Ranking updated
Best white noise apps in 2026
To mix rain, fan, cat purrs or city sounds into your own blend with a timer that fades them out and a bedtime reminder, Moodifier: Bedtime Soundscapes. For pure white, brown, green and pink noise and nothing else, Noise Machine. For ambient mixes you start from a widget, Siri or a HomePod, Dark Noise. For background noise that helps you focus at work, Noisli. For sleep sounds next to a sleep tracker and sleep recorder, BetterSleep. Full breakdown below.
How we picked: we read each app’s own App Store description for what sounds it plays, noise colors, rain, nature or household sounds, whether you can mix them, how the timer ends the sound, and what it adds around it. We do not quote prices; check them in the store for your country. For sleep trackers and bedtime stories, see our guide to sleep apps; for newborns, our guide to baby sleep apps.
Mix your own sleep sounds
Moodifier: Bedtime Soundscapes is a sound mixer for falling asleep, relaxing or concentrating: you combine sounds from five groups, rain from light rain to thunder, nature such as wind, bonfire, sea breeze and drops in a cave, animals such as owls, crickets, frogs and cat purrs, home sounds such as a fan, keyboard, vacuum cleaner, old clock or washing machine, and city sounds such as a station, crowd or traffic. Each sound has its own volume, you save your own mixes, sounds keep playing in the background, and a customizable timer lets them subside smoothly so you do not worry about the battery. A bedtime reminder rounds it off.
Pure noise colors and ambient mixes
Noise Machine keeps it to four noise colors: brown noise with its deeper, river-like roar, green noise with a natural, forest feel, pink noise with balanced middle frequencies like a rain storm, and flat white noise. A built-in sleep timer fades the noise out, it can mix with audio from other apps, plays on speakers, AirPods or a HomePod, and you can ask Siri to play a specific noise. Dark Noise is a simple ambient noise player for sleep, focus or relaxing: every sound has an animated icon, you build custom mixes, set a timer to fade out before you wake, start a noise with Siri Shortcuts, even on a HomePod, and control it from interactive Home and Lock Screen widgets or AirPlay.
Noise for focus, and sleep sounds with a tracker
Noisli is a background noise generator built mainly to drown out annoying noises so you can concentrate, in an open office, at home, in a library or on a train, and it is also used for relaxing, reading or falling asleep. BetterSleep puts sleep sounds, including white noise, nature and water sounds, next to a sleep tracker that suggests ways to improve your sleep, a sleep recorder that picks up snoring and sleep talking, narrated sleep stories and guided meditations, among them sessions for tinnitus relief.
| App | Sounds | Mixing | Extras |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moodifier: Bedtime SoundscapesCensuusApp Store | rain, nature, animals, home and city sounds | own mixes with volume per sound | fade-out timer, bedtime reminder |
| Noise MachineApp Store | white, brown, green and pink noise | plays under audio from other apps | fade-out timer, Siri, lock screen |
| Dark NoiseApp Store | ambient noise and sounds | custom mixes | Siri Shortcuts, HomePod, widgets, AirPlay |
| NoisliApp Store | background noise and ambient sounds | combine sounds | made for focus and work |
| BetterSleepApp Store | white noise, nature, water sounds and music | sound mixes | sleep tracker, sleep recorder, stories |
Frequently asked questions
What is the best white noise app for sleep?
It depends on the sound you like: Moodifier: Bedtime Soundscapes for mixes of rain, nature and home sounds, Noise Machine for pure white, brown, green and pink noise, Dark Noise for ambient mixes with widgets and Siri, and BetterSleep if you also want a sleep tracker.
Is there a brown noise app for iPhone?
Noise Machine plays brown, green, pink and white noise with a sleep timer, and you can ask Siri to play brown noise.
Can a white noise app turn off by itself?
Yes. Moodifier: Bedtime Soundscapes, Noise Machine and Dark Noise all have a timer that fades the sound out.
Which white noise app is good for focus at work?
Noisli is built mainly to drown out noise so you can concentrate, and Dark Noise and Noise Machine also describe use for focus.