Normalize MP3 Loudness on Windows with FFmpeg (loudnorm)
Even out the volume of MP3 files so they all play at a consistent loudness using the loudnorm filter.
Run `ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-1.5:LRA=11" -ar 48k output.mp3` for each file you want to level out.
01Command
Command
$ ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-1.5:LRA=11" -ar 48k output.mp302What it does
Files downloaded from different sources often vary wildly in volume, so you reach for the volume knob between tracks. The loudnorm filter measures a file's perceived loudness and re-encodes it at a target level — -16 LUFS is the common standard for podcasts and speech, -14 LUFS is typical for music streaming. Unlike simple peak normalization, loudnorm targets how loud it actually sounds to a human ear.
03Risk
!Warning: This re-encodes the audio, so keep the original files. For a whole album, run the two-pass variant of loudnorm for the most accurate matching between tracks.
04Undo
✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.
05Sources
- FFmpeg Filters Documentation - loudnormEvidence: loudnorm normalizes audio to a target integrated loudness (I), true peak (TP) and loudness range (LRA), e.g. I=-16.
- FFmpeg Wiki: Audio VolumeEvidence: Explains loudness normalization options including the loudnorm filter for evening out volume across files.
Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: Media