GP ToolsLatency Calc

Latency Calculator

Buffer size + sample rate + interface round-trip = real latency. Know your numbers before you track.

Interface settings
Most USB/Thunderbolt interfaces add 2–6ms total hardware latency. Check your interface spec sheet or leave at 0 for buffer-only math.
Result
—ms
Input latency
—ms
Output latency
—ms
Round-trip
Enter settings above.
Buffer / Rate reference
Buffer 44.1 kHz 48 kHz 96 kHz
Round-trip values (buffer only, no hardware add-on). Green = tracking-safe · Yellow = borderline · Red = use direct monitoring.
Tips
Under 10ms round-trip: safe to monitor through the DAW while tracking.
10–20ms: noticeable for tracking, fine for mixing and production work.
Over 20ms: switch to direct monitoring on your interface — bypass the DAW entirely.
Most interfaces add 2–6ms hardware latency on top of the buffer. Check the spec sheet or measure with a loopback test.
Recording MIDI to software instruments: use the lowest buffer your CPU can hold without dropouts.
Mixing and rendering: push the buffer as high as possible (1024–2048) to free CPU headroom.
High sample rates halve the buffer latency — 128 samples at 96kHz = same ms as 64 samples at 48kHz.