Does Drywall Soundproof? Soundproof Drywall vs Regular Drywall
Drywall alone doesn’t soundproof a room: a plain 2×4 wall rates about STC 32 to 36, against a code minimum of STC 50 between apartments.
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If you’re asking does drywall soundproof a room, the makers’ own lab tests give a plain answer: it blocks some sound, but a 2×4 wall with one sheet of 5/8-inch board per side rated only about STC 32 to 36.
You’ve probably met that wall already, the one that lets a neighbor’s TV or a conversation come through as if it were barely there.
The same test tables show which changes lifted the rating by a single point and which lifted it by 10 or more, so you can put your effort where it registers.
Thicker board, a second layer, insulation, soundproof drywall and resilient channel are each set against that same kind of wall below.
Start with what plain drywall rates on its own, then add one upgrade at a time and see how far each one moved the number.
Does Drywall Soundproof a Room?
That STC 32 to 36 range is the starting line for everything below. Drywall doesn’t soundproof a room on its own: one layer of 5/8-inch board on each side of 2×4 wood studs 16 inches apart rated STC 32 to 36 in USG’s, National Gypsum’s and PABCO’s tables, and National Gypsum cites STC 50 as the International Building Code’s minimum between apartments.
So is drywall good for soundproofing? As one layer of a wall, yes, and as the whole answer, no.
STC, or Sound Transmission Class, is a single number for how much airborne sound a wall can block, measured in a lab under ASTM E90 from 125 to 4,000 Hz. National Gypsum’s Q&A on acoustically enhanced gypsum board says sound is measured as an assembly, so a rating belongs to a whole tested wall and never to one sheet.
These are the plain walls the makers publish, with no damped board and no channel.
| Plain board on 2×4 studs, 16 in. apart | What the makers list |
|---|---|
| 1/2-in. each side, empty cavity | STC 34 (National Gypsum) |
| 1/2-in. each side, insulated | STC 34 (PABCO) |
| 5/8-in. each side, empty cavity | STC 35 (National Gypsum), STC 32 and 33 (USG) |
| 5/8-in. each side, insulated | STC 36 (National Gypsum), STC 35 (PABCO), STC 34 and 36 (USG) |
| Two layers of 5/8-in. each side, insulated | STC 41 (National Gypsum), STC 38 (PABCO) |
The National Gypsum rows are tests NGC 2161, 2403, 2008029 and 2364 in its SoundBook, and the PABCO rows are designs PGD-W-914-16, 910-16 and 824-16 in its 2025 Sound Design Guide. USG’s pairs are its traditional and UltraLight Firecode X panels in its Sound Performance Selector Guide.
The descriptions come from the makers’ manuals and spec pages. For the whole job, step by step, see soundproofing an existing wall.
How Soundproof Is Drywall Compared With What a Wall Needs?
Those plain walls only mean something next to a target, and the makers publish those too. Regular drywall on wood studs falls short wherever privacy matters: USG’s STC guidelines start at 45 between two bedrooms and 50 between a bedroom and a living room, while the one-layer walls above top out at 36.
National Gypsum’s SoundBreak XP guide does call about STC 38 fine for most interior partition walls, so a plain wall isn’t always a problem. Its SoundBook rates a 1 dB change as generally not perceptible, 5 dB as clearly noticeable and 10 dB as twice as loud, and PABCO says an STC rating very roughly reflects the decibel reduction a wall provides.
Lab numbers also run higher than a finished room, since National Gypsum’s Q&A says field-tested values are normally lower because of building movement and different installation methods.
Is 5/8 Drywall Better Than 1/2 for Soundproofing?
Thickness is the first upgrade most people reach for, and it barely registers on that scale. 5/8-inch drywall is better than 1/2-inch for soundproofing, but only by about one STC point on wood studs: it rated 35 against 34 on National Gypsum’s empty walls, 35 against 34 on PABCO’s insulated walls and 38 against 37 on PABCO’s double-layer walls, and ROCKWOOL’s catalog lists both thicknesses at STC 38.
That one point sits inside the tests’ own margin, since Owens Corning’s batt sheet says differences of 1 to 2 STC points can occur for the same assembly in the same lab. NRC Canada’s update on gypsum board walls goes further and warns against choosing walls by board thickness at all, because the actual weight of a given thickness may have dropped.
The studs may be part of the reason, since NRC Canada says much of the sound travels through wood studs when board is solidly fastened to both sides. On 25-gauge steel studs 16 inches apart, Owens Corning does list a wider gap, STC 46 for 1/2-inch and 49 for 5/8-inch.
So choose 5/8-inch Type X when code or a fire-rated design calls for it, since Type X means a core with additives for fire resistance, and don’t expect the extra 1/8 inch to quiet the wall by itself.
How Effective Is a Second Layer of Drywall?
If a thicker sheet barely moves the number, then more sheets are the obvious next idea. A second layer of drywall on each side added three to five STC points on wood studs: National Gypsum’s insulated wall went from 36 to 41, and PABCO’s from 35 to 38 at 16-inch stud spacing and from 41 to 45 at 24 inches.
You pay for those points in thickness and weight. PABCO’s wall grows from 4-3/4 to 6 inches and from 5.5 to 9.9 pounds per square foot, and its home brochure warns of less floor space and a build-out of doors, windows and trim.
Mass adds more once the two faces aren’t tied together: National Gypsum’s wall with resilient channel on one side went from STC 51 to 58 with a second layer on each side, where the same doubling on rigid studs added five.
Does Soundproof Drywall Work Better Than Regular Drywall?
A second sheet buys its points with thickness, and soundproof drywall tries to get them without it. Soundproof drywall does work better than regular drywall of the same thickness: a 5/8-inch damped board on one side of the insulated 2×4 wall rated STC 42 against 36 in National Gypsum’s SoundBook and 41 against 35 in PABCO’s guide.
You’ll see it called soundproof, sound dampening, sound-reducing or noise-reducing drywall, but SoundBreak XP, QuietRock and CertainTeed’s SilentFX QuickCut are built much the same way: gypsum layers bonded with a viscoelastic polymer. National Gypsum says that polymer absorbs vibrations and turns them into negligible heat.
| Soundproof drywall vs regular drywall, insulated 2×4 wall | National Gypsum (SoundBreak XP) | PABCO (QuietRock ES) |
|---|---|---|
| Regular 5/8-in. board each side, studs 16 in. apart | STC 36 | STC 35 |
| Damped board on one side, 16 in. | STC 42 | STC 41 |
| Damped board on both sides, 16 in. | STC 45 | STC 45 |
Those rows are National Gypsum’s NGC 2008029, 2009020 and 2009019, and PABCO’s PGD-W-910-16, 646-16 and 574-16. CertainTeed’s Sound Wall Assembly Guide sits in the same range, with 1/2-inch SilentFX on one side at STC 42 on 16-inch studs and 49 on 24-inch studs.
One side does most of the work: the second damped side added three or four points, and National Gypsum’s Q&A says it generally doesn’t raise the STC enough to warrant the extra cost.
A damped board also doesn’t need a strong wall to show its gain: it added six points on the plain rigid wall, but only five on PABCO’s channel wall (48 to 53) and three on National Gypsum’s (51 to 54).
For which board to hang, the best drywall for soundproofing compares them by their tested walls.
How Do You Soundproof a Room With Drywall?
Whichever board goes up, it only earns its table number once the rest of the wall matches the table. To soundproof a room with drywall, seal every gap and outlet, fill the cavity, and separate at least one face from the studs, because a leak or a rigid stud path can take away more points than any board adds.
Seal Every Gap and Outlet
PABCO’s guide shows a wall at STC 46 properly sealed and STC 36 with an unsealed penetration and a 1/8-inch gap spanning 1 foot. USG’s Acoustical Assemblies catalog is starker, with one 5/8-inch panel per side and a 1-1/2-inch blanket at STC 53 sealed and 29 without acoustical sealant.
National Gypsum’s rules are short: leave a 1/4-inch gap along every perimeter edge and fill it with acoustical sealant, limit penetrations to one per stud cavity, seal those with sealant or putty pads, and stagger the board joints. USG adds that electrical boxes on opposite sides shouldn’t sit back-to-back or in the same stud cavity.
National Gypsum says a hardening sealant can compromise the STC rating, so use a non-hardening one. Green Glue Noiseproofing Sealant is one acoustic sealant sold for those cracks and gaps.
Green Glue Noiseproofing Sealant
Fill the Cavity, and Know What It Adds
On a plain wood-stud wall, insulation adds little: STC 35 to 36 in National Gypsum’s tests, 32 to 34 and 33 to 36 in USG’s, and 31 to 34 in PABCO’s home brochure, which rates it a minimal improvement. NRC Canada says sound-absorbing material is only effective once the two faces are correctly isolated.
The same batt counts for more on a less rigid wall: CertainTeed’s damped wall on 24-inch studs went from STC 42 to 50, National Gypsum’s light steel-stud wall from 40 to 48, and Owens Corning’s from 38 to 49. Our guide to the best insulation for soundproofing compares the batts.
Separate One Face From the Studs
Resilient channel on one side is the biggest single step in these tables: insulated wood-stud walls went from STC 36 to 51 in National Gypsum’s SoundBook, 35 to 48 in PABCO’s guide and 34 to 48 and 36 to 47 in USG’s selector guide, for about 1/2 inch of added thickness.
The catch is workmanship: PABCO says failures are common when channel goes up upside down, and CertainTeed says hanging a picture can short-circuit it. Both also sell the damped boards they compare it with, so read those warnings with that in mind.
Change the Framing on a New Wall
New framing can move the starting number before any board goes up: PABCO’s plain Type X wall rated STC 35 with studs 16 inches apart and 41 at 24 inches, and National Gypsum’s empty wall 35 and 38. Separating the studs goes further, with National Gypsum listing STC 45 for staggered studs and 51 to 54 for a double row.
A deeper stud alone changes less, with PABCO’s plain 2×6 wall at STC 34 against 35 for its 2×4. For a full double-stud build, see how to build a room inside a room.
Treat Ceilings the Same Way
Overhead, National Gypsum’s SoundBook lists a 2×10 floor with a 1/2-inch Fire-Shield C ceiling at STC 37, and 45 with that ceiling on resilient channel. Footsteps get a separate rating, IIC, so start with soundproofing a ceiling and soundproofing between floors if the noise comes from above.
Is Double Drywall With Green Glue Better Than a Damped Panel?
Channel and new framing aren’t always possible, which leaves damping, either built into a factory panel or added as a compound between two plain sheets. Double drywall with Green Glue can match or beat damped panels on each side in the makers’ tables, STC 52 and 56 against 51 to 54 on insulated 2×4 studs 24 inches apart, but it makes the wall thicker and takes time to cure.
| Insulated 2×4 wall, studs 24 in. apart | Rating | Listed by |
|---|---|---|
| Two layers of 5/8-in. each side | STC 45 | Green Glue, PABCO |
| Two layers with 1 tube of compound per sheet | STC 52 | Green Glue |
| Two layers with 2 tubes per sheet | STC 56 | Green Glue |
| Damped 1/2-in. board each side | STC 51 and 52 | National Gypsum, CertainTeed |
| Damped 5/8-in. board each side | STC 51, 53 and 54 | PABCO, National Gypsum, CertainTeed |
Green Glue’s rows are tests OL 06 0607, 0920 and 0927 in Green Glue’s product brochure, which gives sound test numbers but no lab name and compares itself with its rivals. PABCO argues the other way, calling its damped panel a better treatment for speech noise than multiple layers of drywall.
Doubling both sides took PABCO’s wall from 4-3/4 to 6 inches, where a damped panel leaves it at 4-3/4, and Green Glue’s data sheet lists a 30-day curing time. The compound also isn’t an adhesive, so the sheets still need screws.
Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound is the compound in those tests, and our page on green glue soundproofing covers tube counts and application.
Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound
Every pick met Burton Acoustix’s rating, review and stock checks on 1 November 2026.
How Much Heavier Is a Damped Panel to Hang?
Doubling adds weight too, but sheet for sheet the damped board is the heavier one to lift. A 5/8-inch damped panel weighs about half a pound more per square foot than plain board: 2.6 for QuietRock ES, 2.7 for SoundBreak XP and 2.8 for SilentFX QuickCut Type X, against 2.2 for USG’s Sheetrock Firecode X.
Across a whole wall, doubling is the heavy route: PABCO’s guide lists its plain 5/8-inch wall at 5.5 pounds per square foot, one QuietRock ES side at 6.3, two at 6.8 and double Type X at 9.9.
Cutting differs by maker: PABCO says QuietRock ES scores and snaps with a utility knife, National Gypsum says to score SoundBreak XP deeply from both sides or use a saw, and CertainTeed says QuickCut cuts like regular drywall. The heavy exception is the 1-3/8-inch QuietRock 545 at 6.3 pounds per square foot, which PABCO says needs a saw and extra care in handling.
On labor, PABCO says ES costs the same to install as a standard sheet, and it lists the higher material cost as the panel’s disadvantage.
When Is a Damped Panel the Only Route?
That extra half-pound is easy to accept when nothing else fits the wall. A damped panel is the only route when the wall can’t get thicker, because it swaps in at the same thickness as plain board, and a thin one adds the least when the wall can’t come apart.
CertainTeed’s brochure shows the space that saves: double 5/8-inch Type X on each side is 6-1/8 inches thick and one layer of QuickCut with one of Type X is 4-7/8 inches, both at STC 56.
Thin boards go over the old surface with no demolition. QuietRock 510 screwed over 1/2-inch board on one side took PABCO’s wall from STC 34 to 41 and from 4-1/2 to 5 inches, and National Gypsum’s 5/16-inch SoundBreak XP Retrofit over 1/2-inch board rated STC 36 on an empty 16-inch wall and 40 on an insulated one.
That’s the usual position in multi-family projects, where you may control only your side of a shared wall, and how to treat a party wall covers the rest of that job. Check the limits first: only the 5/8-inch boards named here have Type X cores, and CertainTeed and PABCO both keep their 1/2-inch boards off the face of a ceiling.
The Bottom Line
All those rows add up to one answer: drywall alone doesn’t soundproof a room, with plain walls at about STC 32 to 36 against a code minimum of STC 50 between apartments.
On the same kind of wall, thicker board added about one point, a second layer three to five, a damped board on one side six, and resilient channel on one side 11 to 15.
Seal the gaps whichever you choose, then let the wall decide: open studs favor channel or new framing, spare room allows double drywall with a compound, and a wall that can’t change thickness leaves a damped panel. For prices, see the soundproof room cost breakdown, and for every other surface, the soundproofing hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is soundproof drywall worth it?
That comes down to what your wall allows, because the makers publish points rather than a verdict. One 5/8-inch damped board added six STC points at no added thickness in PABCO’s and National Gypsum’s tests, a second layer of plain board added three to five and about 1-1/4 inches, and resilient channel added 11 to 15 with the wall opened up. Set those gains against a dealer’s quote for the routes your wall can take, and seal the gaps either way.
Is sheetrock good for soundproofing?
Sheetrock is USG’s brand of gypsum panel, and it behaves like other plain board. USG’s selector guide lists 5/8-inch Type X on 2×4 wood studs 16 inches apart at STC 32 and 33 with an empty cavity, 34 and 36 with fiberglass, and 47 and 48 with resilient channel.
Can you make a soundproof room with just drywall?
Not with plain board screwed straight to one row of studs: two layers of 5/8-inch per side reached STC 38 to 41 on 16-inch studs. Drywall can still face a wall in the 50s when the framing does the separating: National Gypsum lists STC 51 with resilient channel on one side, and STC 54 with a double row of studs insulated on both sides.
Does soundproof drywall work between bedrooms?
Partly. USG’s guidelines ask for at least STC 45 between two bedrooms, with 50 as medium and 55 as high. On insulated 2×4 studs 16 inches apart, one damped 5/8-inch board rated STC 41 and 42 and two rated 45 in PABCO’s and National Gypsum’s tables, so one side alone falls short of USG’s minimum. Adding resilient channel on the other side reached 53 and 54.
Does soundproof drywall stop bass?
Not much better than regular board, unless it’s a panel built for it. PABCO says standard damped panels perform similar to standard gypsum panels at low frequencies, and it names QuietRock 545 for sources such as subwoofers. National Gypsum says damped board performs best in the speech range and that resilient channels may work better for lower frequencies. STC itself starts at 125 Hz, so the rating won’t tell you much about deep bass.
