---
title: "LUFS Meter Online: Free Loudness & True Peak Check | Elephant Audio"
description: "Free online LUFS meter: integrated loudness, true peak and loudness range, checked against EBU R 128, ATSC A/85, UK DPP and Spotify. Nothing is uploaded."
canonical_url: "https://elephantaudio.pk/loudness-meter"
type: "WebApplication"
date_modified: "2026-09-24T02:29:38+05:00"
publisher: "Elephant Audio"
publisher_url: "https://elephantaudio.pk"
author:
  name: "Abu Bakar Zahid"
  role: "Founder, Managing Director & Music Producer at Elephant Audio"
  url: "https://elephantaudio.pk/founder"
  same_as:
    - "https://www.linkedin.com/in/abubakarzahid94"
    - "https://www.youtube.com/@AbuBakarZahid"
    - "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12369947/"
    - "https://open.spotify.com/artist/1vsRY1hLmqEBXcx5xeKs0m"
    - "https://music.apple.com/us/artist/abu-bakar-zahid/1654787374"
    - "https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/190524117"
    - "https://on.soundcloud.com/EnpcD"
    - "https://www.instagram.com/abubakarzahid94/"
    - "https://www.facebook.com/abubakarzahid9400/"
    - "https://twitter.com/abubakarzahid94"
    - "https://soundsofpakistan.com/artist/abu-bakar-zahid/"
person: "Abu Bakar Zahid"
person_same_as:
  - "https://www.linkedin.com/in/abubakarzahid94"
  - "https://www.youtube.com/@AbuBakarZahid"
  - "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12369947/"
  - "https://open.spotify.com/artist/1vsRY1hLmqEBXcx5xeKs0m"
  - "https://music.apple.com/us/artist/abu-bakar-zahid/1654787374"
  - "https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/190524117"
  - "https://on.soundcloud.com/EnpcD"
  - "https://www.instagram.com/abubakarzahid94/"
  - "https://www.facebook.com/abubakarzahid9400/"
  - "https://twitter.com/abubakarzahid94"
  - "https://soundsofpakistan.com/artist/abu-bakar-zahid/"
---

# LUFS Meter Online: Free Loudness & True Peak Check

Check a mix or master against broadcast and streaming loudness specs. Integrated LUFS, true peak and loudness range, measured to ITU-R BS.1770 and checked against the EBU test set. Your file never leaves your device.

Interactive tool: https://elephantaudio.pk/loudness-meter — runs in the browser; nothing is uploaded.

What LUFS, true peak and LRA mean:
- LUFS (and LKFS): Loudness Units relative to Full Scale, defined by ITU-R BS.1770. The signal is K-weighted to approximate hearing, and quiet passages are gated out, so the figure describes foreground loudness. LKFS is the same unit under the North American name; one LU equals one dB.
- True peak (dBTP): The waveform's highest point between samples, found by oversampling. It can sit above the highest sample value, and lossy encoding can push it higher still, which is why specs cap it at −1 dBTP rather than 0.
- Short-term and momentary: Loudness over the last 3 seconds and the last 400 milliseconds. EBU R 128 s1 limits short-term loudness on adverts to −18.0 LUFS, and French law limits it to −20 LUFS on commercials.
- Loudness range (LRA): How much the short-term loudness moves across the programme, in LU (EBU Tech 3342). UK DPP asks programmes to aim for no more than 18 LU, and France caps programmes over two minutes at 20 LU.

How to check a file against a loudness spec:
- 1. Export the file you will actually deliver — Full length, at the sample rate and format going to the broadcaster or platform. Loudness is measured over the whole programme, so a cut-down or a clip measures differently from the full master.
- 2. Drop it into the meter — WAV, MP3, AAC (M4A) or FLAC. The file is read and measured in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
- 3. Read integrated loudness and true peak — Integrated loudness (LUFS) is the programme's overall level after gating. True peak (dBTP) is the highest level of the waveform between samples, which is what trips a broadcaster's peak limit.
- 4. Check the row for your destination — Each delivery check applies its spec as written, with the tolerance and a link to the source. Streaming rows tell you how the platform will change the playback level instead of pass or fail.
- 5. Fix the right thing — Too loud or too quiet overall is a level change. A true-peak failure is a limiter ceiling problem. A short-term failure on an advert means one passage is too loud even if the average passes, which usually needs the mix itself adjusted.

How this meter works:
Measurement follows ITU-R BS.1770-5: K-weighting redesigned exactly for the file's own sample rate, 400 ms gating blocks with 75% overlap, the −70 LUFS absolute gate and the −10 LU relative gate. Loudness range follows EBU Tech 3342. True peak is measured by oversampling (8× below 88.2 kHz) with a windowed-sinc interpolator.
It is checked against every synthetic test case in EBU Tech 3341 and Tech 3342 at both 44.1 and 48 kHz, and against ffmpeg's EBU R 128 meter on every test file: 204 of 204 checks pass. True peak agrees with 32× brute-force oversampling to within 0.03 dB.
In the browser it is tested with real file uploads in Chrome, Firefox and Safari on desktop and phone, where every browser returns identical readings to a hundredth of a decibel — including a check that no audio, file name or result leaves the page.
WAV files are read sample-exact at their own rate. Compressed formats are decoded by your browser at the rate read from the file's header, so nothing is quietly resampled.

Published accuracy against EBU Tech 3341 and Tech 3342 (measured at 48 kHz / 44.1 kHz):
- 3341 #1, Stereo 1 kHz sine, −23 dBFS, 20 s — Integrated: expected −23 LUFS (±0.1); measured −22.99 / −22.99
- 3341 #2, Stereo 1 kHz sine, −33 dBFS, 20 s — Integrated: expected −33 LUFS (±0.1); measured −32.99 / −32.99
- 3341 #3, 10 s −36 / 60 s −23 / 10 s −36 dBFS — Integrated: expected −23 LUFS (±0.1); measured −23.01 / −23.01
- 3341 #4, −72 / −36 / −23 (60 s) / −36 / −72 dBFS — Integrated: expected −23 LUFS (±0.1); measured −23.01 / −23.01
- 3341 #5, 20 s −26 / 20.1 s −20 / 20 s −26 dBFS — Integrated: expected −23 LUFS (±0.1); measured −22.98 / −22.98
- 3341 #6, 5.0: L/R −28, C −24, Ls/Rs −30 dBFS — Integrated: expected −23 LUFS (±0.1); measured −23.02 / −23.01
- 3341 #9, (1.34 s −20 / 1.66 s −30) ×5 — Short-term (steady): expected −23 LUFS (±0.1); measured −22.99 / −22.98
- 3341 #10, 20 × (i·0.15 s silence, 3 s −23, 1 s silence) — Max short-term, 20 segments: expected −23 LUFS (±0.1); measured −22.99 / −22.99
- 3341 #12, (0.18 s −20 / 0.22 s −30) ×25 — Momentary (steady): expected −23 LUFS (±0.1); measured −22.96 / −22.96
- 3341 #13, 20 × (i·20 ms silence, 400 ms −23, 1 s silence) — Max momentary, 20 segments: expected −23 LUFS (±0.1); measured −22.99 / −22.99
- 3341 #15, Sine fs/4, 0.5 FFS, phase 0.0° — True peak: expected −6 dBTP (+0.2 / −0.4); measured −6.02 / −6.02
- 3341 #16, Sine fs/4, 0.5 FFS, phase 45.0° — True peak: expected −6 dBTP (+0.2 / −0.4); measured −6.06 / −6.06
- 3341 #17, Sine fs/6, 0.5 FFS, phase 60.0° — True peak: expected −6 dBTP (+0.2 / −0.4); measured −6.04 / −6.04
- 3341 #18, Sine fs/8, 0.5 FFS, phase 67.5° — True peak: expected −6 dBTP (+0.2 / −0.4); measured −6.03 / −6.03
- 3341 #19, Sine fs/4, 1.41 FFS, phase 45.0° — True peak: expected 3 dBTP (+0.2 / −0.4); measured 2.94 / 2.94
- 3341 #20, fs/6 carrier + one fs/4 period at 1.0, offset 0 — True peak: expected 0 dBTP (+0.2 / −0.4); measured 0.03 / 0.03
- 3341 #21, fs/6 carrier + one fs/4 period at 1.0, offset 1 — True peak: expected 0 dBTP (+0.2 / −0.4); measured 0.01 / 0.01
- 3341 #22, fs/6 carrier + one fs/4 period at 1.0, offset 2 — True peak: expected 0 dBTP (+0.2 / −0.4); measured 0.05 / 0.05
- 3341 #23, fs/6 carrier + one fs/4 period at 1.0, offset 3 — True peak: expected 0 dBTP (+0.2 / −0.4); measured 0.07 / 0.07
- 3342 #1, LRA: -20 dBFS / -30 dBFS (20 s each) — Loudness range: expected 10 LU (±1); measured 10 / 10
- 3342 #2, LRA: -20 dBFS / -15 dBFS (20 s each) — Loudness range: expected 5 LU (±1); measured 5 / 5
- 3342 #3, LRA: -40 dBFS / -20 dBFS (20 s each) — Loudness range: expected 20 LU (±1); measured 20 / 20
- 3342 #4, LRA: -50 dBFS / -35 dBFS / -20 dBFS / -35 dBFS / -50 dBFS (20 s each) — Loudness range: expected 15 LU (±1); measured 15 / 15

## Delivery checks the meter applies

- EBU R 128 (European broadcast): −23.0 LUFS · true peak ≤ −1 dBTP. Source: https://elephantaudio.pk/reference/ebu-r128
- EBU R 128 s1 (Adverts, promos, idents): −23.0 LUFS · max short-term ≤ −18.0 LUFS · ≤ −1 dBTP. Source: https://elephantaudio.pk/reference/ebu-r128-s1
- ATSC A/85 (US television — short-form (adverts, promos)): −24 LKFS full-program mix · true peak ≤ −2 dBTP. Source: https://elephantaudio.pk/reference/atsc-a85
- UK DPP (UK programme delivery (non-live)): −23.0 LUFS ±0.5 LU · fail above −1 dBTP · LRA ≤ 18 LU. Source: https://elephantaudio.pk/reference/uk-dpp
- Clearcast (UK TV advertising): −23 LUFS (as EBU R 128) · mean phase floor −0.95. Source: https://elephantaudio.pk/reference/clearcast
- France — commercials (French TV advertising (law)): ≤ −23 LUFS average · ≤ −20 LUFS short-term. Source: https://elephantaudio.pk/reference/france-loudness
- France — programmes (French TV programmes over two minutes): −23 LUFS ±1 LU · LRA ≤ 20 LU. Source: https://elephantaudio.pk/reference/france-loudness
- Spotify (Streaming playback (normalisation, not a requirement)): Normalises to −14 LUFS · true peak below −1 dBTP (−2 for loud masters). Source: https://elephantaudio.pk/reference/spotify

## Frequently asked questions

### What LUFS should my song be for Spotify?

There is no required level. Spotify normalises playback to −14 LUFS: louder tracks are turned down, and quieter ones are lifted only as far as their true peak allows. Spotify advises keeping true peak below −1 dBTP, or below −2 dBTP for masters louder than −14 LUFS.

### What loudness do TV broadcasters require?

In Europe, EBU R 128 sets −23.0 LUFS with true peak no higher than −1 dBTP. UK DPP requires −23.0 LUFS ±0.5 LU for non-live programmes, and adverts under EBU R 128 s1 also have a −18.0 LUFS short-term ceiling. In the US, ATSC A/85 recommends −24 LKFS with true peak at or below −2 dBTP; the meter checks US adverts and promos, while US programmes are measured on dialogue.

### My advert measures −23 LUFS. Why was it rejected?

The integrated figure is only one of the checks. Adverts also face a short-term ceiling (−18.0 LUFS under EBU R 128 s1, −20 LUFS under French law), a true-peak limit, and in the UK a Clearcast phase check. A spot can hit −23 LUFS on average and still have one passage that is too loud.

### Is LUFS the same as LKFS?

Yes. Both are the unit defined by ITU-R BS.1770 and measured by the same algorithm; the EBU calls it LUFS and ATSC calls it LKFS. A file measuring −23 LUFS measures −23 LKFS.

### Is my audio uploaded anywhere?

No. The file is decoded and measured inside your browser, and nothing about it — not the audio, the file name or the results — is sent to a server.

### How accurate is this meter?

It passes every synthetic test case in EBU Tech 3341 and 3342 at 44.1 and 48 kHz, agrees with ffmpeg's EBU R 128 meter on every test file, and gives identical readings in Chrome, Firefox and Safari. The method section above lists what was tested.

### Why does my MP3 read slightly differently from the WAV?

Lossy encoding changes the waveform a little, usually by around a tenth of a loudness unit, and can raise true peak. Always measure the exact file you are delivering.

### Which file formats can I check?

WAV (including 24-bit, 32-bit float and 5.1), MP3, AAC or M4A, and FLAC work in every modern browser. Ogg and Opus depend on the browser. Surround files are measured with the LFE channel excluded and surrounds weighted, as BS.1770 specifies.

## Studio

- **Studio:** Elephant Audio — Lahore, Pakistan
- **Founder:** Abu Bakar Zahid — Founder, Managing Director & Music Producer at Elephant Audio
- **Website:** https://elephantaudio.pk
- **Contact:** abubakar@elephantaudio.pk