9 Best Free Sleep Apps to Try in 2025

Can you recall the last time you had a good night’s rest? For me, it’s been a while. Most days, I tend to fall asleep and wake up repeatedly in the middle of the night. Because of this, sometimes I would resort to using an app to monitor my sleep patterns or play some white noise in the background.

If you go through a similar situation, you’d probably want to know what the best sleep app to use. After testing multiple apps, I’ve selected the 9 best free sleep apps that you can consider trying out.

Our Top Picks

What is a Sleep App?

A sleep app is a mobile application that is usually designed to help users track and monitor their sleep patterns. This is done by using advanced sleep tracking algorithms, research, the user’s data and audio recording.

Such apps would also come with features like an in-depth analysis of the user’s sleep quality,sleep duration, sleep stages, snoring, or sleep talking detection. Some may also provide additional sleep tools like white noise and meditations for relaxation purposes. The main objective is to help users come up with a plan to optimize their sleep cycle.

1. Best Overall: ShutEye®

User Ratings: 4.8/5 Stars

ShutEye® is a sleep tracking app that is primarily made to help users track their sleep patterns and receive key insights on their sleep health and sleep habits. Besides this, the app also offers various features like a smart alarm clock that gently wakes you up in the morning as you transition into your lightest sleep phase, a sound recording feature that picks up on snoring and sleep talk, and a dream record feature where you can journal down your dreams.

You can also find a wide library of sleep sounds, bedtime stories, and meditation audios to listen to at night. The selection includes white noise, ASMR, lullabies for babies, classic fairytales, exciting adventures, and relaxing guided meditations for sleep. The list is endless!

Our Testing

We started our testing process by trying out the different varieties of soundscapes offered. As a free user, you’d automatically have access to over 50+ white noise and sleep music. But what we found very impressive is the fact that you can also create your very own sound mix for sleep or choose a pre-made mix (ocean, forest, office, and camping). You can customize it further by adding more sounds and adjusting the volumes of each sound. If you’re someone who likes switching things up now and then, this feature will probably leave you obsessed.

Then we moved on to the sleep tracking feature itself, which was relatively easy to use. All you needed to do was click a button at the bottom to start the sleep tracking process. Once you’ve slept for at least 30 minutes, you’ll be able to check out your insights in the ‘Statistics’ tab. The information presented is pretty straightforward to understand. You’ll also be able to playback any snores or sleep talk that was captured.

In the app, you can also find other information and articles related to sleep, along with the newest dream analysis feature. Unfortunately, this feature is exclusive to premium users, so we didn’t get a chance to test this out. Overall, we feel that this app is the best if you’re looking for a comprehensive sleep tracking app that offers more than just sleep tracking.

Key Features:

• All-in-one sleep tracker that tracks your sleep cycle, and provides insights on your sleep health
• An extensive library of sleep sounds, sleep stories, and meditation audios
• Smart alarm clock to wake you up gently
• Sound recording for snoring and sleep talking
• Customizable sound mix and white noise
• Dream recording and dream analysis feature

What We Liked About This App:

We loved the number of sleep sounds and bedtime stories that we could choose from. What completely sold us was the fact that you can create your own white noise sound mix. As people who get bored of listening to the same audio, music, or story all the time, this was a feature that we appreciated.

What We Didn’t Quite Like:

One downside of this app is that you’d have to manually press the button to track your sleep each night. Having to constantly remember to start the sleep tracking session can be quite a hassle, especially on days when you just have a lot on your mind. We also didn’t quite like that you can’t see your sleep score until you’ve tracked your sleep for at least 3 nights, and that all sounds recorded would be deleted after 30 days.

Download on iOS and Android

Track your sleep cycle and kickstart your journey to better sleep

Download ShutEye For Free

2. Best for Basic Sleep Tracking: Sleep Well: Health Tracker

User Ratings: 4.7/5 Stars

Sleep Well: Health Tracker is an app that is a sleep app that was created to help users achieve a good night’s rest. It offers users sleep aids such as white noise, calming music tracks, and bedtime stories that can be used as you prepare to fall asleep. Similar to ShutEye® app, it also allows users to monitor sleep patterns, see if they’ve snored, coughed, or sleep-talked at night, and receive a comprehensive report on nightly sleep quality.

Our Testing

As soon as we open the app, we are guided to a screen where we have to answer questions related to our sleep habits. This was again something that we found to be quite similar to ShutEye®. The app’s main screen was visually pleasing and organized. We started by trying out a few selections of sleep sounds, which were soothing to the ears. What we felt was a great touch was the inclusion of a timer button, allowing you to turn it off after a certain time, up to 2 hours.

We also tried out the sleep tracking feature. This was activated simply by tapping on the button at the bottom of the main screen. Upon sleeping for more than 30 minutes, you should be able to receive some insights on your sleep quality, which can be checked out in the ‘statistics’ app.

Overall, we felt that the app is clean and simple to use, offering two main features— sleep tracking and sleep sounds. It is great for someone who is looking to focus on tracking their sleep and occasionally utilize sleep sounds for a better sleep experience.

Key Features:

• Sleep monitoring for tracking sleep duration and quality
• Comprehensive sleep analysis with details on sleep score and sleep quality
• A sound recording feature that monitors sounds made at night
• A variety of white noise, sleep music, and sleep stories

What We Liked About This App:

We really like that there was a ‘timed shutdown’ option for all of the sleep soundtracks and sleep stories, especially if you don’t want it to play through the night. Some people may be more sensitive to noise and prone to sleep disruptions, so an option like this helps to mitigate this issue.

What We Didn’t Quite Like:

What we didn’t quite like was the number of ads that kept popping up! As we were on the free version, it’s normal to expect maybe an ad or two, but each time we tried a new sound or different feature, we were greeted with two ads that would play right after the other. This itself made the experience somewhat frustrating for us.

For free users, the list of available sleep audio was also very limited. Each category only offered 3 sounds for you to try, which weren’t enough for us.

Download on iOS

3. Best for Apple Users: Pillow

User Ratings: 4.4/5 Stars

Pillow is a sleep tracking app that is made specifically for Apple users (sorry to all Android users). It helps users to monitor their sleep automatically through the use of an Apple Watch, iPhone or iPad. It provides detailed insights into the sleep phases— light, deep, and REM sleep stages, along with other information such as heart rate analysis and audio recordings that capture snores and sleep talking.

The app also has a smart alarm function that is meant to wake you up gently so you don’t feel groggy in the morning. There’s even a collection of soothing soundscapes and meditation audios for you to listen to, and sleep tips which you can follow.

Our Testing

We tested Pillow for over a week using both an iPhone and an Apple Watch, and overall, the experience was smooth and surprisingly insightful. The automatic sleep detection worked well—we didn’t have to remember to start or stop anything, which made it feel effortless. The smart alarm was a standout feature; it consistently woke us up during a lighter sleep phase, and honestly, we did feel noticeably less groggy.

We found it easy to understand the sleep analysis, and it did accurately capture the moments when we snored at night. We didn’t really try out the soundscapes this time, so we can’t comment much on them. Overall, if you’re an Apple user, there’s a chance that you may like this app, as it also allows you to sync your sleep data with Apple Health and upload it to the cloud.

Key Features:

• Automatic sleep tracking with Apple Watch
• Sleep cycle and heart rate analysis
• Sleep trends
• An audio recording feature that picks up on sleep sounds made at night
• Personal sleep program and sleep tips

What We Liked About This App:

We liked that the app could be easily used with the Apple Watch without much trouble. The sleep graphs and trends were also relatively easy enough for us to understand, and it helped us a lot in terms of figuring out what we needed to improve on for our health.

What We Didn’t Quite Like:

We didn’t quite like the fact that there wasn’t much of a free option, except for the 7-day free trial. This meant that you would have to be sure to cancel it to avoid paying a full subscription fee, and there just wasn’t much time to fully explore the interface.

Download on iOS

4. Best for Snore Recording: SnoreLab

User Ratings: 4.7/5 Stars

SnoreLab is an app designed to record your snoring and help you find a solution to manage it. It’s an app that’s mainly used to see if your snoring is what’s affecting your sleep quality and if there’s a remedy for it.

The main function of the app is an advanced algorithm that detects and tracks snoring. From there, you will be able to access a sample recording of your snores, the intensity of your snoring, and test the effectiveness of snoring remedies that you use.

Our Testing

We tried SnoreLab over several nights and were honestly surprised at how much insight it provided with so little effort. You simply place your phone next to your bed, hit “start,” and go to sleep. By morning, you’ll get a detailed breakdown of how much you snored and how loud it was at different times. You’ll also be able to see a snore score and playback audio clips of your snoring.

We also checked out the trend section, where you can track the difference in your snoring pattern based on your lifestyle factors, weight, how well rested you are, and if you have implemented any remedies like using a nasal strip, CPAP, adjusting your sleep position, and more.

We felt that the app is best suitable for someone who snores often and may be concerned about the possibility of sleep apnea. However, do note that it’s not meant to detect sleep apnea, but it can help you determine if your snores are a cause of concern.

Key Features:

• Audio recording feature that records snoring
• Snore score that measures snoring intensity
• Option to log snoring remedies and lifestyle factors
• Detailed reports that allow you to see the trend of your snoring habits

What We Liked About This App:

We like that the app was simple to use with just one tap. We like the ability of being able to track the average and difference in snoring data based on factors like your sleep quality and lifestyle habits. This was quite an interesting and insightful component.

What We Didn’t Quite Like:

The user interface does seem a bit outdated, and we didn’t like that the recording feature sometimes captures our partner’s snoring or background noise. This can affect the result greatly. There are also not many features to this app since it’s catered specifically to those who snore.

Download on iOS and Android

Track your sleep cycle and kickstart your journey to better sleep

Download ShutEye For Free

5. Best for Power Naps: Pzizz

User Ratings: 4.8/5 Stars

Pzizz is a unique sleep app that is designed to help users fall asleep faster, stay asleep for longer, and wake up feeling refreshed, whether it is a full night’s rest or a simple power nap. The app uses psychoacoustic principles to create the most soothing soundscape and narration to quieten the mind for sleep.

If you don’t wish to sleep or nap, you can also utilize the app for focus sessions when you need to get important work done.

Our Testing

We tested the app for a power nap session and a focus session. We must say that the “nap” mode stood out to us. You have the option to set how long you want to nap for before an alarm wakes you up. Not just that, you can select between listening to just a soundscape or adding an optional narration to help you drift off quickly. This was the same for the “sleep” mode.

For the “focus” mode, though there were fewer soundscapes to choose from, you could customize the intensity of the sounds based on the level of concentration you wanted to have. We felt like this app is an incredible tool that can help you transition into a power nap quickly.

Key Features:

• Nap, Sleep, and Focus modes for different needs
• Adaptive soundscapes combining music, voice, and sound effects
• Customizable session lengths and wake-up times
• Scientifically designed audio sequences to aid rest and recovery

What We Liked About This App:

We really like that you could customize the audio to your preference. For example, if you didn’t want any narration, you could simply toggle it off. You could also adjust the volume between the soundscape and narration so one is softer than the one. The free version also offers over 50+ soundtracks for you to choose from, something we highly appreciated.

What We Didn’t Quite Like:

Beyond soundscapes to help you fall asleep, the app does not really have anything else to offer for users who are looking for a comprehensive app that tracks sleep health.

Download on iOS and Android

6. Best for Managing Sleep Debt: RISE

User Ratings: 4.7/5 Stars

RISE is a sleep app that is built on the principles of helping users reduce their sleep debt and take control of their circadian rhythm. Instead of focusing on nightly sleep tracking, RISE takes on a unique approach that combines your phone’s data and their proprietary models to learn about your unique sleep biology. Through this metric, the app will help you build a schedule that focuses on solving your sleep challenges.

Our Testing

We tested RISE for a week to get a sense of how the app works. In the beginning, you will be asked to fill in your answers to a few questions and enable access to important data such as Apple Health, your motion data, and notifications. Right away, we were impressed by how the app analyzes all the data to find your estimated sleep need per night. What we were most surprised by was how accurate the app was when it came to predicting the time that we would hit an afternoon slump or feel less energetic.

The sleep tracking feature would show us how much sleep debt we have accumulated since last night, and the energy schedule feature provided useful insights to help us plan our time more efficiently. The idea here is that you don’t want to be doing tasks that require a lot of energy during your low-energy period.

Overall, the app offers an interesting shift away from all the other normal sleep tracking apps. It’s more about how you can effectively balance your time and reduce the accumulation of sleep debt each week.

Key Features:

• Sleep tracker that determines your sleep debt based on your health data and science
• Daily energy schedule forecast based on your internal body clock
• Personalized reminders and healthy habit building
• Sleep sounds, meditation guides, and breathing exercises

What We Liked About This App:

We really appreciate the overall user interface of this app. It’s easy and straightforward to use. The energy schedule was something that we really liked. The energy waves used to forecast when we would feel most energetic and most tired during the day were very accurate, and it helped us to decide when we should schedule an important meeting or work task to do.

What We Didn’t Quite Like:

What we didn’t quite like was that there was not much information regarding the sleep cycles. Since the focus is on sleep debt, there weren’t details on the time spent in light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep. So, this may not be ideal for someone who wants deep insights into their sleep health. Another was that it’s a limited free app, meaning that you can only opt for a 7-day free trial before having to pay for a 1-year subscription. It’s not ideal for those who need more time to try and decide on an app.

Download on iOS and Android

7. Best for Sleep Stories: Slumber

User Ratings: 4.7/5 Stars

Slumber is an app that focuses on bringing sleep stories, guided meditations, and soundscapes to help users fall asleep faster at night. Whether you’re looking for calming narration, ASMR-style sounds, or nature-based audio, Slumber delivers a wide range of content catered to both adults and children.

The stories are led by a narrator who helps to bring the story to life while incorporating breathing techniques and gentle background music to help you drift off into a deep slumber.

Our Testing

We tested the Slumber app over several nights, focusing mostly on the sleep stories and a couple of nights on white noise and sleep music. As we played the sleep story to bed, we noticed immediately how relaxing the narrator’s voice was. It was slow, calming, and perfectly paced for a bedtime story. There was also an option for us to either loop the track, remove, or add other background effects to enhance the mood.

Personally, I added the rain sound and fell asleep faster than usual. It felt like I was watching the story play out in front of me as my eyes closed. There were also meditation tracks available, but unfortunately, they’re only limited to users who had a paid subscription. Nonetheless, it is one of the best free apps that stood out most for its engaging sleep stories and sleep sounds.

Key Features:

• Wide library of bedtime stories and sleep meditations
• White noise, nature soundscapes, ASMR, and ambient music
• Adjustable mix of narration and background effects
• Offline listening for sleep support anytime, anywhere

What We Liked About This App:

We like the fact that you could add on background effects to the stories that were playing. It helped to create a soothing atmosphere for sleep. You could also adjust the volume levels of the narration and soundscape, allowing us to curate a comfortable sleep experience. New stories are also updated each week, a huge plus point.

What We Didn’t Quite Like:

While there’s a good amount of content available, many are also locked behind a subscription, which may affect user experience. It also doesn’t offer any sleep tracking capabilities, which could be an issue for those who want an app for tracking sleep and also for relaxation.

Lastly, we also found it rather strange that there wasn’t a timer to stop the soundtrack. Despite turning off the loop option, it would still loop on its own. This meant that you would have to turn it off manually when you were about to fall asleep.

Download on iOS and Android

Track your sleep cycle and kickstart your journey to better sleep

Download ShutEye For Free

8. Best for Science-backed Sleep Insights: SleepScore

User Ratings: 4.4/5 Stars

SleepScore is a data-driven sleep app developed using science-backed technology. It uses your phone’s microphone to monitor breathing and movement during the night. The app then provides a nightly SleepScore based on the quality and consistency of your rest, along with personalized advice to help improve your sleep over time.

This app is particularly suited for people who want to understand their sleep habits through objective, science-backed analysis, rather than relying on subjective experience alone.

Our Testing

We used SleepScore for a week, placing the phone by the bedside as instructed and starting the sleep tracking process. Each morning, we received a SleepScore summary with a breakdown of how much time we spent in the light, deep, and REM sleep phases.

One of the most helpful features was the app’s ability to detect nightly disruptions (like tossing, turning, or inconsistent breathing patterns). It flagged nights where we unknowingly had more wake-ups or poor sleep quality, which made us more aware of what we considered to be good quality sleep.

Over time, the app also offered personalized advice and suggestions, such as adjusting bedtime consistency or creating a better wind-down routine. These tips felt achievable and well-informed, rather than generic advice. Overall, we feel that it is one of the best free sleep tracker apps out there.

Key Features:

• Contactless sleep tracking using sonar technology
• Personalized tips and sleep improvement goals
• Sleep trend reports over time
• Smart alarm to wake you during light sleep

What We Liked About This App:

We appreciated how easy it was to understand the daily SleepScore summaries and that we were given personalized tips on how to work towards improving our sleep quality. They were specific and realistic, making it ideal for people who actually want to take action and do something about their sleep health.

What We Didn’t Quite Like:

While we felt that the tracking is excellent, the free version does limit your access to deeper sleep insights and recommendations. There also didn’t seem to be any meditations to help you relax and wind down for bed.

Download on iOS and Android

9. Best for Babies: Napper: Baby Sleep Tracker

User Ratings: 4.9/5 Stars

Napper is a sleep tracking app designed specifically to help parents keep track of their baby’s sleep rhythms, feeding schedule, diaper changes, and more. Besides a baby tracker, there’s also a variety of sleep sounds, such as white noise, nature sounds, and lullabies that you can play softly as they are having their naptime or bedtime.

Originally built by a dad in the team, Napper truly stands out when it comes to supporting first-time parents and seasoned parents with their baby’s sleep habits.

Our Testing

We tested Napper for a short period of time to look at how the app functions. We found that the sleep timeline was incredibly helpful as it showed a visual mapping of all the awake times, naps, feeds, and more that you can add for planning. You could also view your baby’s sleep trends as you log more data.

The sleep sounds and lullabies were limited on the free version, but it’s sufficient if you are simply trying out the app. There’s even a section where you can learn all about a baby’s sleep and ways to parent them. If you wanted to, you could share the app with your partner so that you guys are on the same page on your baby’s sleep and feed schedule. The only issue that we faced with this testing is that we are both not parent, so it was difficult to test the accuracy.

Key Features:

• Sleep data, science, and AI to generate nap and sleep predictions
• Visual timeline of sleep and awake cycles
• Built-in white noise and lullabies, and nature sounds
• Manual logging for feeds, diapers, and milestones
• Shared access between caregivers

What We Liked About This App:

The nap suggestions were particularly useful once you’ve inputted enough data. We also loved how easy it was to log nap times and feedings with just a few taps, and it overall seemed like a great app in building a routine for parents to follow.

What We Didn’t Quite Like:

Napper is best for infants and young babies, so once your child transitions to toddlerhood, the features may become less useful. Some of the sleep tools, such as the sleep sounds, sleep trends, and most learning materials, were locked behind the premium version. This could be limiting for parents who would prefer not to spend on an app.

Download on iOS and Android

Why You Should Trust Our Review

As writers at ShutEye, both Amirah and Jessica spent hours writing numerous articles that cover a range of sleep topics, from sleep disorders, sleep tips, to sleep product reviews. While writing this article, both of them had taken the time to try out the different apps on their phones, providing a real account of their experiences.

Like many other product review articles on ShutEye’s website, this one aims to help readers make a more informed decision on whether a product is worth purchasing by considering the pros and cons.

Is Using a Sleep App Suitable for Me?

Using a sleep app could be suitable for you if you are looking to better understand your sleep patterns and identify underlying issues that may be affecting your sleep quality. By understanding this, you will be able to make better sleep habits.

It may not be so suitable if you are looking to receive a clinical diagnosis for potential sleep problems. Sleep apps are used to help you improve your sleep. They are not a replacement for medical diagnosis or sleep studies.

Conclusion

So there you have it! A list of the best sleep apps that we’ve put together after carrying out our individual tests. Most of these apps offer a convenient way to track your sleep and understand how to improve it. It’s a helpful tool that can potentially enable you to develop healthier sleep habits.

For us, the best app by far is still ShutEye® app. It’s the most comprehensive in terms of features offered, as you can use it for a restful sleep or wind down for bedtime with the large selection of sleep sounds, bedtime stories, and meditations. Try it now for FREE!

Take control of your sleep with personalized sleep insights

Try ShutEye App Now