Comparison

Drift vs TouchTide

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

Head to head
About

Drift

This app offers quick, 60-second calming experiences designed to combat endless scrolling and promote relaxation. It features interactive visuals, guided breathing exercises, ambient soundscapes, bite-sized puzzles, and short narrated interludes for moments of decompression. The app is built for real-life use, requiring no sign-up or lengthy tutorials.

Highlights
  • 60-second calming experiences
  • Dedicated Sleep Mode with soundscapes and timers
  • Interactive visual exercises
  • Guided breathing exercises
  • Ambient soundscapes with full-screen visuals
  • Bite-sized brain games
  • Short narrated interludes
Features
Read full description

It's late, and you meant to be asleep an hour ago. Put on the rain, a box fan or a slow piano, set a timer, and let Drift play you to sleep. Every sound in Drift has its own scene, drawn live and slow enough to fall asleep to: snow over a line of pines, embers lifting off a fire, moon jellies drifting up through dark water. Watch it, or hide the controls and let it fill the screen. 43 SOUNDS, SEVEN KINDS Rain, Water, Noise, Nature, Night, Ambient and Instrumental. Thunderstorms and rain on leaves, ocean waves and a stream, a box fan, a deep drone, brown noise and pink noise, crickets and cicadas, a crackling fire, a singing bowl, a cat purring, even the clack of a mechanical keyboard. INSTRUMENTAL Eight calm tracks for the end of the day, from Night Piano and Violin Lullaby to Banjo Blues. Every sound in Drift loops without a seam, so there's no pause or jump to wake you. A TIMER FOR FALLING ASLEEP Choose 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes, or play until you stop it. The sound fades out over the last half minute, the screen dims while it plays, and it keeps going with your phone locked. Play and pause right from the lock screen. MIX YOUR OWN Layer up to four sounds, like rain over crickets with a fan underneath, and set each one's volume. Save the sounds and mixes you reach for and start them in one tap. A NIGHTLIGHT Turn your screen into a soft, even light in one of six colors, and dim it down to a faint glow. Your sound keeps playing underneath. WHAT'S FREE AND WHAT'S PREMIUM Six sounds are free, with every timer and the mixer: Rainy Night, Ocean Waves, Forest Morning, Singing Bowl, Night Piano and Violin Lullaby. Premium opens all 43 sounds, the nightlight, and new sounds as they land. Try it free for 7 days with the yearly plan. After that it's 29.99 a year, or 3.99 a month, and you can cancel anytime. NOTHING TO SET UP No sign-up and no account. Open Drift, tap a sound, and put the phone down. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://basicapps.tech/privacy

About

TouchTide

Experience moments of calm with an interactive water surface. Touch the screen to create ripples and enjoy soothing sounds, perfect for relaxation and focus. Offers offline use and a private, sensory experience.

Highlights
  • Interactive water surface with ripples
  • Soothing water and rain sounds
  • Offline use
  • Day and night appearance options
  • Customizable water backgrounds
  • Sleep timer
Features
Read full description

TouchTide turns your iPhone or iPad into a living, responsive water surface created for quick moments of calm. Touch the water with one or several fingers and watch natural ripples spread across the screen. Move your hand through the water, listen to soothing sounds, and enjoy a simple sensory experience whenever you want to pause, refocus, or release everyday tension. A MOMENT OF CALM, ANYTIME • Touch the water with up to five fingers• Create natural ripples and flowing movement• Choose between Live Water and Calm Water• Enjoy Lake, River, and Rain environments• Try Rain free for one minute• Listen to relaxing water and rain sounds• Switch between day and night appearance• Choose from beautiful water backgrounds• Use the app completely offline• No AI — your experience stays private• Designed for both iPhone and iPad TOUCHTIDE PREMIUM Unlock the complete TouchTide experience: • Unlimited access to Rain• Premium background collections• Save and use your own pictures• Sleep Timer for automatic shutoff• Water Reminder for peaceful breaks throughout the day• Access to future premium environments and sounds TouchTide is made for moments of stress, restlessness, reflection, focus, or whenever you simply want to touch and enjoy the water. No complicated exercises. No account required. Just water, movement, and sound. Touch the water. Feel the calm. Made with love. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Drift4 screens
TouchTide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Drift at free against TouchTide's freemium. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Drift sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and TouchTide sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 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 Drift against 5.0 for TouchTide. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Drift versus TouchTide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDriftTouchTide
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size224 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSean TrapaniEcologicalm UAB

Customer experience

Drift

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

TouchTide

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Drift

Subscriptions2
  • Drift Premium Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Drift Premium7 Days trial$29.991 Year
2 purchases

TouchTide

Subscriptions2
  • TouchTide Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
  • TouchTide Premium Yearly$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Drift free?
Drift is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TouchTide free?
TouchTide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Drift or TouchTide?
Drift and TouchTide are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Drift or TouchTide have ads?
Neither Drift nor TouchTide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Drift or TouchTide?
Drift ships an update every 5 days, and TouchTide every 5 days. Most recently, Drift was updated on October 25, 2026 and TouchTide on October 31, 2026.

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