# Why Suno Songs Sound Quiet (and How to Fix It)

> Raw Suno exports usually land around -18 LUFS, well under streaming's -14 target. Here's why that happens and how to bring a track up to full loudness without crushing it.

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# Why Suno Songs Sound Quiet (and How to Fix It)

Published 1 September 2026, 12:00 UTC · updated 31 August 2026, 13:04 UTC · by Loopin

A raw Suno export landing quiet isn't a bug — it's just an unmastered file. The gap between that and a released track is almost always 3-5 dB of loudness you haven't added yet.

## Know what you're actually comparing it to

If you're switching between a Suno export and a released song on Spotify and the Suno track sounds noticeably quieter, you're comparing an unmastered file to a mastered one — every commercial release has been through a loudness process the raw export hasn't. That gap is expected, not a sign anything's wrong with the export.

Raw exports commonly sit around −18 LUFS integrated. Streaming platforms normalise most releases to somewhere near −14 LUFS, so there's typically 3–5 dB of headroom sitting unused before you've touched anything.

## A limiter alone gets you loud, not good

The fastest way to "fix" quiet is a limiter with the input gain pushed up, and it works — loudness goes up immediately. But pushing a limiter hard on an unbalanced mix just makes whatever's already congested or harsh louder along with everything else, which is why a quick limiter pass often sounds worse than the quiet original.

EQ first, loudness last. Clear any muddy buildup and calm any harsh frequencies before you bring up the overall level — the limiter's job gets much easier once it isn't fighting problems that were there before you started.

## Check where the loudness is actually going

Watch a loudness meter while the track plays rather than trusting your ears alone — ears adjust to level differences within seconds, which makes it hard to judge accurately by feel. If the integrated LUFS reading stays well under −14 even after a limiter is engaged, the limiter likely isn't catching the loudest peaks, or there's more dynamic range in the mix than the target loudness can absorb without heavier gain reduction.

One to three decibels of gain reduction on the loudest sections is a reasonable range for most genres. If you need more than that just to reach −14 LUFS, the underlying mix may be quieter than it needs to be before mastering even starts.

## True peak matters as much as integrated loudness

A track can hit −14 LUFS integrated and still clip on playback if true peaks aren't controlled — this shows up as a harsh, distorted edge on transients after the file gets converted for streaming. Set a true-peak ceiling around −1 dBTP, not just a loudness target, so the file has headroom for whatever encoding a platform applies afterward.

This is a separate setting from loudness in most limiters — check both numbers, not just one, before calling a master finished.

## What to do if it's still quiet after all that

If the track still sounds meaningfully quieter than a reference song even at −14 LUFS and full gain reduction, the issue usually isn't loudness anymore — it's perceived loudness, which comes from frequency balance, not just level. A mix with weak low-mids or a thin top end can hit the same LUFS number as a fuller mix and still sound smaller.

In that case, go back to EQ: check for missing body around 150–300 Hz and missing presence around 2–4 kHz. Adding both back usually closes the gap loudness alone can't.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why is my Suno export so much quieter than songs on Spotify?

Raw exports are unmastered and typically sit around -18 LUFS, while streaming normalises releases to roughly -14 LUFS. That 3-5 dB gap is expected and closes with mastering, not something wrong with the export.

### How do I make a quiet Suno song louder without ruining it?

Fix any muddy or harsh frequencies with EQ first, then apply loudness last with a limiter. Pushing a limiter on an unbalanced mix just makes existing problems louder along with the level.

### What LUFS should I target for a streaming release?

Around -14 LUFS integrated with a -1 dBTP true-peak ceiling matches what most streaming platforms normalise to. Going louder than that gets turned back down on playback anyway, so it buys you nothing.

## Related reads

- [Master your track free](/mastering)
- [How to master a Suno song](/blog/how-to-master-a-suno-song)
- [What is LUFS?](/mastering/what-is-lufs)

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Source: https://onloopin.com/blog/why-suno-songs-sound-quiet