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Free Background Noise Checker: is your recording too noisy?

Choose a video or audio file and measure its background noise: the noise floor when nobody is talking, how far your voice sits above it, electrical hum at 50 or 60 Hz and hiss. Then jump to the quietest second to hear the noise yourself. Everything runs in your browser: your file never leaves your device.

Updated · Built by Kevin Tabares, long-form YouTube editor at Umbrella Creators.

Check the background noise of a recording

Your file stays on your device. Nothing is uploaded: your browser decodes the audio and measures it right here, in this tab.

How to use it

  1. Choose a recording with your voice and some pauses (the raw file from your mic, camera or OBS, or your finished export), between 5 seconds and 60 minutes.
  2. Press Check the noise. The browser measures the level every 50 ms and the spectrum of the quietest parts of the file; it takes a few seconds.
  3. Read the noise floor, the gap to your voice and whether there is hum or hiss, then press the time stamp to hear the quietest second of your file.

How it measures: the noise floor is measured only in steady stretches of at least 0.3 seconds (room tone does not rise and fall like speech): it is the level that 90% of those stretches stay above. The voice level is the level that only 5% of the 50 ms windows pass. The thresholds in the result (-60 and -50 dBFS, 35 and 25 dB) are the rule of thumb I use when I edit, not an official standard.

FAQ

How do I know if my audio has too much background noise?
Look at two numbers. The noise floor is how loud the recording is when nobody is talking, and the gap between your voice and that floor is the signal to noise ratio. As a rule of thumb in my edits, a floor around -60 dBFS or lower with your voice 35 dB or more above it sounds clean on headphones; a floor above -50 dBFS, or less than 25 dB between voice and noise, is usually audible.
What is the humming sound in my recording?
A steady low hum at 50 or 60 Hz, often with its multiples (100 and 150 Hz, or 120 and 180 Hz), comes from the electrical mains: a ground loop, an unbalanced cable next to a power cable, or a mic plugged into a laptop that is charging. This checker looks for exactly that pattern in the quiet parts of your file. Try unplugging the charger, moving cables apart or using a balanced XLR cable.
Can I remove background noise after recording?
Partly. A noise reduction or "voice isolation" effect in your editor (Premiere, Resolve, Audition, Audacity) can lower steady hiss and hum a lot, and a narrow notch filter at 50 or 60 Hz and its harmonics removes most mains hum. Pushed too hard they make the voice sound watery, so the best fix is still a quieter room and the mic closer to your mouth.
Does it upload my file?
No. Your browser decodes the audio and measures it on your own device; the file never leaves this tab and nothing is downloaded.
Which file should I check?
The raw recording, before any noise reduction, tells you how your room and mic really sound. Checking the finished export tells you what viewers will hear. Five seconds is the minimum, but a file with some pauses gives a better reading of the noise floor.

Who made this

I'm Kevin Tabares. I've edited long-form YouTube videos since 2015 (1,277 videos and 152.2M+ views tracked on YT Jobs) for channels like Rex & Alexa, Puff and Mud. The first thing I do with a new client's raw files is listen to the room, so I built this to give you the same check in seconds, without uploading anything. If you want an editor for your channel, get in touch.

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