Podcast Audio Compressor

The same target-size compression engine as the Audio Compressor, with quick presets sized around typical episode lengths instead of generic file-size targets.

How to use the Podcast Audio Compressor

  1. Add your audioDrop a file onto the page or tap to browse — or press “try a built-in sample” to explore first. Nothing is uploaded; the file is decoded on your device.
  2. Choose a delivery format and loudnessPick a preset (mono 64/96 kbps for talk, stereo 96/128 kbps for music-heavy shows), set how much to even out the volume and the final loudness (−16 LUFS for stereo).
  3. Prepare and listenPress Prepare podcast file; the file is levelled, normalised and encoded, then decoded again so you hear the real thing.
  4. DownloadA host-ready MP3 with its size and per-hour data shown.

About the Podcast Audio Compressor

The Podcast Audio Compressor is a one-click delivery step: it removes rumble, gently evens out the volume (dynamic-range compression), sets the loudness to the podcast standard and encodes to a small MP3 — so your episode sounds consistent on a noisy commute and is cheap to host and download.

Compressor means two things in audio, and this tool does both: dynamic compression makes the quiet and loud parts closer in level, and file compression makes the file smaller.

How the Podcast Audio Compressor works

Chain: optional 70 Hz high-pass → feed-forward compressor (threshold −26 dB, ratio 1.5–4:1, 12 ms attack, 220 ms release, 10 dB soft knee, make-up gain up to +5 dB) → integrated-loudness normalisation to −16/−19/−14 LUFS (ITU-R BS.1770) with a −1.5 dBTP limiter → MP3 encode (mono options use a 22.05 kHz sample rate at 64 kbps). The result is decoded again for preview. Per-hour size: 64 kbps = 28.8 MB, 96 kbps = 43.2 MB, 128 kbps = 57.6 MB.

What people use it for

Podcast publishing

Deliver consistent, small files.

Noisy listening

Compression keeps speech audible over road noise.

Hosting costs

Smaller files = less bandwidth.

Radio & talk shows

Broadcast-style levelling.

Tips for the best results

  • −16 LUFS for stereo shows, −19 LUFS for mono (Apple’s recommendation is −16 LUFS ±1).
  • Mono 64 kbps is the standard for talk; use stereo 128 for music-driven shows.
  • Moderate compression (30–50%) sounds natural; above 70% sounds squashed.

Common problems & fixes

Voices sound pumpingLower the “Even out the volume” amount.
Too quiet on phonesChoose −14 LUFS or raise the compression amount.

Quick facts

PresetsMono 64/96 kbps · Stereo 96/128 kbps
Loudness−16, −19, −14 LUFS or unchanged
DynamicsSoft-knee compressor 1.5–4:1
OutputMP3

Frequently asked questions

Why −16 LUFS?

Apple Podcasts recommends −16 LUFS (±1) for stereo; most hosts and apps normalise to similar targets.

Mono or stereo?

Mono for speech — half the size with no audible loss.

What bitrate is right for a podcast?

64–96kbps is typically plenty for clear spoken-word audio — much lower than what music needs, which is why podcast files can be quite small without losing intelligibility.

Should I compress before or after adding noise reduction/normalization?

Compress last — noise reduction and normalization work on uncompressed audio data, so run those first (see Clean Voice Recording or Podcast Noise Reducer), then compress the result.

Your audio never leaves your device

This tool runs entirely in your browser using the Web Audio API. Nothing is uploaded, stored or shared — there is no server to send your file to, so it works offline once the page has loaded.

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