Comparison

madbell vs Wakeyside

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

Head to head
About

madbell

Features
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Stop losing to your alarm. You don’t need more alarms. You need a smarter wake-up. You set 7:00. Then 7:05. Then 7:10. And somehow you wake up at 7:43. You’re not lazy. You’re waking up wrong. When a loud alarm hits during deep sleep, your brain treats it like a threat. It shuts it down — and sends you back to sleep. MadBell changes the way you wake up. Instead of shocking you awake at your alarm time, MadBell prepares your body first. Progressive micro-wakeups begin before your main alarm: • soft • slightly louder • gradually rising Your brain transitions naturally out of deep sleep. By the time the final alarm rings, you’re already close to awake. No panic. No confusion. No violent interruption. Just a smooth emergence. How It Works • Set your wake-up time • MadBell automatically schedules progressive pre-alarms • Each sound fades in naturally • Optional voice updates tell you the time remaining • The final alarm feels like the last step, not a shock Premium : For Heavy Sleepers • Adaptive escalation if you don’t respond • Wake-up challenge to confirm you’re awake • Unlimited alarms and profiles • Fully customizable number of pre-wake stages Before, you woke up stressed. Now, you wake up steady. MadBell works with your biology, not against it.

About

Wakeyside

Features
Read full description

Wake up by light, or by sound. Wakeyside is a calm nightstand clock with an alarm made first for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and for anyone who wants to wake gently. SILENT ALARM • No sound: the screen fills the room with light in a colour you choose, with five effects, from a slow breath to a storm. • The camera light can flash with the alarm, for people who cannot hear it. • Nothing flashes more than three times a second, and Reduce Motion keeps the light steady. • The light and the flash work while Wakeyside is open on your nightstand, charging. Set an alarm a few minutes ahead to try it before you rely on it. Wakeyside does not replace a bed shaker or a smoke alarm. THE WEATHER WAKES YOU EARLIER • When rain or snow is forecast, Wakeyside sets an extra alarm earlier, so the weather never surprises you. • The morning shows the temperature, the day's outlook and your first tasks. NEVER LATE FOR WORK • Tell Wakeyside where you start, where you work and when you must be there. • It asks Apple Maps how long the trip takes, with the traffic expected when you would leave. If there is a delay, an extra alarm rings earlier, in steps of five minutes, and the display tells you when to leave. • It never rings later than your regular alarm. An alarm that is already set stays if Apple Maps cannot answer. • A notification tells you when it is time to leave, with a heads-up before if you like, and says so when the traffic makes the trip much longer. It works with the alarm off too, for a day that starts at noon. • The two places, your start and your destination, go to Apple Maps and nowhere else. A NIGHTSTAND WITH THE REAL SKY • The sun and the moon stand exactly where they are over you now, with the moon's true phase, the stars and the clouds of the forecast. • At night the clock dims by itself and turns red, like StandBy, easier on your eyes and your sleep. • Made for OLED screens: the clock glides around, and the screen goes fully dark after the time you choose. Knock on the nightstand, or change the room light, to wake it. • Built for the iPhone folded like a tent on your nightstand. YOUR DAY ON THE NIGHTSTAND • If you allow it, the reminders that are due and your first event of the day appear on the display. Tick a reminder off with a tap. • When your first event starts early, an extra alarm rings earlier, with time to get ready. It never rings later than your regular alarm. A SIMPLE WEEKLY SLEEP SUMMARY • On the last morning of the week: about how long you were in bed, on how many nights you touched your phone, and how that compares with the hours recommended for your age. • If you allow it, your sleep from Apple Health (from an Apple Watch or a sleep app) is used for the nights it has. Without it, the summary is estimated from your touches on the phone: about how long you were in bed, and whether you picked the phone up in the night. • It is an estimate, not a medical measurement, and it is not a substitute for a doctor. PRIVATE • No account, no ads, no tracking. Your places are kept on your iPhone and go only to Apple: your home place for the forecast and, if you use the trip to work, your start and destination for the travel time. Reminders, Calendar, Health (read only) and the sleep summary are read and kept on your iPhone only. Available in English, Greek and German. **Accessibility Nutrition Labels** (to declare) Supports: Sufficient Contrast, Reduced Motion (steady light), Dark Interface, larger text where the layout allows, VoiceOver labels on the controls. Captions and audio descriptions do not apply (no video, no speech).

Screenshots

madbell4 screens
Wakeyside4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Wakeyside at none against madbell's 1. On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. madbell sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Wakeyside asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

madbell ships an update every 4 days, Wakeyside every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
madbell versus Wakeyside: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametermadbellWakeyside
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.226.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOscar Robert-BesleFotios Pongas

In-app purchases

1 purchases

madbell

One-time1
  • MadBell Premium$0.99
None

Wakeyside

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is madbell free?
madbell is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Wakeyside free?
Wakeyside is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do madbell or Wakeyside have ads?
Neither madbell nor Wakeyside shows ads.
Which is updated more often, madbell or Wakeyside?
madbell ships an update every 4 days, and Wakeyside every 2 days. Most recently, madbell was updated on October 7, 2026 and Wakeyside on October 10, 2026.

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