Verdict
Costs less than anything else on this site and has been the default answer for over a decade. Plays a sound, on a timer, all night, without asking anything of you.
Best for
Anyone who wants a noise machine and does not want a project.
Dealbreaker
Six of the last two hundred reviews describe a version that stopped working for them, and others say it runs the battery down overnight. For something meant to play until morning, that matters.
The facts.
Pulled from the App Store, not written by hand.
Price
$0.99 once
In-app purchases
Unknown
Ads
Unknown
Platforms
iPhone, iPad
Rating
4.8★ (45,945)
Version
8.7.2
Last updated
Sep 4, 2026
Released
Jan 31, 2019
Attributes
Native appOne-time purchaseNo subscription
Category
Health & Fitness, Lifestyle
What reviews consistently say.
Themes grouped from 200 App Store reviews. Source feed ›
Praised for
Ease of use and design8 reviews
Timer and session length2 reviews
Subscription pricing and paywalls2 reviews
Complained about
Crashes and stability6 reviews
Battery and performance2 reviews
Where this comes from
8 of 200 recent reviews raised: Ease of use and design (positive)App Store reviews ›
6 of 200 recent reviews raised: Crashes and stability (negative)App Store reviews ›
2 of 200 recent reviews raised: Timer and session length (positive)App Store reviews ›
2 of 200 recent reviews raised: Subscription pricing and paywalls (positive)App Store reviews ›
2 of 200 recent reviews raised: Battery and performance (negative)App Store reviews ›
Where we recommend it
Sleep sound apps you buy once ›White noise and sleep sound apps that charge once, each with its catch.
Alternatives with the same rule.
Every app here is a single purchase. None of them can start charging you monthly for what you already bought. Also with a catch.
$3.99 once · 4.7★ (2,999) · Updated Feb 14, 2021
Verdict. A one-time-purchase white-noise app that reviewers praise for ease of use and sound variety, with no subscription and no ads. A small but consistent number of reviewers report crashes on launch, which matters more for an app you rely on every night.
Best for. Someone who wants a simple, no-subscription white noise machine for sleep and doesn't need cloud sync or custom sound imports.
Dealbreaker. A handful of reviewers report the app crashing on open, sometimes right after purchase, and it hasn't been updated in years so that's unlikely to get fixed.
$2.99 once · 4.7★ (1,968) · Updated Jan 26, 2021
Verdict. A simple sound library that does one job: play recorded ambient sounds to help you sleep, without draining your battery. It hasn't changed in years, but reviewers say the core recordings and ease of use still hold up.
Best for. Someone who wants a no-fuss collection of ambient sleep sounds on an iPhone and doesn't need alarm features or new content added over time.
Dealbreaker. Reviewers note you can't use the sounds as morning alarms, and with no updates in years, don't expect that or any other new feature to ever show up.
$59.99 once · 4.8★ (3,034) · Updated Aug 12, 2026
Verdict. An enormous library of location recordings, and the only reason to consider it is that library — six hundred of them, in full stereo.
Best for. Someone who listens nightly, is tired of every loop they own, and wants somewhere new to sleep.
Dealbreaker. It costs more than every other app on this list put together, several times over. Nothing in the reviews suggests it is better at putting you to sleep than the one-dollar option.