How Much Does Mastering Cost?

“How much does mastering cost” usually hides a second question: what am I actually paying for, and what will push the price up? This page answers both with our own prices, because those are the only ones we can stand behind. Every figure here is per song and matches our pricing page and the order form, which always shows the exact total before you pay.

Mastering prices per song

All add-ons are optional and ticked on the order form. The multi-song discount applies to add-ons too.

What the $79 includes

A standard master is one stereo WAV in, one release-ready WAV out. An engineer listens to the whole mix next to your reference before changing anything, then works on it as a whole: EQ, compression, limiting and stereo adjustments, so the low end stays tight, the top isn’t harsh, the stereo image holds in mono and the level sits next to your reference without the drums losing punch. The limiter ceiling usually sits around −0.3 dB, like most commercial releases.

The price also covers 6 revision rounds. Each round usually comes back within a day. Technical faults, such as distortion or the wrong file format, are fixed free and don’t use up a round. If it is still not right after all six, you get a full refund, as described in our refund policy.

One thing the $79 does not include is a fixed loudness number. There isn’t one your master has to hit: Spotify and Apple Music turn loud masters down to their own playback level. We set the level from your reference and your genre, so the master is as loud as the music can take without losing punch.

What makes mastering cost more

Stems instead of a stereo file

With stem mastering you send the mix split into groups, such as drums, bass, accompaniment, FX, lead vocal and backing vocals, and we balance them while mastering. You still get one stereo master back. It costs more because it is more work: problems that a stereo master can only work around, like a buried vocal or a kick fighting the bass, can be fixed on their own. As an add-on to mastering it is +$50; as a separate Stem Mastering order it is $126 per song.

Platform and format versions

Major Mixing is an approved Apple Digital Masters provider. The Apple Digital Masters option is +$10 on a mastering order or $89 as its own service. Mastered for Spotify is +$10, and Vinyl Mastering is +$20 for a separate cut-ready file next to the streaming master.

An analog chain

The standard master is done in the box. Analog Mastering (+$50) runs it through our outboard chain for extra depth and glue. Whether a song needs it is a judgement call, and our article on whether you really need analog mastering goes through when it helps and when it doesn’t.

Deadline and song length

Rush gets each song back in 1 day instead of 2–3, at twice the service price, and can be booked once we have confirmed your files. Songs longer than 5 minutes add 50% to the order total.

Mastering an EP or an album

Add the songs to one order and the discount is applied automatically: 2% for every song in the order, so 5 songs save 10% and 10 songs save 20%. It stacks with a coupon code if you have one. Put the running order in Notes and we master the songs as one release, so levels and tone hold from track to track. What else changes on a full record is covered in our guide on mastering an album.

Stereo mastering at $79 per song, no add-ons, songs up to 5 minutes. The order form shows your exact total.

When paying for mastering isn’t worth it

Mastering can’t fix a mix. If the vocal is buried or the low end is a mess, a master will make that louder, not better, and you would be paying twice. In that case it makes more sense to go back to the mix, or to send us the multitrack for Complete Mixing and Mastering from $133 per song. If we hear a problem like that in a mix sent for mastering, we tell you instead of hiding it under a limiter.

A demo for your band or a song for a few friends may not need mastering at all. An automated master is fine for checking a rough mix, too; we explain where it falls short for a release in AI mastering vs human mastering.

Not sure which case you are in? Send the mix for a free track review and an engineer will tell you what it needs before you pay anything.

How to keep the cost down

• Send the mix as a clean file. A 24- or 32-bit WAV at the session’s sample rate, with everything on the master bus bypassed and peaks no higher than −6 dB. More in how loud a mix should be before mastering.
• Order the songs together. The discount grows with every song on the same order.
• Only tick what the release needs. Vinyl, Apple Digital Masters or analog are worth paying for when you will use them.
• Write a clear brief. A released reference, where the song is going and what to keep or change. Clear notes usually mean fewer rounds.
• Plan the date. Rush doubles the price; booking a few days ahead doesn’t.