Comparison

Somnideck vs Aural Studio

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

Head to head
About

Somnideck

Record, loop, and shape sounds for sleep, creativity, or professional audio. Features include waveform trimming, pitch shifting, EQ, reverb, and a library of original synthetic and field recordings.

Highlights
  • Record and loop audio
  • Trim loops with waveform editing
  • Adjust pitch, speed, and playback direction
  • Apply EQ, reverb, and saturation effects
  • On-device noise reduction
  • Library of synthetic and field recordings
  • Create custom ringtones
Read full description

A tape-deck-inspired looper that puts any sound on repeat – to settle someone to sleep, or to start your next song. No setup, no fuss, nothing to learn. Built for creatives and tired people alike. Open the app, press record, and ten seconds later you're up and running. But underneath, it's a real instrument – a real tool. LOOP MODE Some features require Studio. - Trim your loop on a draggable waveform, with visible, adjustable crossfade regions as the tape spins - Tune the pitch, shift the speed, or flip playback in reverse. Three controls for finding sounds you didn't expect - Drop in any audio file – a song, a sample, a voice memo – and shape it with the same tools - High-pass and low-pass EQ filters that snap to useful presets – or slide anywhere you want them - Powerful on-device denoise that reduces unwanted background noise – fans, traffic, or whatever is humming in the room – all without sending your audio anywhere - Studio-quality reverb, delay and tape-style saturation, each with presets that turn even the smallest sound into something with weight and atmosphere - Save a loop to a slot and find it where you left it, two hours or two months later NOISE MODE, DONE DIFFERENTLY Every sound in Noise Mode is original. Some features require Studio. Three categories: - 5 synthetic colors, each generated and tuned, live, in a real audio engine running on your phone - 9 field recordings captured on location with some of the world's quietest microphones – wind in an ancient forest canopy, the comforting crackle of a fire pit, the warm sonic embrace of a road trip, the waves lapping next to a Hawaiian lanai at night, and more – each held to AAA audio standards in capture and post-production. - Nocturne, a 45-minute original composition that loops seamlessly. Written to settle a newborn – and now, anyone who listens. Layer it under any synthetic color or field recording for a soundscape mix that's entirely yours. These sound good out of your phone speaker. Out of headphones, they sound extraordinary. TAKE IT WITH YOU Somnideck doesn't stop at the app's edge. - You're only ever five taps away from turning your latest masterpiece – be it the old-timey horn on your bike, or your child's bubbly laugh, into a custom ringtone you can keep and use forever. And Somnideck automatically boosts it as loud as it can be, so it stands the best chance of cutting through from your pocket. - For creatives: Export any loop as a seamless WAV with the crossfade baked into the audio, so the loop-point is invisible the moment it lands in Logic Pro, Cubase, Ableton, or GarageBand. Normally a complex process in expensive desktop software – Somnideck does it in a handful of taps. STUDIO Studio gives you the full audio creation suite – all 9 field recordings, Nocturne, the complete effects rack, pitch and speed, reverse playback, export, audio import, the sleep timer, and expanded loop storage. The looper, the synthetic noise generator, and one field recording are always free. Available monthly, annually, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. WHO IT'S FOR - Creatives who want a real, inspirational audio sketchpad that lives natively on their phone - Parents at 3 a.m. who need calm, fast - Anyone looking to settle, focus, or wind down at the end of the day PRIVACY Somnideck collects no data. No accounts, no third-party SDKs, no analytics, no tracking. Your recordings stay on your device, and denoise runs locally. A powerhouse that can stay shallow or go as deep as you need. Press record and you're done – or disappear into it for an hour. Both paths are first-class.

About

Aural Studio

Read full description

Press play. Then make the sound your own. Aural Studio starts you inside a complete soundscape, not at an empty editor. Open one of four presets and listen. When a layer catches your ear, open the soundscape, reshape it, and save your version to keep exploring. MEET RESONANT TIDE A deep brown-noise bed rolls beneath two pink-noise breakers. White-noise foam brightens the surface, with a subtle binaural current underneath. Hear the whole five-layer soundscape first; then open it up. FOLLOW WHAT CATCHES YOUR EAR Mute Rolling Waves and notice what drops away. Reorder the stack or duplicate a layer before an experiment. Add sine, triangle, square, and sawtooth tones, plus white, pink, and brown noise. The controls change with the kind of layer you choose. SEND A WAVE ACROSS STEREO Give Rolling Waves a repeating path between left and right. Compatible tone and noise layers can hold a stereo position or move along a repeating path. Stereo headphones are recommended for the intended separation. DRAW HOW THE SOUND UNFOLDS Choose a value available for the layer and draw a curve across its duration. Scrub to a moment, then listen as playback follows the same rise, dip, or turn. DARKEN OR BRIGHTEN THE TEXTURE For tones and noise with filtering, choose low-pass or high-pass and adjust cutoff and resonance while you listen. LET ONE WAVE SHAPE TWO MORE When Rolling Waves swells, Sea Foam rises and the Binaural Current's beat shifts with it. In Resonant Tide, the changing volume of one layer can drive those two values. Shape one source instead of redrawing the same movement. Your original settings remain ready if you change course. KEEP YOUR VERSION Save and reopen the soundscape. Duplicate it before a new direction. Import or export editable Aural documents. Your documents stay on your device unless you explicitly export them. Aural Studio is free on the App Store. No account. No subscription. Built for iPhone; requires iOS 26 or later. Aural uses limited TelemetryDeck product analytics. See the Privacy Policy for the current data disclosure. No ads or cross-app tracking. Stereo headphones are recommended for binaural and stereo-motion playback. Listen at a comfortable level, stop if you feel discomfort, and do not listen where reduced attention could create risk. Aural Studio is creative and wellness-oriented sound software, not a medical device. It does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent a medical condition and does not guarantee a focus, relaxation, meditation, or sleep outcome.

Screenshots

Somnideck4 screens
Aural Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Aural Studio at none against Somnideck's 3. Somnideck's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Somnideck sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Aural Studio asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Somnideck ships an update every 4 days, Aural Studio fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Somnideck versus Aural Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSomnideckAural Studio
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (10 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings10 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size110 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOscar Dog, Inc.Adam Horacek

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Somnideck

Subscriptions2
  • Studio – Monthly3 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Studio – Annual3 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Studio – Lifetime$69.99
None

Aural Studio

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Somnideck free?
Somnideck is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Aural Studio free?
Aural Studio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Somnideck or Aural Studio have ads?
Neither Somnideck nor Aural Studio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Somnideck or Aural Studio?
Somnideck ships an update every 4 days, and Aural Studio fortnightly. Most recently, Somnideck was updated on October 8, 2026 and Aural Studio on October 3, 2026.

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