Sound Meter
Measure ambient noise levels with your phone. A simple decibel meter that helps you monitor sound levels in your environment.
Key Features
Real-Time Readings
See live decibel levels updating in real time.
Clean Display
Easy-to-read interface showing current noise levels clearly.
Health Awareness
Monitor noise levels to protect your hearing health.
Completely Free
No hidden costs, no subscriptions required.
About Sound Meter
Sound Meter turns your phone into a decibel (dB) meter to measure ambient noise levels. Monitor sound levels in your environment, check if your workspace is too loud, or measure noise for health and safety purposes. The app displays real-time decibel readings with a clean, easy-to-read interface.
What a phone can and cannot measure
Sound Meter reads your phone's microphone and reports a level in decibels. It is genuinely useful for comparing environments — a quiet office against a busy road, a restaurant before and after the dinner rush, whether a neighbour's music is louder tonight than last night.
It is not a calibrated instrument, and no phone app can be. Phone microphones are tuned for speech, apply automatic gain control that fights against level measurement, and physically clip well below the levels a professional meter handles. Readings at the loud end — a concert, machinery, a power tool — will understate reality because the hardware saturates.
A proper sound level meter is calibrated against a reference source and certified to a standard. If a number has to hold up for an occupational health claim or a legal complaint, that is the equipment required.
Reference points for the numbers
Roughly: a quiet library sits near 40 dB, ordinary conversation around 60 dB, heavy city traffic near 85 dB, and a power tool or a loud concert somewhere past 100 dB. Because decibels are logarithmic, every 10 dB is a tenfold increase in intensity — 80 dB is not marginally louder than 70 dB.
Sustained exposure above roughly 85 dB is where hearing damage becomes a documented risk, and the safe duration falls sharply as the level climbs. That threshold is the practical reason most people install an app like this.
Uses that fit the accuracy
Checking whether a room is too loud for a conversation or a baby to sleep. Comparing two spaces. Deciding whether hearing protection is worth wearing. Documenting that a noise is recurring, even if the absolute figure is approximate. All of these work fine with an uncalibrated reading; none of them needs certification.
Frequently Asked Questions
How accurate is a phone sound meter?
Useful for comparison, not for certification. Phone microphones are optimised for speech, apply automatic gain control, and clip at high levels, so loud environments in particular read lower than they actually are. Relative comparisons between two places are far more reliable than absolute numbers.
Can I use it for a workplace noise assessment?
No. Occupational assessments require a calibrated meter certified to a recognised standard. This app is appropriate for personal awareness and comparison, not for measurements that have to withstand scrutiny.
What decibel level is dangerous?
Sustained exposure above roughly 85 dB carries a documented risk of hearing damage, and the safe exposure time drops quickly as the level rises. For reference, normal conversation is near 60 dB and heavy traffic near 85 dB.
Does it need an internet connection?
No. All measurement happens on the device using its own microphone, with no network involved.
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