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The Best White Noise Apps

by Suzanne Kantra on February 05, 2020
in Health and Home, Health & Fitness, Mobile Apps, Tips & How-Tos, Top Picks :: 19 comments

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The science of sound can help you in many aspects of your life, from creating the right atmosphere for a better night's rest to increasing concentration. The trick is to know which kind of sound will do the trick and the easiest way to access it. Check out our picks for the best white noise apps. They'll have you sleeping better and working more efficiently.

MyNoise app

The best white noise app: MyNoise

Do you notice that you sleep better when the rain falls steadily outside or the wind blows gently through the trees? That's what researchers call pink noise, a combination of sounds that contain all of the frequencies that people can hear, with volume decreasing in high frequencies. This kind of pink noise "has significant effect on reducing brain wave complexity and inducing more stable sleep time to improve sleep quality of individuals," according to the Journal of Theoretical Biology study. In comparison, white noise keeps the volume consistent across all frequencies and most people don't find it as restful.

MyNoise gives you control over the volume of different frequencies of the sleep sounds in the app so you can get the sound just right. And it doesn't just apply to white noise generator, it also works other sounds like "Rain Noise," "Unreal Ocean," or the "Binaural Beat Machine." You can tweak the sound wave to get just the right kind of noise. Plus, you can mix sounds together for even more customization. The app is free and comes with some free sounds, including a "White Noise & Co." (the white noise sound), "Rain Noise," and "Binaural Beat Machine." Additional sounds are $0.99 each or you can access the whole library more than 150 sounds for $9.99.

Price: Free on App Store and Google Play, with additional sounds at $0.99 each

WhiteNoise app

The best white noise app to record your own sound: White Noise

The White Noise app not only has white noise, but it also has pink noise, brown noise (low-frequency sound masking) and many more soothing sounds. Plus, it gives you great flexibility for painting your own soundscape, mixing up to five sounds at once. Among the 40 sounds are an oscillating fan, cat purring, crickets chirping, water flowing and many more. If that's not enough, you get a recorder and generator to create your own sounds. White Noise also lets you set an alarm, so you can wake gradually, and a sleep timer to turn off the sound.

Price: $0.99 on App Store and Google Play

The best white noise app for fan sounds: Sleep Aid Fan

Similar to falling rain, the noise of an electric fan also helps many get a better night's sleep. Sleep Aid Fan generates that exact sound for you. You can play a fan sound at low, medium or high speed and also set a time for how long you want the noise to play. Three fan sounds come in the free app, and with the $1.99 upgrade, you receive five more — well worth it if the basic sounds don't work for you. The additional fan sounds offer lower and higher-frequency sounds that mimic brown noise, pink noise and more.

Price: Free on App Store or free on Google Play (we highly recommend the $1.99 upgrade)

The best white sound app for working: Coffitivity

A study in The Journal of Consumer Research shows that background noise as mundane as the hum of a coffee shop in full swing or the muffled chatter of a television in the other room can enhance performance. Coffitivity offers what it calls a "combination of calm and commotion" that inspires and supports creativity. Choose from several different vibes: "Morning Murmur" gives you the traditional hustle and bustle of the corner café; "Lunchtime Lounge" carries a little more energy; and "University Undertones" soothes you with the calmer sounds of a campus café. If you like to listen to music while you work, you can layer in music, adjusting the balance of ambient noise and music. There is no Android app, but Android users can browse to the Coffitivity site.

Price: Free on App Store

Marpac DOHM Natural White Noise Generator

Finally, if you are looking for an all-around effective white noise generator, not just an app or sound file that mimics sounds, we highly recommend the Marpac DOHM-DS Clasic Natural White Noise Sound Machine ($44.95, check price on Amazon). It has two volume levels and you can further adjust the sound by rotating the cover to adjust airflow to create a soothing sound that helps block other sounds in your environment that may be distracting you.

Updated 2/5/2020 with new product picks

[woman sleeping image via Shutterstock]

Discussion

Missed one....

From AceyMan on April 19, 2014 :: 6:08 am

Chromadoze on Android is sweet. You can tweet the sound of the noise to your liking. Great app.

Really good job on the

From William JTucker on September 13, 2014 :: 1:30 pm

Really good job on the site, Thanks for guide!

Relax !

From Power App on January 14, 2015 :: 9:18 am

I would to add that we just released Relax ! for iOS. It comes with sounds in 6 different moods: Forest, Rain, Under Water, Fire, Beach and Noise.
Noise is not only white noise but some tuned noises as well.
Please check it out in the app store:
http://bit.ly/relaxApp

Upcoming

From Tatiana on January 29, 2015 :: 3:43 pm

I’m currently working a new ios app. It has white noise, soothing music, lullabies and short stories for babies. Make bedtime quality time!

http://www.babynighttime.com

Best White Noise App for Baby

From Janelle Abel on February 02, 2015 :: 11:11 pm

For sleep apps, I’m a big fan of White Noise HD: http://www.whitenoisehd.com.

I run it for every nap on an old iPhone connected to some speakers. And, I bring it with me on my iPad. It has never failed me.

The best thing about it is that it has three sound modes (one for soothing, one for blocking out sound, and another for regular use) and if you change a mode it slowly transitions so it won’t wake the baby.

It’s definitely the simplest and best app I’ve come across, plus it’s free!

Good apps...

From Jeffery N. on August 21, 2015 :: 5:32 pm

And I will second the White Noise HD Recommendation, it has worked well for several of my family members.

Great job

From Milana Cane on April 27, 2016 :: 3:15 am

This place is really great. I didn’t know somewhere to have a good view of white noise machine as well as where to buy but now I found it. Thanks for sharing great information. I really appreciate your hard work.

Another one

From Stephan on December 19, 2016 :: 12:06 pm

If you are a Mac user, Serenity is a really good one. It’s got some nice choice of sounds and takes up minimal CPU power. http://www.serenityapp.net

My Favorite App

From Same Jydimir on July 02, 2017 :: 8:54 am

Always listen to music and noises while working and studying.
My favorite app is Sky Talks. It helps me be focused while listening to the air traffic broadcast. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.andreilisun.skytalks&hl=en

Great white noise app

From Alice MacDonald on October 27, 2017 :: 5:06 pm

My favorite white noise app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amikulich.whitenoise

My recent favorite

From Goodie on January 07, 2018 :: 4:45 am

A recent favorite and bookmark site. Clean and simple to use, less cluttered than some others.

http://www.noiseclear.com

Homedics is good too/

From Robert Jenkins on February 15, 2018 :: 7:05 am

I’ve found the Homedics white noise machine performs a little better than the Dohn, especially if you want to listen to it at high volume.

Jinglow

From Borche on June 01, 2018 :: 9:14 am

You can check out Jinglow too https://jinglow.com/
It has a library of calming sounds, including white noise, and guided meditations.

White Noise app - you can record your own sounds

From Lacy on January 03, 2019 :: 5:39 pm

You can record and upload your own sounds using White Noise. I have used it for a few years.

finally after 50 years

From Bradbury R on February 11, 2019 :: 11:14 pm

I’ve tried a lot of background noises to help me fall asleep. The first night I fell into such a deep sleep using the noise generator by Mynoise.net that when my wife touched my hand in the AM telling me it was time to get up I had no idea who she was or what she was saying! I felt rested and had a terrific and productive day. And it hasn’t stopped, but now I recognize her…. I use my android phone to launch it. I also use other noises to stay awake while driving. There are an incredible number of noises available, every one customizable to your exact specs.

chroma doze is the best

From Fireplace on March 07, 2019 :: 7:41 am

i like chroma doze, better than others

works for me

From LavaKK on September 01, 2019 :: 9:10 pm

My fav is Nature Soundloops, been trough a ton of them;

NS had no ads or purchases, really easy to use and does the timer thing as well

Had sleep issues before, hope this helps someone
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nature-soundloops/id1472878914

Couldn’t find a good app so I made my own!

From Lucas on October 23, 2019 :: 5:10 pm

It’s a simple white noise app, and if anyone has feedback of which sounds to add I’m all ears. The app was originally designed to help babies, but works for anyone! It’s called baby sleepytime and is currently on on IOS for iPhone and iPad. I hope you enjoy!!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/baby-sleepytime/id1480001818

Marpac Dohm Classic

From spectrekitty on February 19, 2020 :: 6:51 pm

Man, I had one of these as a kid! It was the sixties, & I’d always pack it if I was going to someone’s house to spend the night. Got some really strange looks - some of my friends, or even their PARENTS, wouldn’t let me plug it in & use it!! I guess they thought it was going to do something nefarious to their innocent little darlings…