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You publish an episode, hit play on your phone, and it’s noticeably quieter than the show you were just listening to. Or worse, your intro music blasts while the conversation mumbles. That’s a loudness problem, and it’s one of the fastest ways to make a podcast feel amateur. Here’s what podcast loudness numbers mean, what the platforms actually ask for, and the target we use on every show we mix.

What LUFS and True Peak Actually Measure

LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) measures how loud audio sounds to people, not just how high the waveform peaks. It’s defined by the international standard ITU-R BS.1770. You’ll also see LKFS. According to the Audio Engineering Society, it’s the same unit with a different name.

For podcasts, the number that matters is integrated loudness: the average loudness of the whole episode, start to finish.

True peak (dBTP) is the highest point your audio reaches once it’s converted back to analog, including peaks that sneak in between digital samples. Those hidden peaks can distort when your file gets encoded to MP3 or AAC for streaming, which is why every serious spec sets a true peak ceiling below 0.

The Numbers That Matter

• Apple Podcasts: around −16 LKFS (±1 dB), with true peak no higher than −1 dBFS, per Apple’s audio requirements. It’s the clearest published podcast spec out there.
• AES streaming guidelines: the AES recommendation for speech-driven streaming content targets −18 LUFS, with a true peak no higher than −1 dBTP.
• Spotify: normalizes music to −14 LUFS by default, but doesn’t publish a loudness target for podcast episodes. Its spec for podcast ads is −16 LUFS (±1.5) with a −2 dBTP ceiling.
• YouTube: doesn’t publish an official number. Engineers widely observe around −14 LUFS, and YouTube only turns loud content down, never quiet content up.

For contrast, other formats play by different rules. Audiobooks on ACX/Audible are measured in RMS (−23 to −18 dB, peaks below −3 dB). U.S. broadcast TV targets −24 LKFS, and European broadcast (EBU R128) targets −23 LUFS. Delivering a podcast at broadcast levels is a common reason shows sound quiet.

So Which Number Should You Hit?

Our default for podcasts is −16 LUFS integrated with true peak at or below −1 dBTP, delivered in stereo. That matches Apple, the strictest published podcast spec, and sits right where listeners expect a spoken-word show to play.

One gotcha: mono files. The AES notes that a mono file played back through two channels measures about 3 LU louder than the file itself. If you deliver mono, your engineer should account for it. (Apple also requires WAV and FLAC uploads to be stereo.)

Loud Isn’t the Same as Good

You can slam any episode to −16 LUFS with a limiter. That doesn’t make it sound good. The real goal is consistency: hosts and guests at the same perceived level, music beds that sit under the conversation, and ad reads that don’t jump out.

The AES puts it plainly: inconsistent loudness annoys listeners, and nobody likes reaching for the volume knob. Spotify’s ad guidelines make the same point: when listeners feel the need to adjust volume, they’re more likely to skip.

Quick Pre-Publish Loudness Check

• Measure integrated loudness across the entire episode, not a 30-second clip.
• Confirm true peak is at or below −1 dBTP.
• Compare your intro music and ad reads to the conversation. They should feel level, not louder.
• Listen on a phone speaker and cheap earbuds, not just studio headphones.
• Keep every episode at the same target so your show sounds consistent from week to week.