There are two different things people mean by "change the volume": a flat boost or cut (louder or quieter, by the same amount everywhere), and normalization (adjusting the whole file to a consistent, industry-standard loudness level). ClearVoice’s volume changer offers both, for free, with no account needed.
Loudness boost/cut vs. normalization -- which do you need?
If one specific recording is just too quiet or too loud and you want to scale it up or down, use the "Louder" or "Quieter" preset -- a flat 6dB adjustment. If you're preparing an episode for a podcast feed or want several recordings to sound consistently loud next to each other, use "Normalize to broadcast loudness" instead -- it targets −16 LUFS, the loudness level most podcast apps and streaming platforms expect and will otherwise adjust your audio toward anyway.
How to change or normalize audio volume, step by step
- Open the volume changer.
- Upload your audio or video file.
- Pick "Normalize to broadcast loudness," "Louder (+6dB)," or "Quieter (-6dB)."
- Click "Process file" and the adjusted MP3 downloads automatically.
Frequently asked questions
What is LUFS, and why −16?
LUFS (Loudness Units Full Scale) is the standard measurement apps use for perceived loudness, rather than just peak volume. −16 LUFS is the long-standing target recommended for podcasts and spoken-word content -- it's loud enough to sound confident next to other shows, without being so hot that streaming platforms automatically turn it down (which can make normalized audio sound flat or over-compressed if you started too loud).
Will normalizing fix distortion or clipping?
No -- normalization adjusts overall perceived loudness, it can't undo distortion that was baked in during recording (clipping happens when the original signal was too hot for the microphone or recorder to capture cleanly). If a recording is badly clipped, the fix is to re-record at a lower input gain, not to normalize after the fact.
Does this work on video files?
Yes -- upload a video and you'll get back the volume-adjusted audio as an MP3.
One more thing worth knowing: none of these tools remove background noise -- they just cut, convert, join or measure audio as-is. If your recording still has fan hum, room echo, traffic or a noisy AC unit under the voice, run it through ClearVoice’s AI noise removal afterward -- upload the file, and it comes back clean.
This is part of our free audio tools suite -- all free, no signup. You might also want Audio Trimmer and Audio Joiner.