HowLoudHowLoud Sound Meter Extension for Chrome, Firefox and Edge
A decibel meter that lives in the toolbar. Click the icon, press Start, and see how loud your office, café or home is without opening a tab or an app.
Free and open in the stores. The extension asks for microphone access once and uses nothing else.
What it shows
- Live estimated level in dB, updated in real time while the popup is open.
- Running minimum, average and maximum for the session, so a short look tells you the range, not just the moment.
- Colour scale from quiet to loud using the same zones as the app and this site.
- No recording, no storage: audio is analysed and discarded; no data leaves the browser.
When a toolbar meter is handy
- Checking whether the open-plan office is over 55–60 dB before you put on headphones.
- Picking the quieter corner of a café for a call.
- Seeing how loud the fan or air conditioner in the room is while you work.
- Teachers on a Chromebook who want a quick reading without the full classroom noise meter.
Install
- Open the store page for your browser above and click Add.
- Pin the HowLoud icon to the toolbar.
- Click it, press Start, and allow the microphone when the browser asks. The permission is remembered.
The extension is a quick look, not a measurement tool. For calibration, A/Z weighting, a chart and Leq use the full online meter; for history and reports use the app.
Frequently asked questions
Which browsers are supported?
Chrome and other Chromium browsers (Brave, Vivaldi, Opera via the Chrome Web Store), Firefox, and Microsoft Edge.
Does the extension listen in the background?
No. The microphone is active only while the popup is open and you have pressed Start; closing the popup stops it.
Why does it say "permission needed"?
The browser blocked microphone access for the extension. Open the browser's site or extension permissions, allow the microphone for HowLoud and try again.