Better Noise vs Background Noises
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Better Noise
Read full descriptionHide full description
Better Noise: Your go-to app for customisable noise playback. Immerse yourself in a world of soothing sounds tailored to your preferences. Better Noise offers: - Immerse in tranquility with 20 endless sounds from different categories - Mashup your favourites for a personalised experience - Set the sleep timer for a restful night's sleep - Enjoy endless calming tones to suit your mood - Ad-free experience for uninterrupted relaxation - 100% free, no in-app purchases Seamlessly navigate stress-free moments with Better Noise
Background Noises
This app provides a simple way to access ambient sounds and binaural beats for relaxation, focus, or sleep. Choose from a variety of nature sounds, white noise, and Solfeggio frequencies, with options for custom soundscapes and guided brainwave sessions.
- Extensive sound library (nature, noise, Solfeggio)
- Customizable binaural beats and sound journeys
- Full-length, seamless audio tracks
- Offline playback and large download capacity
- Integration with Apple HealthKit
- Visualizers and full-screen backgrounds
Read full descriptionHide full description
Background Noises is a white noise and sleep sounds app for iPhone and iPad. Tap a tile and it plays: white, pink, brown or grey noise, rain and other nature sounds, eight music stations or ten steady tones. Free plays a 60-second sample of every sound, with no sign-up; Premium plays every sound with no time limit and adds a sleep timer and offline play. WHAT PLAYS Music: Calm, Ambient, Soft Piano, Classical, Acoustic Guitar, Light Jazz, Tropical and Elevator Music Nature: River, Rain, Fire and Forest Noise: White, Pink, Brown and Grey Tones: 174, 285, 396, 417, 432, 528, 639, 741, 852 and 963 Hz, the nine solfeggio frequencies plus 432 Hz The music and nature sounds are original, generated and mastered by eleMusic. The noise and tones are synthesized. Play them as sleep sounds at bedtime, as white noise or brown noise while you work or study, or as quiet music in the background of your day. THE STATIONS Calm: slow, simple melodies on felt piano, electric piano and warm strings, with no beat. Ambient: warm pads, soft drones and airy textures, with no melody. Soft Piano: one acoustic piano playing light, flowing melodies. Classical: strings, flute, clarinet, piano and classical guitar playing sunny, easygoing tunes. Acoustic Guitar: one or two acoustic guitars, fingerpicked slowly. Light Jazz: piano, nylon guitar or electric piano with upright bass and brushes, with an easy swing or a soft bossa lilt. Tropical: steel pan, ukulele, marimba and island guitars over an easygoing island groove. Elevator Music: lush strings, vibraphone, cocktail organ and a soft bossa sway, straight out of an old hotel lobby. River: a calm stream flowing evenly over stones. Rain: steady rain at a comfortable distance, one continuous texture. Fire: a small wood fire, soft crackles over a low, warm wash. Forest: a few small songbirds singing softly in a daytime woodland. THE PLAYER Each sound opens full screen with its own video. Play or pause, skip ahead or go back: a Premium station moves track by track, and everything else steps to the next sound in its group. The volume is your device's own volume. Lock your iPhone or iPad and the sound keeps playing. Send it to a speaker or a TV with AirPlay or Google Cast. PREMIUM Every sound with no time limit, and: Sleep timer: stop the sound after 15, 30 or 45 minutes, or 1, 1.5, 2, 4 or 8 hours. Offline: a noise or tone you have played on Wi-Fi then plays with no connection, and stations keep playing the tracks they saved on Wi-Fi. Flag a track: on a station, flag a track you would rather not hear; it skips at once and goes for review. Monthly or yearly, with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers. Your price shows in your currency before you subscribe. In the App Store the plan may also be listed as Essentials; every Essentials plan includes everything Premium does. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase, or when the free trial ends if you start one. Premium renews automatically unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. GOOD TO KNOW Signing in is optional: the app makes a guest account on its own. Sign in with Apple, Google or email to use one plan on several devices at once, and delete your account at any time in Settings. Streaming a station uses about 60 MB an hour. With Premium, noise and tones download once, then play offline. Offline play needs the app to have checked your plan online in the last 7 days. Starting a sound pauses other audio, and other audio pauses Background Noises. No ads. No voiceovers. For general listening; not a medical device. Background Noises is a product of Third Space LLC. It plays music and sound streamed by eleMusic, a separate service. Powered by eleMusic.fm Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms: https://bgnoises.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://bgnoises.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Better Noise at weekly against Background Noises's every 7 months. Background Noises's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Better Noise sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month and Background Noises sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Better Noise ships an update weekly, Background Noises every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Better Noise | Background Noises |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 7 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 257 MB | 50 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jannis Guensche | Third Space LLC |
In-app purchases
Better Noise
- Better Noise Pro$1.991 Month
Background Noises
- Essentials Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Premium Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Essentials Annual7 Days trial$19.991 Year
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Premium Annual7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- 50 Credit Pack$4.99
Questions
Is Better Noise free?
Is Background Noises free?
Do Better Noise or Background Noises have ads?
Which is updated more often, Better Noise or Background Noises?
Other comparisons















