What LUFS should I master to?

Streaming services play every track at a similar loudness, so listeners don’t reach for the volume between songs. If your master is louder than a service’s target it gets turned down; if it’s quieter, some services turn it up and some don’t. Knowing the targets helps you decide how hard to push a master — and when it’s pointless.

Check your master’s LUFS free →

Streaming loudness targets

Spotify: −14 LUFS in the default setting (−11 in Loud, −19 in Quiet).
YouTube: about −14 LUFS, and it only turns loud tracks down — quiet ones stay quiet.
Apple Music: about −16 LUFS with Sound Check.
Amazon Music, TIDAL and SoundCloud: about −14 LUFS. Deezer: about −15 LUFS.
True peak: keep it at −1 dBTP or lower so conversion to MP3 or AAC doesn’t clip.

What that means in practice

Louder isn’t louder: a −8 LUFS master is turned down about 6 dB on Spotify, so it plays at the same level as a −14 master — just with less dynamic range.
Too quiet can cost you: on YouTube, and on Spotify when peaks are high, a quiet master stays quieter than everything around it.
A sensible target: −14 to −10 LUFS integrated with −1 dBTP true peak suits most genres; dense electronic and rock masters often sit nearer −9 by choice.

Step by step

Export your master as WAV or a high-quality MP3.
Drop it into the Glowtrack Studio LUFS loudness checker — several files at once is fine.
Read the integrated LUFS and true peak, then the table showing what each service will do to the track.
If the true peak is above −1 dBTP, lower your limiter’s ceiling; if the track is far below −14 LUFS, consider more gain before the limiter.

Check your master’s LUFS free →

Questions

Do I have to master to −14 LUFS?

No. It’s a playback level, not a rule. Master to what sounds best for the music; just know that anything louder will be turned down.

Why does my master sound quieter than others on Spotify?

Either it’s below −14 LUFS and its peaks stop Spotify from raising it, or it’s heavily compressed and sounds smaller once turned down. Check both numbers in the loudness checker.

Is LUFS the same as RMS?

Related but not the same. LUFS uses a filter that matches how we hear (K-weighting) and ignores silent parts, so it tracks perceived loudness better.