Normalize your audio volume
without squashing the dynamics.

Measure the file and pick a target

1. Select Choose a file. Open your finished audio in the normalizer: the edited version, with the intro, main content and ending already in place. Files can be up to 20 minutes.
2. Read Original loudness and Original true peak. These tell you how loud the file is overall and how high its loudest peak reaches.
3. Set Target loudness (LUFS). It starts at −16. Keep that, or type the target your podcast host or client asks for, anywhere from −30 to −9.
4. Press Play. Listen to the adjusted version and read the line under the target: the loudness it reached, its true peak and how much gain was applied.
5. Select Download WAV. The file saves with -normalized on the end of its name. Play it once in your usual player.

What the numbers mean

LUFS values are negative, and closer to zero means louder. Going from −22 to −16 LUFS turns the file up; going from −12 to −16 turns it down. The readout after you press Play shows the change the tool actually made.

True-peak protection keeps the result below −1 dBTP, and it wins over your target. If a recording has sharp peaks, like a laugh right into the mic, it can land below the loudness you asked for, and the readout tells you when that happens. Write down the reported level, not your target, as the file’s final loudness.

Your quiet and loud moments stay put

The tool applies one gain change to the whole file. A whispered line stays quieter than a shout, and a big musical hit still stands out from the bars around it. That’s why normalizing works best after you’ve finished the edit.

Listen to a quiet line and a loud one at the same volume. If your guest is much quieter than you, fix that in your editor before the final normalize. The overall level and the balance between voices are two separate jobs, and this tool only does the first.

Use the same target every time

For a podcast series or a batch of voiceovers, pick one target and run each finished file through it on its own. Note the level each one reached, then compare a typical passage from each at the same playback volume. Keep your source files so any later fix starts from the same material.

Normalize last, after the final cut and fades. If you change the content, the measurement changes too. Play the opening and ending of the file you’re sending, and use that exact WAV for whatever comes next.

Related guides

• Clean up background noise in a podcast
• Remove music from a YouTube video and keep the voice