Rain and Brown Noise for Deep Sleep
Brown noise covers the traffic and the boiler, and rain softens the sharper sounds inside the room.
- Brown Noise 65%
- Rain 38%
6 Best Free White Noise Apps for iPhone & Android (2026)
For free white noise online, play Slo in your browser with no account, ads or download. If you want an app, compare what stays free: Slo includes sound mixing, White Noise Lite adds recording and alarms with ads, and Apple Background Sounds is built into supported iPhones.
The six options below cover iPhone, Android and browser listening. Each has a different free allowance, so check the sound library, offline access and timer before choosing.
Free options at a glance
We make Slo. It is included alongside the other options, with the same free-feature checks; this is a comparison of published features, not an independent hands-on ranking.
| Option | What stays free | Ads and access | Offline on the free tier | Free mixing and timer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slo (our app) | 89 app sounds, including 10 noise recordings; 180 browser sounds | Browser: no ads or account; iPhone, Android and Mac apps also available | App: sounds remain available after playing once; browser needs a connection | App: mixing and saved mixes, 15-minute to 24-hour timer, fade-out up to 30 seconds. Browser: 15, 30 or 60-minute timer |
| White Noise Lite | 50 sounds, recorder and alarms | Ad-supported; iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and Windows | Yes, sounds play from the device | Mix Pad and timer with fade |
| Apple Background Sounds | Built-in soundscapes | Included on supported Apple devices; no separate app download | Not stated in the Apple source checked | No mixing; timer from iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe |
| Dark Noise | 8 sounds | iPhone, iPad and Mac; more sounds require Pro | Yes, sounds stored on the device | Fade-out timer; custom mixes require Pro |
| Noisli Free | 16 sounds, 1.5 hours of web streaming a day | Free web account; the iOS app is a paid download | No, offline listening requires the mobile app | Sound mixing, simple timer and up to 5 saved Favorites |
| Calm Free | 230+ meditations, 8 sleep sessions and background Scenes | Free account with a limited catalog; full library requires Premium | Free-tier download access is not confirmed | Scene duration control; no layer mixer |
If you are ready to pay for a larger library, what each paid tier adds is further down. Up here, the focus is what you can keep using without starting a trial or subscription.
Free white noise apps for iPhone
For one steady sound, start with Apple’s built-in Background Sounds: there is no extra app to download. Dark Noise is another option if eight sounds and a fade-out timer cover what you need; custom mixes require Pro.
Choose Slo if you want to layer free sounds and save a mix. Its free app library includes 89 sounds, and the free timer fades out over up to 30 seconds. White Noise Lite is worth comparing if recording and alarms matter more to you and you accept ads.
Get Slo for iPhone, or listen online first.
Free white noise apps for Android
Slo and White Noise Lite both offer ongoing free sound libraries on Android. Slo includes mixing and saved mixes; White Noise Lite includes a recorder and alarms with ads. Slo has no alarm or recorder, so choose according to the controls you need.
Dark Noise and Apple Background Sounds are not Android options. Noisli’s free browser plan is separate from its mobile apps, so do not assume a free web account includes a free app download or offline listening.
Get Slo for Android, or open the free browser player without installing anything.
How we picked
On September 13, 2026 we read each app’s official site, help pages and US App Store or Google Play listing, and recorded what the free tier includes without a trial or payment. We rechecked Calm’s free-content guide and Noisli’s plans on September 22, 2026. We did not install and test the apps, measure sound quality or count star ratings. An app made the list only if its own pages describe no-cost access clearly enough to quote, and free limits can change. Slo’s feature counts were checked against version 3.132 on September 14, 2026. No app in this list can guarantee better sleep.
That check removed BetterSleep, which earlier versions of this guide listed. Its help center now says it moved from a free tier to a subscription model in 2025: new users get a free trial, and after it ends only “a very limited selection of content” stays open.
Slo: 89 free sounds in the app, 180 free in a browser
The app holds 200+ recorded sounds, and 89 of them are free for good, including 10 of its 22 noise recordings, which cover white, pink, brown, grey, green, blue and violet. The other 112 sounds need a monthly or yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. Free accounts get the full timer, from 15 minutes to 24 hours, but their fade-out stops at 30 seconds, where a paid account can set 2 minutes. The mixer takes any number of layers with a volume on each, and saving a mix costs nothing.
At slonoise.com all 180 sounds play with no account, no download and no ads, with 15, 30 and 60 minute timers. In the app, playback runs as a background service on iPhone and Android, and any sound you have played once stays on the device, so it still works with the Wi-Fi off.
Best for: You want noise tonight in a browser, and an app on your phone later.
Consider: Slo has no alarms, no recorder and no sleep tracking, and free fade-out stops at 30 seconds.
Download Slo for iPhone · Download Slo for Android · Play white noise online
White Noise Lite by TMSOFT: free recording and alarms
TMSOFT’s comparison lists 50 standard-definition sounds, a Mix Pad, an advanced recorder, five alarms and background audio in White Noise Lite, free on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and Windows. The app displays ads. TMSOFT says every sound plays from your device, so it works without a network connection, and its App Store listing describes a timer that fades audio in and out.
Best for: You want a proper noise-machine app that mixes sounds and keeps playing with the network off.
Know before downloading: TMSOFT also sells Full and Pro editions as one-time purchases, with no subscription. Their sound quality and tools differ, so read its comparison table before you pay for one.
Apple Background Sounds: built into Apple devices
Apple includes Background Sounds in supported versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS and visionOS. Its support page documents ambient soundscapes and volume and equalizer settings, and on iOS 26, iPadOS 26, visionOS 26 and macOS Tahoe a timer that stops the sound. There is nothing extra to install.
Best for: You have an Apple device and want one steady sound with simple controls.
Know before using: It won’t layer two sounds together, and it holds fewer soundscapes than a dedicated app.
Dark Noise: eight free sounds on iPhone and Mac
Dark Noise added a free tier in version 3.0.0, released April 2, 2023. Its App Store release notes list 8 free sounds and a timer that fades the noise out. Dark Noise says all its sounds are stored on the device, so they play without an internet connection.
Best for: You want one noise sound on an iPhone or Mac, offline, with a fade-out at the end.
Know before downloading: The other 50+ sounds and custom mixes need Dark Noise Pro, an in-app purchase. There is no Android app.
Noisli Free: short browser sessions
Noisli’s Free web plan lists 16 sounds and 1.5 hours of streaming per day. It also includes three curated Playlists, up to five saved Favorites, a simple timer and a simple text editor. You can set each sound’s volume and combine sounds. Noisli’s apps page links iOS and Android apps and says offline sounds need the app, but the Android link led to a Google Play page that was gone when we checked on 30 September 2026.
Best for: You work or study in stretches that fit inside the daily 1.5 hours.
Know before signing up: Unlimited streaming and the other 12 sounds require Pro on the web, which lists 28 in total. Noisli’s support page says the web app and mobile app have different feature sets, and the iOS app is a paid download on the US App Store.
Calm Free: background sound and guided sessions
Calm’s help center lists 230+ free meditations, eight free sleep sessions, and background Scenes with nature sounds and ambient music. Locked items display a padlock; the full library requires Premium.
Best for: You want guided sessions alongside background sound.
Know before downloading: The full Sleep Stories and music libraries are Premium features, and pricing varies by region. Calm lets you download most sessions for offline listening but doesn’t say whether that includes free content.
When paying for a white noise app is worth it
Paying starts to make sense when you want a bigger library, no ads, particular mixing tools, or content beyond sound. This is what each paid tier adds, read from the same official pages:
| App | What paying adds | Paid model |
|---|---|---|
| Slo | The other 112 of its 200+ sounds, and a fade-out of up to 2 minutes | Monthly, yearly or one-time lifetime |
| White Noise by TMSOFT | Full and Pro editions, with higher-quality stock sounds and generator tools | One-time purchase |
| BetterSleep | 500+ sounds and melodies, SleepTales, meditations, tracking, a recorder and bedtime reminders | Subscription or lifetime, after a free trial |
| Noisli | Web Pro: 28 sounds and no daily cap; offline sounds through the iOS app | Web Pro subscription; paid iOS app |
| Dark Noise | Dark Noise Pro: the rest of the library and custom mixes | In-app purchase |
BetterSleep is the one paid-only pick. It runs on iPhone, iPad and Android, and its help center says every sound plays with no connection. If all you want is a steady hiss, that is a lot of product to pay for. If you want stories, guided audio or sleep tracking around the mixer, it is the widest toolkit here.
Compare layered noise
Hear what a mixer adds
These two use other noise colors, but the controls are the same, and they show what a steady hiss or rumble does under rain or water.
River and Green Noise for Focus
Running water with a steady hiss underneath, for a desk where the room keeps interrupting you.
- Green Noise 60%
- River 35%
Which one should you pick?
Take the smallest thing that covers what you actually do:
- For one steady sound, a basic player or the setting built into your phone is enough.
- For a noisy neighbor one week and a quiet room the next, a mixer lets you change the texture.
- For stories, meditation or tracking, look at the wider sleep apps.
- For work sessions, the timer and desktop access matter more than the size of the library.
White noise sounds brighter and louder than pink or brown at the same setting, and it tires some people out, so pink is worth a try if the hiss wears on you. Compare them at levels you could talk over; turning one up does not make it the winner. The guide to noise colors explains the labels if they are new to you.
What to check before relying on a free app
- Ads and interruptions: An app can be no-cost but still add visual ads. Check whether ads appear during playback.
- Offline playback: If travel or poor connectivity matters, confirm that the app stores your sounds on the device.
- Timer behavior: A fade-out timer stops the sound, and it doesn’t wake you. Test the control before bedtime, so you know which of the two you set.
- Trials that look like free tiers: A “free download” can open a trial that becomes a subscription. Read what stays unlocked after the trial ends.
The browser white noise player is an easy way to hear a sound in your own room before you install anything. We don’t call the whole Slo library free. 89 of its 200+ app sounds are, and the other 112 need a monthly or yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best white noise app?
It depends on what you want beside the hiss. Slo covers the whole range of noise colors, with 22 recordings across white, pink, brown, grey, green, blue and violet, 89 of its 200+ sounds free, and a timer from 15 minutes to 24 hours that fades out. TMSOFT suits a classic sound machine, BetterSleep a bigger sleep toolkit, Noisli a browser you work in, Dark Noise Apple system controls, and Background Sounds plain built-in playback.
Is there a completely free white noise app?
Slo keeps 89 of its 200+ app sounds free for good, 10 of them noise recordings, and all 180 browser sounds free with no account. TMSOFT describes White Noise Lite as free on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and Windows, with ads. Apple includes Background Sounds in supported devices. Every one of them has limits: Slo caps free fade-out at 30 seconds and keeps 112 sounds behind a payment.
Which free white noise app is best on iPhone, and which on Android?
On iPhone, Apple Background Sounds covers built-in playback, and Dark Noise offers 8 free sounds. On both iPhone and Android, Slo offers 89 free sounds with mixing and saved mixes; White Noise Lite offers 50 sounds, recording and alarms with ads. Choose by the features you need, or use Slo in your browser without downloading an app.
Which free option works without internet?
TMSOFT says all White Noise sounds play from your device, and Dark Noise stores its sounds on the device too. Noisli offers offline sounds only in its mobile app, not on the web. Try airplane mode before a trip, so you find out at home.
Is BetterSleep still free?
No. BetterSleep’s help center says it moved from a free tier to a subscription model in 2025. New users get a free trial, and after it ends only a very limited selection of content stays open.
Can I get white noise without installing an app?
Yes. Slo puts 180 sounds at slonoise.com, white, pink and brown noise among them, with no account and no download, plus 15, 30 and 60 minute timers. Noisli also offers a browser service, though its Free plan has a daily streaming limit.
Does white noise improve sleep?
The evidence that steady sound improves sleep is weak and mixed, and no app can promise you a better night. What sound does do is soften a noisy street or a snoring partner. Try it against a quiet room for a week, keep the volume low, and take sleep trouble that lasts to a doctor.
What’s the best app for ambient sleep sounds?
If you mean rain, water and fans as much as plain noise, look at the wide libraries. BetterSleep describes more than 500 sounds and melodies beside its SleepTales, and Slo holds 200+ sounds, among them 11 rain tracks, 9 water and 5 fan recordings, with 89 free. Apple Background Sounds has ocean and rain on a short list, and Noisli is aimed at work rather than bedtime.
Sources checked September 13–22, 2026
- TMSOFT White Noise plans and features and White Noise Lite on the App Store
- Apple Background Sounds support
- Dark Noise on the App Store, mix documentation and working offline
- Noisli plans, features, apps and Noisli on the App Store (free and Pro sound counts rechecked September 22)
- Calm free-content guide (free-content guide rechecked September 22, 2026), using Calm offline and the Calm Scenes guide (Scene playback duration, September 20)
- BetterSleep: is BetterSleep free? (September 20), feature overview, getting-started guide and offline mode (September 13)
- Slo app source, version 3.132 (sound list, timer, fade-out and store products), and the slonoise.com sound catalogue, reviewed September 14, 2026
Related guides
- Best free sleep apps
- Why white noise may help mask sound
- White, pink and brown noise compared
- Best brown noise apps
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.
