turned up. Spotify, YouTube and Amazon sit near −14 LUFS; Apple Music targets about −16 LUFS. The practical takeaway: you don’t master a separate file per platform — around −14 LUFS integrated translates well everywhere. See the breakdown in loudness targets by platform.
Chasing extreme loudness (−8 LUFS ‘to be loud’) backfires: the platform turns it back down anyway, and you’ve crushed the dynamics to get there. The target exists so you can stop guessing — hit it and your track sits at a competitive level with its punch intact.
How to hit your LUFS target free
You don’t need a metering plugin to measure or hit LUFS. Loopin’s free online mastering measures your track’s integrated loudness, targets streaming levels around −14 LUFS automatically, and limits true peak to −1 dBTP — then lets you A/B against the original at matched loudness so you judge the tone honestly.
That loudness-matched comparison is the key habit, because louder always sounds ‘better’ until it’s matched. Let the free master handle the numbers and your track will land at the right loudness without you reading a single meter.
Frequently asked questions
What does LUFS stand for?
Loudness Units relative to Full Scale. It measures how loud audio actually sounds to human ears over time — weighting frequencies the way we hear and averaging across the track — rather than just the highest instantaneous level a peak meter catches.
What LUFS should I master to?
Around -14 LUFS integrated is a safe, competitive target for most streaming platforms, with a true-peak ceiling of -1 dBTP. Apple Music normalises a little lower (about -16 LUFS), but a single -14 LUFS master translates well across all of them.
What's the difference between LUFS and peak?
LUFS measures perceived loudness over time — how loud the track feels. Peak (especially true peak in dBTP) measures headroom — how close you are to clipping. You manage both: aim for a LUFS loudness target while keeping a safe true-peak ceiling so nothing distorts.