The Best White Noise Machine

Wirecutter has been researching and testing white noise machines since 2016. For this guide:

• We’ve interviewed sleep-medicine researchers, authors of papers on the use of white noise machines in treating insomnia, and sound-engineering specialists. We’ve also interviewed pediatric experts to learn about using white noise machines for infants.
• We’ve conducted research on more than 30 white noise machines, poring over owner reviews to ascertain the best of the best.
• We visited the Marpac warehouse, in Wilmington, North Carolina, to talk with the manufacturer of one of our picks, the Yogasleep Dohm Nova, and learn about the history and construction of white noise machines. (We even assembled a few machines ourselves!)

White noise machines can help you fall asleep, first and foremost, by blurring away noisy distractions with consistent, “boring” sounds. As Stanford University sleep researcher Rafael Pelayo, MD, explained in an interview, boring is good, particularly at bedtime, because humans need to feel safe in order to fall asleep easily—and the brain registers “boring” as “safe.” What’s more, these machines can help you stay asleep by masking surprise bits of noise, such as the ding of a hotel elevator or the click of the lock as a member of your household comes home late.

Keep in mind, though, that more research is needed to prove the effectiveness of white noise machines to help you sleep. A clinical review of research on the relationship between white noise and sleep found that previous studies were too small, too short, and too inconsistent for researchers to draw any meaningful conclusions. The truth is, whether you find a white noise machine helpful for sleep depends on your preferences and circumstances.

For most people, “white noise” has come to mean any kind of continuous, unobtrusive background noise. But for audio engineers, white noise is a specific “color” in a rainbow of fuzzy-sounding noises:

• White noise covers the entire range of audible frequencies in equal intensities. It sounds like the hiss you hear when you can’t get a signal on a radio. Its graph (with intensity as the y-axis and frequency as the x-axis, displayed linearly) looks like a straight, horizontal line.
• Pink noise has more intensity in the lower-frequency range, so it sounds deeper than white noise, closer to rainfall. Its sound graph looks like a downward slope.
• Brown noise involves even more intensity in the lower-frequency range, so it sounds deeper still, like a waterfall’s deep rumble in the distance. Its graph has a steeper downward slope than that of pink noise.
• Blue noise is a bright noise—the opposite of brown noise, with more intensity in the higher-frequency range and a higher pitch than white noise. Its graph looks like an upward slope.

The term “white noise machine” is therefore a misnomer, as these devices typically offer a range of sounds. For instance, the LectroFan EVO, one of our top picks, can produce shades of pink and brown noises as well as white noise. The Yogasleep Dohm Nova, our other top pick, emits a range of fan sounds that, depending on the setting, can sound a bit like brown noise. A better term for these devices would be “sound generators,” said Pelayo, author of How to Sleep.

The white, pink, and brown noises you tend to find in sound generators can all mask annoying sounds to varying degrees, if you turn the volume up enough. But a smarter and more effective way to mask noise is to choose the color with higher intensity in the frequencies matching that of the noise you’re trying to block, explained sound engineer Stéphane Pigeon. For example, brown noise, which resembles a low rumble, can blur away the deep rumble of garbage trucks even at a relatively low volume because brown noise is characterized by a lot of low frequencies and a similar downward-sloping sound graph. In contrast, white noise, whose sound graph is a straight, horizontal line, can’t block the high-intensity low frequencies of a garbage truck unless you turn the volume way up. That’s inefficient—and unkind to your ears.

In our most recent round of testing, we tried 11 new models against our picks. Here is what we looked for:

• Ability to mask exterior noise: We evaluated whether the machines adequately masked nuisance sounds such as jackhammers, barking dogs, and party noises. We looked for machines that could mask sounds at a safe decibel range rather than requiring us to drone them out with sheer volume.
• Acoustic quality: We considered the array of masking sounds that each machine offered, the acoustic quality of the sound, and whether the sound itself was pleasant (not all babbling brooks are created equal; some sounded like a leaky toilet).
• User-friendliness: It’s important for a white noise machine to have easy-to-use and accessible buttons that you can reach from a distance, while lying in bed, even in the dark. You should be able to set up the machine in under a minute and cycle through sounds and adjust the volume intuitively.
• A variety of color-based noises and soundscapes: A white noise machine should be equipped with a diversity of sounds to compete with the myriad nuisance noises in the real world. We considered options that had a variety of color-based sound options as well as a mix of other soundscapes, such as fan noises or nature sounds.
• An elegant appearance: We looked for machines that didn’t take up too much room on a nightstand and that people would be happy to look at every morning and evening.

We evaluated each machine against recordings of common nuisance noises, including (all of the following links are to videos) a party, a barking dog, vehicles on a freeway, a leaf blower, motorcycles, jackhammers, birds, a pressure washer, garbage trucks, and trains. One by one, we searched for a sound that best masked each of the noises when played at a moderate to soft volume (a decibel level no higher than the mid-50s and preferably in the 40s, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention categorizes as not likely to cause hearing damage).

In addition, Wirecutter senior staff writer and in-house audio expert Brent Butterworth set up a sound-level meter 18 inches away from our top contenders in a quiet room to measure each model’s decibel range. He also further assessed their sound quality and slept alongside each machine.

The LectroFan EVO, versions of which have been our pick since 2016, is a small but mighty machine. It offers an intuitive design and an abundance of rich sounds that are likely to shield your ears from any bothersome noise.

It has the best color-based sounds we tested. If you’re looking for something that primarily produces distinct color-based sounds, this is the machine for you. The LectroFan EVO’s catalog of 22 rich and distinct sounds (12 color-based noises and 10 fan sounds) adequately obscured nuisance noises during our testing. Other, similarly priced options tended to produce sounds that were muffled or tinny.

The color-based noise settings, which range from low-frequency “dark noise” to high-frequency “white noise,” sound like variations of low rumbles, rushing wind, or static—neither pleasant nor unpleasant. Compared with the output from other contraptions of similar size and price, the sound from the LectroFan EVO is noticeably better: crisp, clear, and rich.

It has a wide volume range. Our sound-level tests confirmed that this little machine has great volume range—from a nearly imperceptible hum to a maximum volume of 87 decibels (about as loud as a garbage disposal). Testers liked that each volume tick upward was subtle, rather than a big jump (as on a TV remote).

It masks nuisance sounds well. That volume precision, paired with the range of crisp, clear sounds, allows you to pit a color-based sound against any nuisance noise. For example, the white noise setting helped one late-sleeping tester block out early-morning squawking from the birds outside her window.

It’s compact, thoughtfully designed, and easy to use. The top of the heptagonal machine slopes downward, with the buttons at the bottom; this design made it easier for us to find and press the buttons while lying in bed in the dark. The base is stable with a grippy bottom, so you’re less likely to accidentally knock the machine over. At just 4.7 inches wide and about 3.3 inches high, the LectroFan EVO takes up minimal space on a nightstand and is small enough to fit in your luggage, too.

It has some useful extras. The LectroFan EVO includes a timer (with 60-minute increments, up to eight hours), an audio output (for headphones or a portable speaker), and a distinct noise that plays once you’ve cycled through the entire sound library. The color-based and fan sounds have separate buttons, so you don’t have to cycle through the machine’s entire repertoire to switch from one type of sound to the other. In addition, when you switch the machine off, it automatically remembers the last noise and fan setting you used.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Its limited natural-soundscape options sound artificial. If you know that you prefer a babbling brook or like multiple ocean and rain sounds, this is not the machine for you. The LectroFan EVO offers electronically generated “surf” and “ocean” options, but they don’t sound entirely convincing—they emit more of a soft, ebbing-and-flowing “shhh” rather than the harder-edged sound of water lapping onto distant shores.

It doesn’t indicate which sound you’re listening to. Though the toggle-button controls are intuitive, we wish the LectroFan EVO had a labeled dial like that of our upgrade pick, the Sound+Sleep SE, so you can see what noise you’ve switched to.

Key specs

Sounds: 22 total, consisting of 10 color noises, 10 fan sounds, two ocean sounds
Sleep timer: 60-minute increments for up to eight hours
Night-light: none
Audio output: 3.5 mm audio jack for a pillow speaker, a portable speaker, headphones, or any audio device that uses a 3.5 mm plug
Dimensions (LWH): 4.7 by 4.7 by 3.3 inches

If you find the whirring sound of a fan pleasant and relaxing, the Yogasleep Dohm Nova is a reliable choice for masking noise. In fact, the Dohm has had a devoted following for more than 50 years, and a version of it has been a pick in this guide since we first started testing white noise machines in 2016.

It has a pleasant, natural fan sound. By using a physical fan to produce sound, the Dohm Nova produces a much more natural sound than our other picks, whose sounds are electronically generated.

This machine’s sound is gentle and earthy, rather than staticky or tinny. Imagine holding a seashell over your ear, or enjoying the sound of wind rushing through a field. That’s what the Yogasleep Dohm Nova sounds like as you drift off to sleep.

Its buttons are comfortable and user-friendly. Previous versions of the Yogasleep Dohm required you to twist a plastic housing that encased the entire machine to adjust the tone and volume. This movement proved to be a challenge for people with dexterity issues. The Dohm Nova, the current version, offers satisfying-to-press buttons that sit on top, making it easier for you to adjust the volume in the middle of the night, though you can still twist the machine for more volume if you so choose.

It has a large volume range. The Dohm Nova allows you to adjust the volume incrementally and reaches volumes comparable to those of the LectroFan EVO and Sound+Sleep SE.

It has useful additional features and looks great on a nightstand. The Dohm Nova includes a sleep-timer option available in 45-minute, 90-minute, and eight-hour increments. This model is also the only current pick that offers a night-light, and our testers liked its warm amber hue. It comes with a cozy fabric overlay that’s washable.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It produces only one sound. You can adjust its volume, but the Dohm Nova still emits just one sound: that gentle, fan-like whir. If you’re looking for a machine that specializes in color-based sounds, we recommend the LectroFan EVO. If you’re looking for a machine that offers natural soundscapes, we recommend the Sound+Sleep SE.

It doesn’t mask some noises as well as our other picks do. As you might expect from a white noise machine that generates sound from a single physical fan, the Dohm Nova is more limited in its masking capabilities compared with its digital counterparts. Although it masked softer noises as well as the LectroFan EVO did in our tests, on more aggressive sounds, like train horns or clanging garbage trucks, it required a higher volume to blur the noise.

Key specs

Sounds: one fan sound, with adjustable volume
Sleep timer: 45 minutes, 90 minutes, or eight hours
Night-light: amber
Audio output: none
Dimensions (LWH): 5.5 by 5.5 by 4 inches

The Sound+Sleep SE offers a customizable range of both authentic environmental sounds and color-based noise variations, providing better sound quality and noise-blocking than any other machine we’ve tested. We’ve been recommending a version of it since 2021.

It boasts the most diverse sound library we’ve encountered. With 64 different sound profiles, the Sound+Sleep SE offers one of the most diverse and all-encompassing sound libraries available. The selection includes 16 ambient-noise categories, among them a waterfall, city chatter, an ocean, and meditative music. These sounds, recorded from real life, sound more robust and organic—and are thus likely to be more pleasant to listen to than the LectroFan EVO’s electronically generated surf (which sounds similar to pink noise).

It produces high-quality sound that can mask nearly any noise. You could cover a wide range of sounds at about half the cost using the LectroFan EVO, but the Sound+Sleep SE offers arguably better-sounding options—and more of them. Whether you need to mask noise or simply relax (or both), this machine does it all. As senior staff writer Brent Butterworth said, “If you can’t find a sound on this that works for you, a noise machine is probably not your answer.” Having tested the machine’s noise-masking abilities against an array of truly disturbing sounds (pressure washers, jackhammers, and the like), we’d have to agree.

It offers the most acoustic customization. The Sound+Sleep SE has a couple of extras that you won’t find in other machines. First, you can enhance each of its sounds with the Richness button, which layers in additional recordings to create a more complex, non-looping soundscape. For example, if you choose the roar of ocean surf, you can layer on the sound of seagulls. You can also press the Adaptive button, and the machine automatically adjusts the volume as the noises around you change, such as if a bed partner starts snoring. These functions take some of the guesswork out of finding the best volume level and save you from fiddling with the buttons once you’re in bed.

Its design is user-friendly and makes for better acoustics. The Sound+Sleep SE’s relatively large speaker, which sits on top of the machine, contributes to its fuller, richer acoustic quality by helping the sound blur into the background. The machine’s raised buttons and dial are clearly labeled and easy to navigate in the dark. They’re also more responsive than most, which may be helpful if you have difficulty pressing buttons.

It has a handful of extra features. A button turns the display lights on and off, and like the LectroFan EVO, this machine has a headphone jack so you can listen without disturbing a bed partner, as well as two USB charging ports on the side. We also like the timer, which offers 30-minute increments (as opposed to only 60-minute increments on the LectroFan EVO and the three timer options on the Yogasleep Dohm Nova).

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It’s large and bulky. The Sound+Sleep SE is the biggest machine among our picks. At over twice the size of the LectroFan EVO, it can be obtrusive on a nightstand.

It’s expensive. Although we loved the Sound+Sleep SE’s noise-masking capabilities and expanded sound library, these features come with a hefty price tag. With a list price of $130 on Amazon, the Sound+Sleep SE costs about twice as much as our other picks. If you’re looking for only a basic sound machine, you’re better off with one of our other picks.

Key specs

Sounds: 64 total across 16 categories of sounds, including color noises, fan noises, nature sounds, and more
Sleep timer: 30, 60, 90, or 120 minutes
Night-light: none
Audio output: 3.5 mm audio jack for a pillow speaker, a portable speaker, headphones, or any audio device that uses a 3.5 mm plug
Dimensions (LWH): 7.5 by 5.5 by 4.5 inches

If you have comfortable sleep headphones or a quality Bluetooth speaker, you might find peace in the form of a white noise app, rather than a dedicated machine. And even if you decide on a dedicated white noise machine for home, a downloaded app is handy to have as well, whether for a more peaceful train commute, help focusing in a noisy office, or a better night’s sleep in a hotel room. Of all the white noise apps we tried, myNoise (available on both iOS and Android as well as on the myNoise site) offered the richest sound library and the best noise-blocking abilities.

It has impressive sounds and sound customization. The app offers a core collection of 20 real-life sounds (rain, ocean, temple bells) and color-based noises for free. You can customize each noise’s bass and treble levels to achieve different frequencies of sound; for example, you can fine-tune the “white noise” option to achieve a low-frequency brown noise, in addition to a high-frequency white noise as the category suggests. Additionally, the app’s “all you can hear” bundle has a library of more than 200 additional sounds for $4 per month.

Its soundscapes are natural and realistic. Similar to the selection on the Sound+Sleep SE, the environmental sounds on the myNoise app are created from real-world recordings, so they’re richer and more realistic than the electronically generated sounds of the LectroFan EVO. (Stéphane Pigeon, the app’s creator and a research engineer and sound designer, made many of the recordings himself.)

White noise can block intrusive sounds that may startle a baby awake, and many parents have used white noise machines to help their babies sleep. Although we didn’t test any of our picks with babies specifically, we did reach out to experts for some guidance on using white noise with babies.

Harvey Karp, MD, author of The Happiest Baby on the Block (which has an accompanying streaming video), recommends that caregivers calm babies with loud shushing, either directly or with a device. Babies are exposed to loud and low-pitched sounds in the womb, and in the first few months after they’re born—Karp calls this the “fourth trimester”—those noises still sound soothing, he said.

You should be careful about volume, however. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommendsthat newborns in neonatal intensive care units be exposed to sound levels no higher than 45 dBA to avoid potential hearing damage. Lisa L. Hunter, scientific director for audiology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, cautioned that some devices are capable of emitting noise far higher than that. One 2014 study she cited found that all 14 of the machines tested were capable of producing sounds in excess of recommended guidelines.

And, of course, it never hurts to talk to your pediatrician before adding one of our picks—or any other white noise machine—to your baby’s sleep routine.

If you want a stylish fan-based machine with Bluetooth capabilities: Similar to the Yogasleep Dohm Nova, the Snooz is a curvy and stylish machine that relies on a real fan, encased inside, to produce its sound. Once you pair the machine to your phone via Bluetooth, you can adjust the volume settings in 10 gradual increments through the app, which features an automatic scheduler that lets you time the sound to fade in and out on a schedule of your choosing, right down to the minute. You can also manually rotate the machine’s outer ring to achieve tones ranging from the sound of a tabletop fan to an airplane-cabin rumble. But $80 seems like a lot of money for one main sound, so we elected not to make the Snooz an official recommendation.

If you’re not choosy about sound quality but want lots of noise options at an affordable price: Shaped almost like a mini Google Home, the Yogasleep Duet sits unobtrusively on any nightstand, no matter how small, and it’s Bluetooth-enabled so you can use it as a speaker to stream your own music. However, its sound quality is poor, and the app doesn’t allow you to set a precise schedule (your only choices are 45 minutes, 90 minutes, or eight hours). Still, the seven white noise variations can block a range of nuisance sounds, and at $40, it’s a pretty good deal. It comes with a USB cord but no wall plug.

If you want an affordable option for a baby: The Yogasleep Nod is essentially the Yogasleep Duet but designed for babies, with a dozen white noise, fan, and environmental variations in addition to the eight infant-friendly options (lullabies, shushing, and womb sounds). At $20, it’s a good value for a nursery, and it doubles as a dimmable night-light. For grown-up use, however, you would get better sound quality and options with the Sound+Sleep SE, or at least more sounds to choose from with the Yogasleep Duet.

If you want an eclectic range of ambient-noise options that you can mix and match: The free White Noise Lite app (available in the App Store and on Google Play) is your portal to a world of sounds, ranging from the usual nature favorites and color-based noises to oddball options such as a dishwasher and cars. You can create playlists, mix and match sounds (heavy rain plus city streets, for example), and record your own looped sounds—or listen to and share other users’ creations—in the White Noise Market companion app. The basic version of White Noise Lite comes with (annoying) ads; the $1 “full” version eliminates them, while the $3 “pro” option includes the generator tools you need to create recordings on your own—a real steal in comparison with the costly subscriptions for other competing apps. myNoise, with its customization options and professional non-looped recordings, is a better choice if you’re more concerned about masking noise with high-quality sounds.

Machines

The buttons on the Douni White Noise Sound Machine are located on the side of the machine, which is less ergonomic and not as accessible as the positioning on our top pick, the LectroFan EVO, whose buttons are placed at a sloped angle.

We tested three different models from Dreamegg: the D1, D1 Pro, and D11 Max. Since the D11 Max is designed to be portable or hooked up on the side of a crib, its circular shape does not rest comfortably on a nightstand. The D1 and D1 Pro are similar, but neither machine surpassed the LectroFan EVO in performance.

The buttons to toggle between sounds on the Elesories S3-ECO White Noise Machine are hard to press, and the timer button is located on the back, not on top along with the rest of the controls, making it trickier to access. Additionally, the speakers are at the bottom of the machine, which alters the sound experience depending on how and where you place it.

The sound quality on the HoMedics SoundSpa SS-2000 was tinny in our tests, and its sound library was more limited than that of the LectroFan EVO.

Honeywell’s DreamWeaver Sleep Fan generates constant pink noise that you can adjust with various fan-speed settings, but the machine’s large and bulky design simply takes up too much space on a nightstand.

The Housbay Glows Pro white noise machine offers a decent variety of sounds, but it has no sound to indicate that you’ve cycled through the entire library. Plus, the power light stays on at all times (the timer light stays on as well if you select that option), which can be obtrusive at night.

The LectroFan Classic is the original version of the LectroFan EVO. But the Classic isn’t as easy to use as the EVO, due to the placement of its controls on its side (instead of on a sloped top) and its more slippery texture.

With only a Next button and a Previous button to switch between sounds, distinguishing color noises from other sounds on the Magicteam Classic becomes difficult. The machine also lacks a distinct sound to alert you once you’ve cycled through the entire library.

The Sweet Zzz white noise machine costs nearly twice as much as the LectroFan EVO. Considering its less ergonomic design and limited purchasing options, we don’t think it’s worth the investment.

We’ve tested a range of options from Yogasleep, including the Dohm Classic, Dohm Connect, Hushh, Rohm, and Whish, but none of them are as effective or cost-efficient as our picks.

Apps

BetterSleep (available in the App Store and on Google Play) focuses on sleep and meditation, and it puts sound front and center for that purpose with 62 free sounds across 10 categories. However, unlike in myNoise, the sounds loop, and you can’t “sculpt” them to better camouflage nuisance noises. Plus, it charges a $60 annual subscription fee.

Tapping on the Deep Sleep Sounds app (available in the App Store and on Google Play) unleashes a versatile sound library, but if you want the full catalog of 80-plus sounds and the ability to play them continuously for longer than eight hours, you need to pay $40 every year. myNoise offers a more versatile and pleasant sound experience for free.

Noisli, which offers a simple icon-based interface with 13 ambient sounds and three color-noise options, used to be our app recommendation for Android users before myNoise released an Android version. You can’t adjust color-based frequencies here as you can in myNoise, but you can layer multiple color-noise sounds, adjust their volumes to create a custom blend, and set a timer.

This article was edited by Courtney Schley, Christina Colizza, and Ingrid Skjong.