An optical power meter is a device used to measure the power in an optical signal.

The optical power budget (also fiber-optic link budget and loss budget) in a fiber-optic communication link is the allocation of available optical power (launched into a given fiber by a given source) among various loss-producing mechanisms such as launch coupling loss, fiber attenuation, splice losses, and connector losses, in order to ensure that adequate signal strength (optical power) is available at the receiver.