The Best Free Sleep Sounds App: Rain & White Noise (2026)
Calm and BetterSleep put their sleep sounds behind a subscription. Here's how to fall asleep to rain and white, pink or brown noise free on iPhone, layered into your own mix with a fade-out sleep timer, and which extra sounds need Premium.
The Short Answer
You can fall asleep to rain and white, pink or brown noise for free, layered into your own blend, with a sleep timer that fades everything out when it ends. The other sounds in the mixer (ocean waves, campfire, wind, forest birds, crickets, a stream and distant thunder) need Premium.
The catch is that the popular sleep apps charge for it: Calm and BetterSleep both put their sound libraries behind a monthly (or yearly) subscription. The free way that just works in 2026 is Trending Music, which now includes a built-in Sleep Sounds mixer.
Why Sleep Sound Apps Usually Cost Money
"Play rain while I fall asleep" sounds like it should be free — and the raw sounds are — but the apps built around them are subscription businesses:
- Calm — the sleep library and Sleep Stories are Premium (roughly $69.99/yr).
- BetterSleep / Relax Melodies — mixing more than a couple of sounds, and most of the catalog, wants a subscription.
- Endel — subscription-only.
So the simple thing you actually want — a few nature sounds mixed together with a timer — ends up behind the same monthly fee as everything else.
How to Use It (Under a Minute)
- Download Trending Music free on your iPhone: Get Trending Music free on the App Store
- Open Settings → Sleep & Wake → Sleep Sounds.
- Tap any sound to turn it on, then use its slider to set the level. Layer as many as you like: rain over brown noise is a good place to start.
- Tap the Deep Sleep preset (brown noise and rain) for an instant free mix. The other presets (Rainy Night, Ocean Calm, Fireside, Forest) include Premium sounds.
- Set the Sleep timer (15–90 minutes) and put the phone down — the mix stops on its own when the timer runs out.
That's it. No trial countdown on the free sounds and no subscription needed for them.
The Sounds You Get
A full mixer, not just one loop.
Free:
- Rain — steady, even rainfall
- White, Pink & Brown noise — generated on your device, so they work with no internet at all
With Premium:
- Ocean Waves — slow, swelling surf
- Stream — running water
- Campfire — a warm crackle
- Wind — gusting through the trees
- Forest Birds and Night Crickets — the outdoors after dark
- Thunder — occasional distant rumbles rolled over the rain
Blend any of them, save your favorite mix, and it's waiting for you the next night.
Fall Asleep to Your Music, Too
Sleep sounds play alongside your music, so you can drift off to a quiet playlist under a layer of rain. And because it's a full music app, the same free download also gives you on-demand songs, music videos and synced lyrics, live radio and podcasts, and a sleep timer for your music so the playlist stops after you drift off.
There's even a music alarm clock to wake up to any song — so the app carries you from lights-out to morning.
Is It Really Free?
Partly. The mixer, the sleep timer, rain, white, pink and brown noise and the Deep Sleep preset are free, with no trial countdown. Ocean, stream, campfire, wind, birds, crickets, thunder and the other presets are part of the optional Premium tier ($5.99/mo), which also removes ads and adds AI DJ.
If rain or a noise color is all you need, you never have to pay. That compares with $69.99/yr for a dedicated sleep app. Set it up before bed tonight: Get Trending Music free on the App Store