BPM finder: the exact tempo of any song
Drop in a song: three analysis engines, including a research-grade neural network, find its tempo right on your device. Then check it with the click track or tap tempo. Free, no account, no upload.
- 3 engines, incl. the Beat This! AI
- Measured, published accuracy
- Your file is never uploaded
Analyze a song
One file is enough. Analysis starts automatically.
Manual check
Tap tempo
Tap at least three times in time with the pulse you hear.
Waiting for three taps
0 taps
Simple and checkable
How to find the BPM of a song
The finder combines automatic beat analysis with a manual check. You always make the final call.
1. Drop in the file
Your browser decodes the song directly. Nothing is uploaded to MixClap.
2. Let the rhythm be analyzed
Essentia lays a beat grid, TempoCNN checks it is not halved or doubled, then the Beat This! AI refines the result when your device allows it.
3. Check it by ear
Listen to the click on every beat, or tap along. If needed, choose half or double the detected value.
Under the hood
How MixClap finds the BPM: three engines, measured accuracy
Most online BPM finders run the song through a single algorithm and show a number, without saying whether it can be trusted. Here, three engines from music information retrieval research check each other in your browser, and their accuracy is measured on hand-annotated songs.
- 01
Essentia
Beat tracking
The RhythmExtractor2013 algorithm finds the attacks in the signal, follows the pulse and lays a beat grid over the whole song in a few seconds.
MTG, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona)
- 02
TempoCNN
Octave referee
A convolutional neural network estimates the overall tempo from the spectrogram. If it hears double or half of Essentia’s tempo, the grid is corrected; if it agrees at no level, the result is flagged for checking.
Schreiber & Müller, ISMIR 2018
- 03
Beat This!
State-of-the-art neural network
A transformer model locates every beat and every downbeat. It runs on your graphics card through WebGPU, in about 4 seconds for a 3:30 song on a recent computer, and its result replaces the first two.
CPJKU, Johannes Kepler University Linz, ISMIR 2024
- 04
Your ears
Final check
The click plays a sound on every detected beat over the music: if it lands right on the drums, the tempo is right. Tap tempo and the ÷2 and ×2 buttons settle ambiguous cases.
Click track and tap tempo
Accuracy measured on 798 annotated songs
Share of songs whose detected tempo is within ±4% of the hand-annotated tempo (MIREX Acc1, the research standard). Production code tested as is, October 2026.
| Engine | GTZAN · 100 songs, 10 genres | Ballroom · 698 dances |
|---|---|---|
| Essentia alone (classic detector) | 68% | 68% |
| Essentia + TempoCNN referee (every device) | 77% | 85% |
| Beat This! AI (graphics card) | 85% | 96% |
- GTZAN is the number to remember: none of the models was trained on it. Beat This! learned on Ballroom, so its 96% there is flattering.
- Counting half- and double-tempo results as well, Beat This! reaches 98% on GTZAN: exactly what the ÷2 and ×2 buttons fix.
- Beat placement (F-measure at ±70 ms on GTZAN): 0.885 for Beat This!, vs 0.805 for Essentia alone.
What no detector does perfectly
- Songs without a steady pulse (classical, jazz, free-time intros): even Beat This! tops out at 50 to 70%.
- Tempo changes within a song: the BPM shown is the one of the dominant grid.
- Without WebGPU, on many phones, the tempo comes from Essentia + TempoCNN. On a computer, you can run Beat This! on the processor.
Why a BPM can be right but still feel wrong
The same rhythm can be counted at 70 BPM or 140 BPM depending on whether you mark the main pulse or every subdivision. That is not always a detection error: both readings describe the same motion at different levels.
Tracks with a steady tempo and clear attacks usually produce the most consistent results. A free-time intro, soft drums, a live recording, or a tempo change calls for a closer check by ear.
For a reliable result
- Tap the main pulse, not every note in the melody.
- Compare tap tempo with the automatic result during a rhythmic chorus.
- Use ÷2 or ×2 when both values clearly describe the same pace.
Quick tempo reference
One beat lasts 60 ÷ BPM. In 4/4, one bar contains four beats.
| Tempo | One beat | One 4/4 bar |
|---|---|---|
| 60 BPM | 1 sec | 4 sec |
| 90 BPM | 0.667 sec | 2.667 sec |
| 120 BPM | 0.5 sec | 2 sec |
| 128 BPM | 0.469 sec | 1.875 sec |
| 140 BPM | 0.429 sec | 1.714 sec |
Your music stays private
Decoding and all three analysis engines, neural networks included, run in your browser. The audio file is never sent to a server.
BPM finder questions
How do I find the BPM of a song?
Add the audio file: the finder measures the interval between beats and displays the estimated tempo. To check it, tap several times in rhythm in the Tap tempo area.
Is the BPM finder really free?
Yes. Automatic analysis, tap tempo, and half/double corrections are free and require no account. Only exporting a mix you build afterward is paid.
Why does it show 70 BPM instead of 140 BPM?
The detector may count the pulse at half the tempo you expect. Both values often describe the same rhythm. Use ×2 to show 140 BPM, or ÷2 in the opposite case.
Is my music uploaded to the Internet?
Not for this tool. The file is decoded and analyzed locally in your browser, so it stays on your device.
Can I use the BPM to mix two songs?
Yes. Similar tempos make a smooth transition easier. MixClap Studio can reuse the analyzed file, detect the second track, and let you choose how to synchronize them.
What is the most accurate BPM finder?
On our benchmark of 100 songs across 10 genres (GTZAN), the Beat This! neural network finds the exact tempo within ±4% 85% of the time, vs 68% for a classic detector such as Essentia. MixClap runs it free in your browser when the device has a WebGPU-capable graphics card, after a first Essentia + TempoCNN analysis (77%). No tool reaches 100%: always check with the click track.
How do I find the BPM of a Spotify or YouTube song?
These services do not give access to the audio file. If you have the file (MP3, M4A, WAV…), drop it here. Otherwise, play the song and use tap tempo: tap along with the pulse for about ten seconds; the BPM shows after three taps.
How can I check that a BPM is right?
Turn on “Play with click track”: a sound plays on every detected beat, over the music. If the click stays locked to the drums throughout the song, the tempo is right. If it runs twice too fast or too slow, use ÷2 or ×2.