Microphone Test (Free, Online)
A free tool to check your microphone input level in real time, right in your browser. Switch between multiple microphones and record playback — handy for checking your audio before a video call or testing a built-in or external microphone.
What the microphone test does
This tool displays your microphone’s input level in real time, in the browser alone. The meter moves with your voice, so you can see at once **whether the microphone is picking anything up** and **whether the level is right**. Where several microphones are attached you can switch between them and compare, and you can record a clip and play it back. When the signal is loud enough to flatten the waveform, a clipping warning appears.
**The audio is analysed inside your browser alone, and anything you record is played back there too. Nothing is ever sent to a server.** Using a microphone requires the browser’s permission, and **it will not work outside a secure connection over HTTPS.** Recording also relies on the MediaRecorder API, so on a browser without it the record button is disabled — the level meter still works.
How to run the test
- Start the microphone Press start and choose to allow when the browser asks. Without permission the meter will not begin.
- Choose which microphone to use Where you have several — built-in, USB, a headset — the dropdown lets you switch and compare how each one picks up.
- Speak and watch the meter Talk at your usual volume and check that the meter moves off “quiet”. No movement at all means nothing is being picked up.
- Watch for the clipping warning If it appears, move back from the microphone or lower the input level. A clipped signal reaches the other party harder to make out, not louder.
- Record and listen back Record a clip and play it to hear how your voice actually arrives. It can be downloaded as well.
Tips for getting more out of it
- Check your microphone level on this page before a video call so no one has to ask "can you hear me?" once you're live.
- If multiple microphones are connected (built-in plus a USB headset, for example), use the dropdown to switch between them and compare their sensitivity.
- If the meter turns red (clipping), you are speaking too close to the mic or the input volume is too high — lower the microphone volume in your OS sound settings.
- Use "Start Recording" then "Stop Recording" to record and play back your actual voice, so you can listen for background noise or echo.
Where the test helps
Just before a video call
It spares everyone the “can you hear me?” minutes. You can confirm the pickup before joining.
When you have bought a new microphone
You can confirm it is recognised, and whether its level holds up against the built-in one.
When a microphone is not recognised
The error messages — not found, cannot start — separate the causes. More often than not another application is holding the device.
When setting the input level
The right input level is where the meter swings well without ever raising the clipping warning.
When you also want to check output or camera
For speakers, see the speaker and headphone test; for the camera, the webcam test.
Terms about microphone testing
- Input level
- How loud the sound reaching the microphone is. This tool derives it from the time-domain waveform and shows it as a meter.
- Clipping
- What happens when the input is so loud that the peaks of the waveform are cut off. The sound turns distorted, and nothing but lowering it will help.
- MediaRecorder API
- The browser mechanism for recording audio and video. On a browser that lacks it, the record button cannot be used.
- Secure connection (HTTPS)
- Access to a microphone or camera is granted only over an encrypted connection, so that nobody can listen in.
- Device in use
- The state in which one microphone cannot be shared between applications at the same time. Quitting the conferencing software usually releases it.
- Enumerated device
- The list of microphones the browser reports. Before permission is given the names may come back empty; they appear properly once it is granted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Side Note — What "dBFS" means on a volume meter
The "dBFS" (decibels relative to full scale) unit you often see on audio equipment and microphone test tools measures volume relative to the loudest signal a digital system can represent (0 dBFS). Going above 0 dBFS means the signal exceeds what can be represented digitally, causing distortion known as "clipping." A reading around -60 dBFS, on the other hand, represents a very quiet room with almost no ambient sound.
Microphone input level is often measured not by a single instantaneous peak amplitude, but by "RMS" (root mean square) — the square root of the average of the squared waveform over a short window. RMS tracks perceived loudness more closely than a raw peak value, which is why it is the standard metric in broadcast and music production.
Most complaints of "you sound too quiet" or "your audio is breaking up" on a video call trace back to the microphone gain setting in the operating system, or simply how close you are speaking to the mic. Visualizing your own voice level ahead of time with a meter like this one means you don't have to scramble to adjust settings once the meeting has already started.