SoniMeter vs BenchPro Testing
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
SoniMeter
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Test how loud your restaurant is. Your neighbor's late-night party. Your concert. Your office HVAC. Your baby room. Apple has no sound level meter for iPhone (the Watch one measures 3.4 dB low per published NIH research). The popular third-party apps charge around $40/year, push subscription prompts every launch, and read 28 dB in a completely silent room because their zero-calibration is broken. Decibo is the noise meter those apps should have been. $3.99 once. No subscription. No ads. Forever. WHAT DECIBO MEASURES β’ A / C / Z frequency weighting (IEC 61672 standard) β’ LAeq β equivalent continuous A-weighted sound level β’ Lmax β maximum during measurement period β’ LCpeak β C-weighted peak (instantaneous extremes) β’ TWA β 8-hour time-weighted average for OSHA / NIOSH β’ Dose β % of permissible daily noise exposure β’ Real-time 1/3-octave spectrum (30 bands, 25 Hz to 16 kHz) β’ Peak hold over a sliding 1-30 second window REAL ZERO CALIBRATION Two methods: silent-room (3-second baseline auto-tunes to 30 dB SPL) and reference-tone (input your 94 dB SPL calibrator's measured value and Decibo computes the offset). Multiple named profiles per device, optional iCloud sync across your iPhones. 8 SCENE PRESETS β EACH WITH SMART THRESHOLD β’ Workplace β 85 dB / A-weighted / NIOSH dose tracking β’ Concert / Club β 100 dB / C-weighted / hearing-protection alert β’ Sleep / Baby Room β 50 dB / A-weighted / WHO bedroom guideline β’ Restaurant β 75 dB / A-weighted / chronic-exposure warning β’ Office β 65 dB / A-weighted / productivity zone β’ HVAC / Appliance β 40 dB / A-weighted / residential noise floor β’ Studio / Quiet β 35 dB / A-weighted / recording-grade silence Each preset comes with concise advice citing OSHA / NIOSH / WHO. Settings includes a custom-threshold override slider. LIVE ACTIVITY, WIDGET, THRESHOLD ALARM Long sessions display current dB + LAeq + Dose in Dynamic Island and on the lock screen. Home + lock-screen widget for one-tap measurement. When sound crosses the active threshold, Decibo fires a haptic + optional notification β so you can step out, put in earplugs, or grab evidence. SESSION HISTORY Every recorded session is saved with full time-series + metrics. Each session can be named and annotated. iCloud sync (opt-in) keeps history across your devices. Export as PDF (formatted report) or CSV (raw time series). Optionally geo-tag sessions for noise complaints or real-estate inspections. BLUETOOTH-MIC PROTECTION If your hearing aids or AirPods are connected, iOS may route the iPhone microphone through them β yielding wrong readings. Decibo detects this and warns you with a red banner. One tap forces the built-in iPhone mic. AUDIO FILE IMPORT Drop in any voice memo, recording, or .m4a / .wav / .mp3 β Decibo runs it through the same A/C/Z weighting + SPL pipeline and shows LAeq, Lmax, peak with a line chart. 100% ON-DEVICE The microphone audio never leaves your phone. No server. No cloud call. No third-party analytics. No tracking SDKs. AVAudioEngine captures, Accelerate processes, SwiftUI renders. The Privacy Nutrition Label says "Data Not Collected" β because it doesn't. DISCLAIMER Decibo is a sound level meter for environmental and occupational measurement. It is not a medical device, not a substitute for a calibrated professional instrument, not for clinical hearing-loss diagnosis. For audiology concerns, consult a hearing-care professional. MADE BY ONE PERSON An indie developer tired of decibel apps that charge $40/year and still can't zero properly. If something breaks or you want a feature, email xxhhuan2022@163.com β you'll get an actual reply, usually within a day. https://duolaamengweb3.github.io/decibo/
BenchPro Testing
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BenchPro Tester is the companion app used alongside Bench Pro repair shop diagnostic stations. When you bring your phone in for service or a trade-in evaluation, your technician connects it over USB and this app walks through a complete guided hardware check β results are sent straight to the shop's diagnostic report. WHAT IT CHECKS β’ Screen β dead pixel and display check β’ Touch screen β full coverage test β’ Multi-touch β simultaneous finger detection β’ Front and rear camera β’ Speaker and earpiece β’ Top and bottom microphone β’ Vibration / haptics β’ Physical buttons β’ Charging port β’ Flashlight β’ Proximity sensor β’ Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios β’ GPS β’ Gyroscope β’ Battery health (real load test, not just a snapshot reading) HOW IT WORKS Plug your phone into the shop's diagnostic computer with a USB cable. This app opens automatically and walks you through each test with clear on-screen instructions β tap Pass, Fail, or Skip as you go. No account, no sign-up, no data entry required. No cable handy, or a port that won't connect? The app also supports a hand-tested mode your technician can use directly on the shop computer, so a diagnostic can still be completed without a working USB connection. WHO IT'S FOR This app is intended for use at a participating repair shop running Bench Pro Tech Station β it isn't a general consumer diagnostic tool and has no functionality on its own outside of that pairing. PRIVACY Test results are sent only to the shop's own computer over your temporary USB/local connection β nothing is uploaded to Bench Pro's servers or any third party, and no account or personal information is required to use the app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: BenchPro Testing at none against SoniMeter's 1. BenchPro Testing also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). SoniMeter's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks). On price and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. SoniMeter sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. BenchPro Testing asks for nothing beyond the download.
SoniMeter ships an update every 2 days, BenchPro Testing every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SoniMeter | BenchPro Testing |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days β better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No β better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod β better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 β better |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | η εΎ | Jonathan Pegues |
In-app purchases
SoniMeter
- Decibo Pro Lifetime$3.99
BenchPro Testing
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SoniMeter free?
Is BenchPro Testing free?
Do SoniMeter or BenchPro Testing have ads?
Which is updated more often, SoniMeter or BenchPro Testing?
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