Comparison

Thunderstorm Simulator vs Natural Sounds.

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Thunderstorm Simulator

Create a personalized thunderstorm experience with adjustable rain, thunder, and lightning effects. Customize sound volumes, lightning occurrences, and light colors to relax or fall asleep. Includes a sleep timer and options for background nature sounds.

Highlights
  • Adjustable rain sounds and volume
  • Customizable thunder and lightning occurrences
  • Screen or camera flash lightning effects
  • Background nature sounds
  • Sleep timer with fade-out
  • Keep Awake mode
  • Lightning on Demand control
Read full description

Summon a thunderstorm on your mobile device. Relax and fall fast asleep to the sounds of rain and thunder. The screen or camera flashes when lightning strikes.* *Defaults to screen for lightning light effects if camera flash is not available. THUNDERSTORMS • Strong Thunderstorm — Heavy rain with frequent lightning and thunder nearby • Normal Thunderstorm — Steady rain with a full range of lightning and thunder • Weak Thunderstorm — Light rain with occasional lightning and thunder far off • Passing Thunderstorms — Rain and lightning intensity changes as the storms pass SETTINGS Rain • Toggle rain sound effects • Change rain audio: Default, Heavy, Steady, Light, On Tin Roof • Change rain volume Lightning/Thunder • Toggle thunder sound effects • Change thunder volume • Change delay lightning (Wireless audio delay offset) • Toggle delay thunder • Toggle lightning light effects • Change lightning output: Camera Flash, Screen • Change lightning transition effects • Change lightning/thunder occurrence: Default, Occasional, Normal, Frequent • Change color and max brightness of lightning light effects (Screen only) Passing Thunderstorms • Change starting storm for Passing Thunderstorms: Weak, Normal, Strong • Change cycle time for Passing Thunderstorms: 15m, 30m, 60m Background Sounds • Toggle background sounds: Birds, Cicadas, Crickets, Frogs • Change background sounds volume General • Keep Awake to prevent your device from going to sleep so lightning effects remain visible • Select a mode to automatically start when the app opens • Choose a time to automatically stop the selected mode • Choose a time to automatically restart the selected mode when the sleep timer ends, enabling a recurring cycle ADDITIONAL FEATURES • Sleep Timer — Set a timer with a gradual audio fade-out. • Turn Screen Black — Adds a black overlay and sets the device to minimum brightness. Use the Screen Brightness Delay setting to compensate for brightness ramp-up on some devices. Set to 0.25–1 second if lightning effects do not reach peak brightness when thunder is loudest. • Lightning on Demand — Start a storm and use the lightning buttons at the bottom of the screen for manual control. • Bluetooth Support — Connect to Bluetooth speakers. Adjust the Delay Lightning setting to offset wireless audio delay. Please contact me at support@thunderstorm.scottdodson.dev if you experience any issues. I'd love to hear your thoughts and appreciate you taking the time to rate and review the app. I want to continue to improve Thunderstorm Simulator and create a great experience for you and future users. Thank you! —Scott Ad-supported version: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/thunderstorm-simulator-w-ads/id1482707561

About

Natural Sounds.

Access a vast library of nearly 100 free, high-quality relaxing sounds categorized for sleep, meditation, and concentration. Create custom alarms with your favorite ambient noises.

Highlights
  • Nearly 100 free relaxing sounds
  • Categorized sounds for mood
  • Aids sleep and concentration
  • Create custom alarms
  • Diverse sound categories (Rain, Ocean, Night, Music, Asian, Urban, Home)
Features
Read full description

Contains nearly 100 high quality relaxing sounds (all free) for any mood, divided in the following categories: This sounds will help you in sleep, meditation, concentration. Whenever you feel low, you can hear some meditation sounds and gain energy. You can use application sounds for better sleep as well. Add alarms with any sounds from the application. Rain sounds (Morning rain, Umbrella, Thunders, Light rain, Heavy rain, Distant thunder, Tent, Window, Roof) Ocean sounds (Calm waves, Waves, Seagulls, Scuba diver, Dolphins, Sailboat, Whale, Foghorn, Harbor) Night sounds (Crickets, Grasshoppers, Owls, Wolves, Loon, Frogs, Coyote, Coqui, Whippoorwill) Relaxing music (Piano, Guitar, Violin, Harp, Flute, Sax, Native american flute) Traditional Asian sounds (Tibetan Bowls, Gong, Bells, Om, Flute, Didgeridoo, Chimes, Guzheng, Temple) City/Urban sounds (Musician, Coffee Shop, Fountain, Children, Traffic, Road work, Subway, Train station) Home sounds (Fan, Air Conditioner, Hairdryer, Vacuum Cleaner, Cat purring, Shower, Washing Machine, Jacuzzi, Fridge, Vintage Clock, Gas Stove, Heater)

Screenshots

Thunderstorm Simulator3 screens
Natural Sounds.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Thunderstorm Simulator at 100% against Natural Sounds.'s 50%. Thunderstorm Simulator also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.2) and device support (3 vs 1). Natural Sounds.'s advantage is price (Free vs $1.99) and ratings volume (6 vs 2). On update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Natural Sounds. is free to download; Thunderstorm Simulator costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Thunderstorm Simulator holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 6 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Thunderstorm Simulator's written reviews are positive against 50% of Natural Sounds.'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thunderstorm Simulator ships an update every 4 months, Natural Sounds. every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Thunderstorm Simulator versus Natural Sounds.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThunderstorm SimulatorNatural Sounds.
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (2 ratings) — better4.2 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings26 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB83 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperScott DodsonSujal Adhia

Customer experience

Thunderstorm Simulator

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Natural Sounds.

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

Thunderstorm Simulator

No in-app purchases

None

Natural Sounds.

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Thunderstorm Simulator free?
Thunderstorm Simulator costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Natural Sounds. free?
Natural Sounds. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Thunderstorm Simulator or Natural Sounds.?
Thunderstorm Simulator is rated higher. Thunderstorm Simulator averages 4.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Natural Sounds. averages 4.2 from 6 ratings.
Do Thunderstorm Simulator or Natural Sounds. have ads?
Neither Thunderstorm Simulator nor Natural Sounds. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Thunderstorm Simulator or Natural Sounds.?
Thunderstorm Simulator ships an update every 4 months, and Natural Sounds. every 5 months. Most recently, Thunderstorm Simulator was updated on October 13, 2026 and Natural Sounds. on October 8, 2026.

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