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Decibel Meter

Check how loud a room is before you record a meeting, an interview or a podcast. Press Start, allow the microphone, and watch the live level, the peak and the average. Readings are estimates from your device's microphone; set a calibration offset if you have a hardware meter to compare against.

Now

–dBA

Press Start and allow the microphone when the browser asks.

An estimate: a phone or laptop microphone is not a calibrated sound level meter.

Peak

–

Average (Leq)

–

Min

–

Time

0:00

Last 60 seconds

406080100
Weighting
Calibration: 100.0 dB

The microphone measures relative to its own maximum (dBFS). The offset turns that into an approximate dB reading.

Default 100: a round starting point, not a measurement. It is saved in this browser only.

Hold both side by side for a few seconds of steady sound, type the meter's number, then press Match it while measuring.

Recording already too quiet? Make it louder with the Volume Booster.

The microphone is only used while the meter runs. Nothing is recorded or sent.

How to use the decibel meter

Three steps, in your browser. Nothing to install.

  1. 1

    Press Start and allow the microphone

    The browser asks once. The meter turns off echo cancellation, noise suppression and automatic gain control where the browser allows it, so the reading follows the room rather than a voice filter.

  2. 2

    Stay still for 20 to 30 seconds

    Hold the phone or laptop where the recorder will sit. Watch the live number, the 60-second graph and the average (Leq), which settles as the seconds add up.

  3. 3

    Stop and read the summary

    Stop ends the microphone. The peak, average, minimum and time stay on screen, so you can move to another spot, measure again and compare.

Recorded already and it came out quiet? That is a different job: use the Volume Booster.

Is the room quiet enough to record?

What to look for before an interview, a meeting or an episode.

  • Aim for a quiet-room reading

    With nobody talking, a quiet room is listed at about 40 dBA. If the room sits well above that with everyone silent, the background will be audible under every voice in the recording.

  • Find the hum

    Air conditioning, a projector fan or a fridge shows up as a flat line on the graph that never drops. Switch it off for a minute and measure again: the drop tells you how much it adds.

  • Compare spots, not absolute numbers

    Measure the corner by the window, the middle of the table and the small office down the hall with the same device and the same offset. The lower average wins, whatever the calibration.

  • Check the speaking level too

    Ask someone to talk at their normal volume where they will sit. Typical conversation is listed at about 60 dBA: the gap between that and the silent room is what keeps the voice clear.

How loud is that? Typical sound levels

Typical levels for common sounds, in A-weighted decibels, as listed by the Communication Health Support Association with ASHA's expertise.

LevelTypical sound
30 dBAWhisper
40 dBAQuiet room
50 dBAModerate rainfall
60 dBATypical conversation, dishwasher, clothes dryer
70 dBAGroup conversation, vacuum cleaner, alarm clock
91 dBASubway, motorcycle, gas mower
94 dBAHair dryer, kitchen blender, food processor
On hearing, the NIDCD says: "Sounds at or below 70 A-weighted decibels (dBA), even after long exposure, are unlikely to cause hearing loss. However, long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 dBA can cause hearing loss." This meter is an estimate and not a tool for checking hearing safety.

How an online sound meter works

A microphone in a phone or laptop does not report sound pressure. It reports how close the signal is to its own maximum, in decibels below full scale (dBFS). The meter takes the microphone signal ten times a second, works out its average power and shows it in decibels.

To turn dBFS into a familiar dB number, the meter adds a calibration offset. The default of 100 dB is a round starting point that puts quiet rooms and normal speech in a believable range on many devices; it is not a measurement. Every microphone, phone case and browser differs, so for numbers you can rely on, put a hardware sound level meter next to the device and use Match it, or type an offset yourself. The offset is saved in your browser.

A-weighting, on by default, follows the IEC 61672 curve, which counts low and very high frequencies less, roughly as the ear hears them. It is the dBA used in the table above. Switch to Unweighted to see the raw level, which reads higher when there is a low hum.

The average is the Leq: an energy average over the whole session, which is how sound level meters average. A short loud moment pulls it up more than a plain average of the readings would.

Getting a quieter recording

  • Get the microphone closer

    Moving the phone from across the table to within arm's reach of the person speaking makes the voice much louder against the same room noise.

  • Soft rooms beat big rooms

    Carpet, curtains and furniture soak up echo. A small office with a sofa usually measures and sounds better than a bare meeting room with glass walls.

  • Silence the hum before you start

    Turn off the fan, close the window and move away from the server cupboard, then run the meter again to check the line on the graph dropped.

  • Measure at the time you will record

    A café at 10 a.m. and at lunchtime are different places. Measure at the hour of the interview if you can.

More on recording: the best interview recording apps, how to record a meeting on iPhone and recording devices for journalists.

Room quiet enough? Record it.

Once the room is quiet enough, ParrotNotes records the meeting or interview on your phone and gives you the transcript and a summary, free for 100 minutes of recording a month.

Get ParrotNotes free

Related tools

Decibel Meter FAQ

Sources