Best Apps

By Filip Kowalski · Updated

Best Free Sleep Apps 2026: 7 Free Tiers Compared

Paper lantern glowing above a futon with slippers on the floor at night

Free means four different things on this page: ads pay for the app, the feature came with the phone, part of the library is unlocked and the rest has a padlock, or a daily clock runs out. Only some of those last until morning, so it is worth knowing which one you are downloading.

Slo, which we make, unlocks 89 of its 200+ app sounds for good and plays 180 sounds in any browser at slonoise.com with no account. Its free sleep timer runs from 15 minutes to 24 hours and fades out over up to 30 seconds; the other 112 app sounds need a subscription or one lifetime payment. White Noise Lite adds a free alarm, Apple Background Sounds comes built into Apple devices, Rain Rain has 50+ free sounds, and Insight Timer offers free spoken sleep content. Calm and Noisli also have lasting free tiers.

We make Slo; the other six entries use information from their developers and store listings.

Free tiers at a glance

PickFree for bedtimeLong listeningStops or wakes youWithout internetPaid optionPlatforms
Slo (our app)89 free sounds out of 200+ in the app; every one of the 180 browser sounds, no sign-upUp to 24 hours on the app timer, up to 60 minutes in a browserTimer from 15 minutes to 24 hours; free fade-out up to 30 seconds; no alarmYes in the app, once a sound has playedMonthly, yearly or one lifetime paymentiPhone, Android, Mac; any modern browser
White Noise LiteA 50-sound noise machine with a Mix Pad; ad-supportedNo time limit statedFading timer and five alarmsEvery sound is on the deviceFull or Pro, paid onceiPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows
Apple Background SoundsOcean, rain and noise presets in system settingsSettings decide if it plays on after the screen locksStop timer on iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe; no alarmApple does not sayNothing to buyiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro
Rain Rain50+ rain, water and nature sounds you can layer; a banner adNo limit on playback timeAll fade-out timer lengths; a bedtime reminderAfter you play a sound once onlinePremium plan and sound packsiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android
Insight TimerSleep music, soundscapes, bedtime tales and sleep meditationsStreams; no limit statedNo sleep stop timer describedDownloads need a paid planPremium subscriptioniPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Android
Calm Free8 free sleep sessions, 230+ meditations and background ScenesNot statedA duration you set for Scene sound; no alarmDownloads exist; free access not statedCalm PremiumiPhone, iPad, Android, web
Noisli Free16 mixable sounds in a web browser1.5 hours of web streaming a dayBasic timerOnly in the mobile appWeb Pro plan; paid iOS appWeb, iPhone (Android listing gone, checked 30 Sept 2026)

For apps built around noise on its own, see the best free white noise apps.

How we picked

On September 13, 2026 we read every app’s official site, help pages and US App Store or Google Play listing, and ranked each one on what its own documentation says you get with no trial and no payment. Calm updated its free-content help page on September 10, 2026; we checked those free counts on September 22, 2026. We installed nothing, measured nobody’s sleep and ignored star ratings. An app got in only if its pages describe no-cost access clearly enough to quote, and any of these limits can change next month. The Slo figures come from the app’s own source, version 3.132, read on September 14, 2026, since we make it. No app here, free or paid, can promise you better sleep.

Two names you would expect are missing. BetterSleep’s help center says it left the free tier behind for a subscription in 2025, so a new user gets a trial. Sleep Cycle, which is a tracker, costs nothing to download and sells Premium; its App Store listing files soundscapes, sleep stories and data export under Premium without describing the free side, and its help page would not load for us either.

Slo: 89 free sounds in the app, 180 free in a browser

We make Slo. Here is what the free side holds. The app carries 200+ recorded sounds, 89 of them unlocked for good, including 20 of the 49 nature sounds, 18 of the 28 mechanical ones and 10 of the 22 noise recordings. The other 112 want a monthly or yearly subscription or one lifetime payment. A free account gets the full sleep timer, 15 minutes to 24 hours, but its fade-out stops at 30 seconds where a paid account can stretch to 2 minutes. Layer as many sounds as you like, set a volume on each, and saving that mix costs nothing.

At slonoise.com, all 180 sounds play with no account and no download, with 15, 30 and 60 minute timers and a mixer at /mix/. Inside the app, sound keeps playing with the screen off on iPhone and Android, and anything you have played once stays on the device, so it still works when the router is down.

Best for: Free sound tonight in a browser, then the same library on the phone.

Consider: No sleep stories, no alarm and no sleep tracking, and that 30-second cap on the free fade-out.

White Noise Lite by TMSOFT: best free app from bedtime to alarm

White Noise Lite covers both ends of the night without a payment. Its App Store listing describes a timer that fades the audio in and out, and TMSOFT’s plan table gives Lite five alarms, so one sound can fade while you fall asleep and another can wake you. TMSOFT says its sounds play from the phone rather than a server, which matters in a bedroom where the Wi-Fi drops. The price you pay is ads.

Best for: One free app doing the sleep sound and the morning alarm.

Know before downloading: Lite ships standard-definition sounds. The one-time Full and Pro editions drop the ads and add tools, and TMSOFT’s comparison table shows which tools sit where.

Apple Background Sounds: best sleep sound with nothing to install

On an iPhone, iPad or Mac, Background Sounds lives in Control Center and in Accessibility settings. Two of its settings decide whether it works for sleep: one controls whether the sound carries on after the device locks, and on iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe a timer can stop it at a time you set. Nothing to download, no account to make. There is no alarm in it, so the Clock app still has a job.

Best for: Apple owners who fall asleep to a single rain or noise sound.

Know before using: One preset at a time, no layering, and nothing outside Apple’s own devices.

Rain Rain: best free rain and sleep sound catalog

Rain Rain’s App Store listing puts 50+ HD sounds in the free tier with no cap on playback time, every fade-out timer length, and a mixer that sets each sound’s own volume. It runs no audio or video ads, only a small banner along the bottom. Its FAQ says a sound is yours offline once you have played it while connected.

Best for: Rain and weather listeners who want to layer two or three and let a timer fade them.

Know before downloading: Premium adds sounds and removes the banner, and the store sells separate sound packs on top. Our nature sound apps guide goes through its paid side.

Insight Timer: best free sleep meditations and music

Insight Timer’s App Store listing files thousands of guided meditations, thousands of music and ambient tracks, and its meditation timer under free features. The Google Play listing names free sleep music, soundscapes, bedtime tales and sleep meditations. Nobody else on this page gives away that much spoken and musical bedtime content.

Best for: People for whom a voice or music works and plain noise does nothing.

Know before downloading: Its help center says offline downloads need a paid membership, so free tracks stream and a dead connection ends them. The meditation timer works offline for everyone, and neither listing mentions a stop timer for sleep tracks.

Calm Free: best for trying guided sleep content before paying

Calm’s updated help center lists 8 free sleep sessions, including Sleep Stories and Blue Gold, plus 230+ free meditations and background Scenes. Premium opens the wider story, meditation and music libraries. The free sessions let you test whether narration helps you settle before paying.

Best for: Anyone curious about guided sleep sessions who wants to hear the format before paying.

Know before downloading: The other stories and the music library need Premium, and Calm’s price moves by region, so check the offer in your own store.

Noisli Free: best for a short wind-down in a browser

Noisli is built for the half hour before bed rather than the night. Its free web plan streams 1.5 hours a day from 16 sounds you can mix, with a plain timer to end the session. That allowance can run dry before you are asleep, and it will not reach morning. Noisli’s apps page says offline sounds need its mobile app, and on the US App Store the iOS app is a paid download.

Best for: Winding down or reading at a desk, before the bedroom.

Know before signing up: Unlimited streaming and the other 12 sounds need Noisli Pro on the web, whose plan lists 28 in total.

Before you rely on a free app at night

  1. Lock the screen, then listen. Start the sound, lock the phone, wait a few minutes. Apple leaves locked playback to a setting, so put every app through the same test.
  2. Decide how the night should end. A timer if you want silence once you are asleep, an alarm if the app should wake you. White Noise Lite documents both without a payment.
  3. Count the hours you need. A 1.5-hour daily allowance covers a wind-down and nothing more.
  4. Turn the Wi-Fi off once. If the sound stops, the app was streaming, and a dropped connection at 3 a.m. will end it.
  5. Read what survives the trial. BetterSleep and Sleep Cycle open with a trial, and a trial ends.
  6. Know what a free app can’t reach. None of these apps treats insomnia. If weeks of bad nights are behind your search, book a doctor and ask what they think of CBT-I.

If the browser route beats a download for you, start with the rain player or a ready-made mix, and read how to create a sleep soundscape for the step-by-step version.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a completely free sleep app?

Close to it, in a few cases. White Noise Lite is free with ads, by TMSOFT’s own description, and Apple charges nothing extra for Background Sounds on a device that supports them. Rain Rain and Insight Timer both keep a large library open with no clock running. Slo leaves 89 of its 200+ app sounds unlocked for good and all 180 browser sounds open with no account. Calm opens part of its catalog, and Noisli’s free web plan stops after a set number of hours each day.

What’s the best free sleep sounds app for iPhone?

For sound and a morning alarm in one free app, White Noise Lite; for rain in particular, Rain Rain, whose App Store listing puts 50+ sounds, its mixer and every fade-out length in the free tier. If you would rather install nothing, Background Sounds is already on the iPhone. A browser works too: the 180 sounds at slonoise.com need no download and no account.

Which free sleep app has the most free content?

Insight Timer, if you count spoken and musical content: its App Store listing files thousands of guided meditations and thousands of music and ambient tracks under free features. If you mean sounds you can layer yourself, Rain Rain gives you 50+ of them plus the mixer at no cost.

Can I get free sleep sounds without installing an app?

Yes. Point a browser at slonoise.com and 180 sounds play with no account and no download, with 15, 30 and 60 minute timers and a mixer that holds a volume on each layer. Noisli is the other browser option, with 16 sounds and a 1.5-hour daily allowance on its free plan.

Are BetterSleep and Sleep Cycle free?

Not in the sense this page means. BetterSleep’s help center says the app moved to a subscription in 2025, leaving new users a trial. Sleep Cycle downloads for nothing but sells a Premium subscription, and its App Store listing files soundscapes and sleep stories under Premium. Neither one describes a lasting free tier clearly enough to rank.

Do free sleep apps work as well as paid ones?

For a steady sound and a timer, the free tier or the setting already on your phone usually does the entire job. Money mostly buys a bigger library, spoken content and convenience. Nothing you pay for can promise you a better night either, and sleep that has been broken for weeks belongs in front of a doctor, who may well bring up CBT-I before any app.

Sources checked September 13 and September 20, 2026

Explore more sounds in Slo

Stack two or three sounds, keep the blend, and let the timer stop it. Slo, on iOS, Android and Mac.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

Filip Kowalski is the developer of Slo and writes about sound, sleep, and focus.