LUFS Targets for Spotify, Apple Music & YouTube (2026)

What is LUFS, in one minute

LUFS (Loudness Units Full Scale) is how streaming platforms measure perceived loudness — much closer to how loud something actually sounds than a raw peak meter. The number that matters for mastering is integrated LUFS: the average loudness across the whole track.

Streaming platforms normalize playback to a target LUFS. If your master is louder than the target, the platform turns it down on playback; if it is quieter, it may turn it up. So mastering far louder than the target no longer wins a loudness war — your track just gets turned down and you keep the distortion you added to get there.

The loudness target for each platform

Spotify normalizes to about −14 LUFS integrated. Master to roughly −14 LUFS and your track plays back at a competitive level without being turned down.

YouTube and Amazon Music also sit around −14 LUFS, so the same −14 LUFS master travels well across all three.

Apple Music normalizes a little quieter, around −16 LUFS. A −14 LUFS master is simply turned down slightly there — it will not clip — so −14 LUFS remains a safe single target if you release one master everywhere.

SoundCloud and Tidal are also in the −14 LUFS neighborhood. Club, CD, and some loud genres are mastered hotter (−9 to −6 LUFS), trading dynamic range for density — a deliberate creative choice, not a streaming requirement.

Whatever the integrated target, keep a true-peak ceiling of −1 dBTP. That headroom stops inter-sample peaks from clipping after lossy encoding — the MP3/AAC the platform actually streams.

How loud should YOUR master be?

For streaming, aim for about −14 LUFS integrated and −1 dBTP true-peak. That is the honest, safe default for most music in 2026.

Genre matters at the margins: hip-hop, trap, and EDM are often mastered a touch louder (−12 to −13 LUFS) and listeners expect that density; acoustic, jazz, and classical keep more dynamic range and sit quieter (−16 LUFS or below). The platform target is a reference, not a hard rule — serve the song.

How to hit the target for free

You do not need a paid service to master to these numbers. Selekt's free in-browser mastering tool (https://selektaudio.com/tools/mastering) masters a finished mix to about −14 LUFS / −1 dBTP, runs entirely on your device (no upload, no account, no watermark), and shows the exact before-and-after loudness so you can confirm where it landed. It also has destination presets for Spotify/YouTube (−14), Apple Music (−16), and a louder club target.

Leave a little headroom in your mix first — peaks around −6 dB rather than a mix already slammed to the ceiling — and the master comes out cleaner.

Frequently Asked Questions

What LUFS should I master to for Spotify?

About −14 LUFS integrated with a −1 dBTP true-peak ceiling. Spotify normalizes playback to roughly −14 LUFS, so a louder master is just turned down on playback while keeping any distortion you added to reach that level.

Is −14 LUFS the right target for Apple Music too?

Apple Music normalizes a little quieter, around −16 LUFS, but a −14 LUFS master is simply turned down slightly there — it will not clip. If you release one master everywhere, −14 LUFS / −1 dBTP is a safe single target.

Why not just master as loud as possible?

Because streaming platforms normalize loudness. Mastering hotter than the platform target does not make playback louder — the platform turns it back down — but you keep the reduced dynamics and any limiting distortion. Past a point, louder is simply worse.

What does −1 dBTP mean?

dBTP is decibels true peak — the real peak level including the inter-sample peaks that appear after a file is converted to a lossy format. Leaving a −1 dBTP ceiling gives headroom so the streamed MP3/AAC does not clip.