Best Noise Machines for Sleep: Fan, Digital or Smart

What separates one sound machine from another is how the sound is made. Some have a real fan inside. Some generate the noise electronically, so it never repeats. Some play recordings, which have to loop. Add whether it has a timer, runs on a battery or wants an app, and that is nearly everything there is to compare.

We went through the makers’ own stores for machines that are sold now. We have not heard any of them, so nothing below says how they sound, and we make no claim about what one will do for your sleep. This is what each device does, according to the company that makes it.

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The machines compared

Prices are the makers’ own US store prices, rounded.

Fan, generated or recorded

A fan machine has a real motor-driven fan inside an adjustable case. Yogasleep says the Dohm makes its sound from moving air with no digital audio, and Snooz says the same of its machine, so there is no track to repeat. You get one kind of sound, and you adjust its tone and loudness.

A generated machine has a speaker and no moving parts. Adaptive Sound Technologies says its LectroFan EVO generates its fan, noise and ocean sounds, and that none of them loops.

A recorded machine plays sound files. Homedics calls the SoundSpa’s six sounds digitally recorded, and Pure Enrichment says its Wave loops six sounds with no audible break. A loop is not a fault in itself. The makers of fan and generated machines sell against it, though, so know which kind you are buying.

Fan machines

Yogasleep Dohm Classic, about $50

A real fan with two speeds. You twist the cap to change the volume and the collar to change the tone. There is no app, no screen and nothing to charge, and Yogasleep lists no timer for it. The company says each one is assembled in the USA.

It runs on 120-volt mains only. Yogasleep says it is designed for the United States and Canada and is not compatible with other countries’ voltage, so it is no use in India, Nigeria or Britain. If you want a timer and a night light on a fan machine, Yogasleep’s Dohm Nova is about $65. The Dohm Connect, at about $80, adds control from a phone. Yogasleep Dohm Classic on Amazon

Snooz Original, about $100

Also a real fan, with ten volume levels and a shell you rotate to change the tone. It works from its own buttons. The Snooz app is free and optional, adds a daily on-and-off schedule that fades in and out, and Snooz says there is no subscription. The power supply accepts 100 to 240 volts, though the plug is the US type.

It costs twice as much as the Dohm Classic. The extra $50 buys finer volume control, the schedule and the wider voltage range. The Snooz Pro, at about $120, adds a night light and a travel case. Snooz takes returns for 100 nights. Snooz Original on Amazon

Digital machines

LectroFan EVO, about $66

Twenty-two sounds: ten fans, ten variations of white, pink and brown noise, and two of ocean surf. Its maker, Adaptive Sound Technologies, says the machine generates them and that they do not loop. The timer adds an hour with each press, up to eight. There is an audio jack for headphones or a pillow speaker.

It runs from a mains adapter, and the maker says a plug adapter or a local USB adapter makes it usable abroad. One caution: the EVO was sold out on the maker’s own store when we looked, at $65.95, so you may have to buy from a retailer. The older LectroFan Classic, with 20 sounds and no ocean, was out of stock there too. LectroFan EVO on Amazon

Dreamegg Classic D1, about $40

More sounds than the LectroFan for $26 less. Dreamegg describes 24 white noise, fan and nature sounds and calls them non-looping, with a timer that runs from 15 to 90 minutes and a night light. Its page is thin on the rest. It does not explain how the sounds are produced, and it does not state the power supply. Dreamegg takes returns for 60 days. Dreamegg Classic D1 on Amazon

Homedics SoundSpa, about $25

The cheapest machine here, and the only one that runs on either mains or ordinary batteries. It has six recorded sounds: white noise, thunder, ocean, rain, summer night and brook. The timer switches it off after 15, 30 or 60 minutes. The adapter is in the box and the four AA batteries are not. Homedics SoundSpa on Amazon

Light and sound together

Hatch Restore 3, about $170

A bedside clock with a light, a sunrise alarm and a sound library. Hatch says you need its free Hatch Sleep app and 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi to set it up and register it, and that afterwards most of the controls are on the device.

Here is what is free and what is paid, by Hatch’s own account. A subscription is not required, and without one the Restore keeps its basic features and core content. Hatch’s help centre lists more than 40 sleep sounds in that free set, among them white, pink and brown noise, rain, ocean waves and fan sounds. The paid tier, Hatch+, adds a library of podcasts, meditations, audiobooks and sleep music. It costs $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year after a 30-day trial.

Do the sum before buying. Three years of Hatch+ on the annual plan is about $180, which brings the Restore to about $350. If white noise or rain is all you want, the free set covers it, and so does a $50 fan machine. Hatch’s store ships only to the United States and Canada, and Hatch says its devices do not work as Bluetooth speakers for your own audio. Hatch Restore 3 on Amazon

Portable machines

The Yogasleep Hushh 2, about $30, has six sounds, a battery Yogasleep puts at up to 34 hours, a USB-C port, a dimmable night light and a lock for the buttons. Its timer runs for 30, 60 or 120 minutes. Yogasleep Hushh 2 on Amazon

Two alternatives. The LectroFan Micro2+, about $45, has 11 sounds and a battery its maker puts at more than 20 hours, and it doubles as a Bluetooth speaker. The Hatch Go, about $40, has ten sounds and needs no app, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Hatch sells it for babies.

Buying from outside the US

Check the voltage first. The Dohm Classic is 120 volts only. The Snooz and the Pure Enrichment Wave accept 100 to 240 volts, and the LectroFan can run from a local USB adapter. The battery machines charge by USB, so mains voltage does not matter to them. Hatch’s own store will not ship outside the United States and Canada.

What happened to the old list

• Pure Enrichment Wave: still sold, at about $30, with six sounds, a 15, 30 or 60 minute timer and a USB port that charges a phone. It is a fair alternative to the SoundSpa if you want that port and do not need batteries.
• Letsfit: its store still shows two sound machines, both sold out, like everything else on it.
• Magicteam: we could not find a maker’s website. The address that carries the name belongs to an unrelated site. With nothing to verify against, we dropped it.
• Homedics: the six-sound machine is the SoundSpa, above.
• Yogasleep Dohm Classic: still sold, above.

Which to pick

• One steady fan sound and nothing to set up: the Dohm Classic, in North America only.
• A fan machine for other countries, or one on a schedule: the Snooz Original.
• A choice of sounds that do not loop: the LectroFan EVO, or the Dreamegg Classic D1 if the EVO’s price or stock is a problem.
• The least money: the Homedics SoundSpa.
• A light and an alarm as well: the Hatch Restore 3, with the subscription sum in mind.
• Travel: the Yogasleep Hushh 2.

Quick answers

Do sound machines help you sleep?

That is a medical question, and product pages cannot settle it. What a sound machine does is fill the room with a steady sound, which its makers describe as masking other noises. The practical test is the return window: Snooz gives 100 nights, Dreamegg 60 days, and Hatch and Yogasleep 30.

Which sound machine does not loop?

The fan machines, the Dohm Classic and the Snooz, because the sound is moving air. Among digital machines, the makers of the LectroFan EVO and the Dreamegg Classic D1 both describe their sounds as non-looping.

Do I need a subscription for a Hatch?

No. Hatch says a subscription is not required and that the Restore keeps its basic features and core content without one. Hatch+ costs $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year.

Which sound machine runs on batteries?

The Homedics SoundSpa takes four AA batteries or its mains adapter. The Yogasleep Hushh 2 and the LectroFan Micro2+ have rechargeable batteries.

What is the best noise machine for adults?

The Dohm Classic, the Snooz Original and the LectroFan EVO carry no lullabies or night lights, which is what separates them from nursery machines. Choose between them by voltage and by whether you want one sound or many.

Prices move, so confirm on the maker’s store before you pay.