What is a Metering Plugin?

A metering plugin is an audio analysis tool used in digital audio workstations (DAWs) to measure and display various aspects of an audio signal. Unlike effects plugins, metering plugins do not alter the sound but provide visual information that helps producers and engineers monitor levels and audio quality.

Metering plugins can display different types of measurements such as peak levels, RMS levels, LUFS loudness, frequency spectrum, stereo width, and phase correlation. These visual meters help engineers understand how loud a signal is, how energy is distributed across frequencies, and how audio behaves in the stereo field.

These tools are commonly used during mixing and mastering to ensure proper levels, avoid clipping, maintain balanced frequency content, and meet loudness standards for streaming platforms, broadcast, or film production.