Decibel Meter vs Sidetone
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Decibel Meter
This tool transforms your iPhone into a real-time sound level meter. It measures and displays environmental noise in decibels, helping you monitor sound at home, work, or outdoors. Protect your hearing by detecting loud noises and staying aware of your sound environment.
- Real-time decibel measurement
- Dynamic graph display
- Min/Max/Average sound levels
- Measuring timer
- Pause and Reset buttons
- Noise pollution checks
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Decibel Meter is a powerful and easy-to-use sound level meter (also known as dB meter, SPL meter, or noise detector) that turns your iPhone into a real-time sound measuring tool. Using your device’s built-in microphone, Decibel Meter detects and displays environmental noise levels in decibels (dB). Whether you're monitoring noise at home, measuring sound at work, or checking noise pollution outdoors – this app provides accurate, real-time readings. Key Features: - Real-time decibel measurement with dynamic graph - Sound level display: Min / Max / Average - Measuring timer included - Easy-to-use Pause and Reset buttons - Useful for sound tests, noise pollution checks, and SPL monitoring Use Cases: - Monitor home or work noise - Measure traffic, music, or construction sound - Perform noise tests for health and safety - Detect sound levels in quiet or noisy environments Sound measurements depend on your device’s microphone and may vary from professional SPL meters. Protect your ears and your health. Use Decibel Meter to detect loud noise and stay in control of your sound environment. Download now and start measuring sound today! Privacy Policy: https://www.getpaoapps.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.getpaoapps.com/terms
Sidetone
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Sidetone is a Mumble client for iPhone built around listening. Most voice apps give you one room. Sidetone gives you a mix: you join one channel — that sets where your voice goes — and then listen to as many other channels as you like, each with its own level, mute and left/right placement. Dispatch on the left, your own team centred, the wider net low and to the right. You can tell them apart by ear instead of by reading the screen. Talking is deliberate. Talk targets are held, not tapped, so nothing goes out by accident. THE LISTEN MIX • Join one channel, listen to any number of others • Per-channel volume, mute and stereo placement • Mute individual people without leaving the channel • Live level meters show who is speaking HOLD TO TALK • Up to eight talk slots, each aimed at a channel, a person, or everyone you are listening to • Push-to-talk, or voice activity with an adjustable threshold • Double-tap to latch a slot open; tap again to close • Optional haptics and spoken confirmation of the target • The rest of the mix ducks while you speak BUILT TO BE LEFT RUNNING • Live Activity on the lock screen and in the Dynamic Island: server, who is talking, transmit state • Carries on in the background and reconnects by itself, with a tone or a spoken cue when the link drops or returns • Remembers per server: joined channel, listen channels, levels, placement, muted people • Five accent colours, light and dark STANDARDS, NOT A SERVICE • Connects to any Mumble or murmur server — your own, or your team's • TLS control channel, OCB2-encrypted voice, Opus at 48 kHz • A client certificate is generated on your device so servers can register you • No account, no sign-up, no analytics, no third-party SDKs There is no Sidetone server. Your audio goes to the server you choose and nowhere else. You need access to a Mumble server to use Sidetone. Sidetone is an independent client and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Mumble project; portions of the protocol implementation are derived from Mumble under the BSD 3-clause licence, reproduced in the app under Setup → About.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sidetone at none against Decibel Meter's 3. Sidetone also leads on update cadence (daily vs monthly). Decibel Meter's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads and device support 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. Decibel Meter sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Sidetone asks for nothing beyond the download.
Decibel Meter ships an update monthly, Sidetone daily. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Decibel Meter | Sidetone |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (55 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 70.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 55 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 176 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PaoApps | Stephen Markham |
In-app purchases
Decibel Meter
- Weekly Access with Trial3 Days trial$2.997 Days
- Weekly Access$2.997 Days
- Yearly Access$17.991 Year
Sidetone
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Decibel Meter free?
Is Sidetone free?
Do Decibel Meter or Sidetone have ads?
Which is updated more often, Decibel Meter or Sidetone?
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