BPM Counter

Frequently asked questions

How do I find the BPM of a song by tapping?

Tap the button or press the space bar on each beat. The page shows BPM after the second tap and averages your last 10 taps, so eight to ten taps give a steadier number than two. Tap the pulse you would count aloud.

Why is the BPM double or half what I expected?

You are tapping at twice or half the pulse the song is counted in, for example eighth notes instead of quarter notes. 150 BPM and 75 BPM are the same music counted two ways. The page does not guess, so double or halve the number yourself.

What does the Stability percentage mean?

It is the standard deviation of your gaps divided by their mean, so a lower figure means more even tapping. It appears from the third tap, because two taps make only one gap and one gap cannot vary. The five taps in the example give ±4%.

What happens if I tap very slowly or very fast?

The result is limited to 40 to 400 BPM. If your rounded average falls outside that range, the page shows 40 or 400 and tells you it hit the limit. A gap of 1,500 ms is exactly 40 BPM and 150 ms is exactly 400 BPM. The slowest gap that still counts is 2,000 ms, which is 30 BPM and shows 40 with the notice; a longer pause starts a new count.

Can it find the BPM of an audio file?

Yes. Analyse a file takes audio of up to 50 MB and 10 minutes and measures the middle 60 seconds. The length is read before the file is decoded; when the browser cannot read it, a file over about 9.6 MB is refused, since it could run past 10 minutes. A file with no audio type is accepted when its name ends in an audio extension such as .mp3, .wav or .flac. Listen records 10 seconds from the microphone (at least 5 are needed). Both report 60 to 200 BPM, so a 220 BPM track reads 110, and either can land on half or double the tempo you count, so tap along to check. A reading below 90 BPM is replaced by its double, up to 180, when the double repeats at least 85% as strongly: a 128 BPM click track reads 128, not 64, and a 64 BPM one still reads 64. With no clear pulse the page says no steady beat was found. The audio is analysed in your browser and is not uploaded.

How is this different from tap tempo in the metronome?

This page averages the last 10 taps and shows stability. The metronome's Tap Tempo keeps up to your last five taps within 3 seconds, sorts the gaps and takes the middle one (the upper of the two middle gaps when there is an even number), then sets the click speed, from 40 to 240 BPM. An extra tap between beats pulls an average further: taps at 0, 500, 1,000, 1,250 and 1,500 ms read 160 BPM here and 120 BPM in the metronome.