Comparison

Sound Meter dB vs EarRest

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

Head to head
About

Sound Meter dB

Transform your phone into a decibel meter and noise detector. It provides live dB readings, tracks noise history, offers safe exposure guidance, and includes a hearing test and frequency analyzer. Features like night mode and daily noise dose tracking help you understand your sound environment.

Highlights
  • Live decibel (dB) readings
  • Noise history graph
  • Safe exposure guidance
  • Night mode noise logging
  • Hearing test
  • Frequency analyzer (PRO)
  • PDF reports and noise diary (PRO)
Features
Read full description

Sound Meter dB turns your phone into a decibel meter and noise detector: a live dB reading on a color-coded dial, from quiet teal to dangerous red, with a history graph, safe-exposure guidance, a night-long noise log, a hearing test and a frequency analyzer. Open it and it's already measuring: the party next door, the office air conditioning, the restaurant that "isn't that loud". Ten readings a second, time-weighted like a real sound level meter, and your music or podcast keeps playing. NEW: NIGHT MODE Leave the phone by the bed, plugged in, and go to sleep. Night mode learns how quiet your room is, then logs every noise above it: when, how long, how loud and what kind of sound. In the morning, a report: the whole night on one chart, every noise marked, the loudest called out, your longest quiet stretch. Made for noisy neighbors, traffic, a barking dog, or whatever wakes you at 3 AM. NEW: HOW HIGH CAN YOU HEAR? The highest pitch you can hear drops with age. A one-minute hearing test climbs through tones up to 20,000 Hz and shows which age group your ears match. Share it and see how your friends do. For fun, not a medical test. NEW: YOUR DAILY NOISE DOSE How much of today's safe sound allowance have you used? The meter adds up every measurement of the day against the NIOSH limit (85 dBA for 8 hours) and shows it as one percentage. NEW: FREQUENCY ANALYZER (PRO) Third-octave bands from 50 Hz to 16 kHz and the dominant tone, live, with its musical note. A guide shows what usually makes each part of the spectrum (rumble, hum, whine, hiss), and the analyzer flags electrical hum. Find the source, not just the level. NEW: PDF REPORTS AND A NOISE DIARY (PRO) Turn any session into a clean PDF: the chart, the average and the peaks, every noise event, the measurement settings. Or put weeks of nights into one noise diary, the way a landlord, an HOA or the council asks for it: every noise with its date, time, level and type, and room for your notes. MEASURES LIKE A REAL METER A-weighted readings (dBA), Fast or Slow response, and Leq, the energy average: the same maths as a sound level meter. The dial holds the session peak and turns red past 100 dB. Have a reference meter? Calibrate against it in Settings. EVERY READING, IN PLAIN WORDS 40 dB is a quiet library, 60 a conversation, 75 a vacuum cleaner, 95 power tools, 110 a rock concert. Following the NIOSH guideline, the app shows how long the current level is safe for and counts the time over 85 dB. EVERY SESSION, SAVED Measurements stay on your device with their timeline and loudest moments. Share one as an image, export it as CSV, or make it a PDF report. FOCUS MODE The reading as big as the screen, and the whole screen turns red when the room stays above your limit. Made for classrooms, workshops and venues. PRIVATE, AND WORKS OFFLINE Sound is analyzed on your device, as numbers. No recording is kept or uploaded, not even in Night mode. No account, no connection needed. THE HONEST PART Phone microphones are built for voice, not metrology, and every model hears a little differently. Readings are good estimates for awareness and comparisons, not a substitute for a certified Class 1 or Class 2 instrument. GOOD FOR - Documenting noisy neighbors, traffic and night-time noise - Checking noise at home, at work, in a classroom or workshop - Concerts and events: knowing when to give your ears a break - Finding the hum, whine or rumble in a room - Sleep and study rooms, nurseries and baby rooms FREE, WITH AN OPTIONAL PRO Sound Meter dB is free, supported by a small banner and an occasional ad when the app opens. Sound Meter dB Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription: it removes the ads and unlocks the frequency analyzer, the full event list in night reports, PDF reports and the noise diary. The meter, Night mode, the hearing test, history, sharing and everything else stay free for everyone. Privacy policy: https://noise.chinesepowered.com/privacy.html

About

EarRest

This app monitors your Bluetooth headphone usage and automatically reminds you to take breaks to protect your hearing. It tracks listening time, offers customizable break intervals, and provides historical data to help you build healthier habits.

Highlights
  • Automatic Bluetooth headphone tracking
  • Customizable break reminders
  • Live Activity and Dynamic Island integration
  • Home and Lock Screen widgets
  • Quiet Hours (Do Not Disturb)
  • Listening history
  • macOS companion app
Features
Read full description

Wearing headphones for hours without a break can quietly damage your hearing. EarRest watches your Bluetooth headphones in the background and reminds you to take them off and give your ears a rest — automatically. Just connect your AirPods or any Bluetooth headphones and EarRest starts timing. When you have been listening long enough, you get a gentle notification to take a break, and the next cycle starts on its own. No taps, no rituals — it simply works. Key Features: • Automatic Tracking: Detects when your Bluetooth headphones connect or disconnect and starts or stops the timer for you. • Break Reminders: Pick an interval (10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 minutes) and get notified when it is time to rest your ears. • Live Activity & Dynamic Island: See wearing time and break progress at a glance on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. • Home & Lock Screen Widgets: Keep your listening time visible with widgets in multiple sizes. • Quiet Hours: Set a do-not-disturb window (even across midnight) — reminders wait politely until it ends. • Listening History: Review how long you wear your headphones each day and build healthier habits. • Works on Mac Too: A lightweight menu bar app for macOS. • Privacy First: Everything runs locally on your device. No account, no tracking, no internet required. Your hearing does not get a second chance. Let EarRest help you enjoy music, podcasts, and calls — without overdoing it. Terms of Use: https://sites.google.com/view/earrest-terms Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/earrest-privacy

Screenshots

Sound Meter dB4 screens
EarRest4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: EarRest at none against Sound Meter dB's shown. EarRest also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 4 months). On price, rating, ratings volume 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

Both are free to download. Sound Meter dB sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and EarRest sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Sound Meter dB against 5.0 for EarRest. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sound Meter dB ships an update every 4 months, EarRest every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Sound Meter dB versus EarRest: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSound Meter dBEarRest
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNelson Lai月梅 孙

Customer experience

Sound Meter dB

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

EarRest

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Sound Meter dB

One-time1
  • Sound Meter dB Pro$4.99
4 purchases

EarRest

Subscriptions2
  • EarRest Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
  • EarRest Pro Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time2
  • Lifetime (Limited Offer)$9.99
  • EarRest Pro Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is Sound Meter dB free?
Sound Meter dB is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is EarRest free?
EarRest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sound Meter dB or EarRest?
Sound Meter dB and EarRest are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Sound Meter dB or EarRest have ads?
Sound Meter dB shows ads; EarRest does not.
Which is updated more often, Sound Meter dB or EarRest?
Sound Meter dB ships an update every 4 months, and EarRest every 3 days. Most recently, Sound Meter dB was updated on October 29, 2026 and EarRest on October 28, 2026.

Other comparisons