LUFS
LUFS (Loudness Units Full Scale) is the standard measure of perceived loudness used to set how loud a podcast sounds across an episode. Mastering to a consistent LUFS target keeps your show at a comfortable, even volume on every platform.
For example, an engineer masters each episode to around -16 LUFS so the show plays at the same loudness as other podcasts and listeners never reach for the volume control.
Why it matters: consistent loudness makes a show sound professional and saves listeners from constant volume tweaks, which protects the credibility of your brand's audio.
Target around -16 LUFS integrated for stereo podcast audio and roughly -14 LUFS for the same content on YouTube, with true peaks kept below -1 dBTP.
integrated loudness measured over the whole episode, in LUFS
Lower (more negative) means quieter; aim for a single consistent target per platform.
- Mastering by eye to a waveform instead of metering loudness.
- Delivering inconsistent loudness across episodes, so listeners ride the volume.
- Over-compressing to hit a number and crushing the natural dynamics.
What is LUFS?
LUFS (Loudness Units Full Scale) is the standard measure of perceived loudness used to set how loud a podcast sounds across an episode. Mastering to a consistent LUFS target keeps your show at a comfortable, even volume on every platform.
What LUFS should a podcast be?
Spoken-word podcasts are commonly mastered to around -16 LUFS for stereo, with many platforms normalising toward -14 to -16 LUFS. The exact target depends on the platform and format.
Is LUFS the same as volume?
It measures perceived loudness over time, which tracks how loud something actually sounds to a listener, rather than the instantaneous peak level a meter shows.