Best white noise machines

Why it ranks here. The Dohm invented the category in 1962: a fan inside a plastic shell with vents you twist to change the tone, two speeds, and owners who have slept to one since they were teenagers. It ranks first because it is the sound people mean by white noise. It needs a wall socket, the cheaper Uno runs soft, and fans eventually rattle.

'Personally I have slept with one since I was a teenager'↗, says one owner, six years into a Dohm after years of a digital machine: 'I like that it tempers jarring noses like the air conditioner coming on or the garage door'↗. They bought a second for a child's room. Another calls it 'the closest I've found to that airplane noise'↗, because 'The noise is made by actual air rushing through holes in the machine'↗. One found a used one 'for $4 USD'↗. A family whose children wake the moment the noise stops wishes it had 'a battery back up'↗. The Uno disappointed one buyer: 'i thought its louder ..but its really soft noise'↗, and one LectroFan shopper found the Classic 'not loud enough to block noise'↗. Mechanical fans, notes one commenter, can lose their lubrication and 'rattle or sound inconsistent'↗ with age.

“Personally I have slept with one since I was a teenager. I used to have a digital noise one with deep space recordings and such as options, but for the past six years I have used a Dohm YogaSleep mechanical noise one (it's basically a noisy fan in a case). We bought a second when our eldest child moved to their own room. I like that it tempers jarring noses like the air conditioner coming on or the garage door.” — Reddit comment · u/JumpingJonquils · r/BabyBumps · 2026-01-09

7 positive · 1 mixed · 2 neutral · 1 negative · 11 voices · ✓ all 11 linked to source

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• marpac soundmachine is really good, have you tried that? It's the closest I've found to that airplane noise. The noise is made by actual air rushing through holes in the machine.

  Reddit comment · u/Gray324 · r/sleep · 2025-03-21 · read the original ↗

• A white noise machine from Marpac Dohm

  Reddit comment · u/tautAntelope86883 · r/sleep · 2024-09-13 · read the original ↗

• I use a DOHM from Serious Sleep Specialist. It has adjustable sound vents to adjust the tone and volume of the white noise. Bought it used from Savers for $4 USD.

  Reddit comment · u/Spookyy_999 · r/sleep · 2025-01-03 · read the original ↗

• Personally I have slept with one since I was a teenager. I used to have a digital noise one with deep space recordings and such as options, but for the past six years I have used a Dohm YogaSleep mechanical noise one (it's basically a noisy fan in a case). We bought a second when our eldest child moved to their own room. I like that it tempers jarring noses like the air conditioner coming on or the garage door.

  Reddit comment · u/JumpingJonquils · r/BabyBumps · 2026-01-09 · read the original ↗

• Four years later and this review is still helpful! Thank you so much! Clear and concise.

  YouTube comment · iamk3jja · watch the original ↗

• Thank you! I just ordered the Uno using your link. I like the white noise of a fan, but it’s getting colder out at night now that’s it’s fall, so we don’t need to run our window fan. I wanted something that would replicate that sound. I’m glad I searched for reviews before purchasing and found your video!

  YouTube comment · bigcitycommute · watch the original ↗

• Our favorite sound machine! And I agree..you set it wide open and leave it so go with the less expensive one. Now I just need one that has a battery back up as we found if the power goes out, our kids wake up the second the white noise stops 😝

  YouTube comment · aimeebaker4925 · watch the original ↗

• There's a good reason to get the Classic - made in the USA. The Uno is made in China.

  YouTube comment · phototristan · watch the original ↗

• I bought uno ..but i thought its louder ..but its really soft noise

  YouTube comment · ghofrandashti4656 · watch the original ↗

• Good that it lasts. The trouble with mechanical fans is the barrings can lose their lube or become deformed over time or as a defect, making them rattle or sound inconsistent.

  YouTube comment · Frank_42 · watch the original ↗

• Dohm has been making a machine with a real fan, adjustable etc fir half price

  YouTube comment · DrDennis · watch the original ↗

Why it ranks here. The LectroFan is the answer Reddit's sleep threads give: twenty non-looping fan, white, pink and brown sounds, a fine volume dial, no moving parts, and a decade of nightly use for many. It ranks second because a minority hear a diesel generator instead of a fan, and reaching your sound means pressing one button twenty times.

'this machine is life saving I love it'↗, says one owner. Another runs the Evo 'through a Sonos speaker'↗ for bass. One likes that it is 'nice for it to not be connected to a phone'↗. The ocean tracks are a steady drone rather than a beach with 'that one loud wave crash that comes up every 15 minutes'↗. Then the dissenters: 'the sound on this is muffled and actually left my ears ringing'↗, says one, 'more like a factory running than a fan'↗. Another: 'The brown noise one is the only decent sound. The rest are terrible! Do people really fall asleep to a construction equipment, diesel engine or generator sound?'↗. And the interface: 'i gotta hit the button 20 times to find the sound i want'↗, from an owner who loves it and uses four of the twenty. No battery, and one wishes the timer ran ten hours.

“I love this machine but absolutely hate the fact that i gotta hit the button 20 times to find the sound i want id rather have there be 20 sperate buttons tbh 20 sounds is a way over kill anyway i use like 4 out of 20 of them.” — YouTube comment · KingDoyle1996

5 positive · 4 mixed · 2 negative · 11 voices · ✓ all 11 linked to source

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• I use the LectroFan Evo that I run through a Sonos speaker (really any speaker that has a line-in with decent bass should work!)

  Reddit comment · u/thedeepdark · r/sleep · 2025-01-03 · read the original ↗

• Seconded. I love my lectrofan :)

  Reddit comment · u/y33h4w1234 · r/sleep · 2025-01-03 · read the original ↗

• Brand adaptive technology one on Amazon is good. Bit pricey but lots of choices and nice for it to not be connected to a phone.

  Reddit comment · u/Glittering-Knee9595 · r/sleep · 2026-05-14 · read the original ↗

• this machine is life saving I love it.

  YouTube comment · Username-Al566 · watch the original ↗

• I think the ocean sounds are intended to be "ocean pitch" at various distances and intensities, rather than accurate simulations of a beach scene... Actually that's better for me, because a constant drone is easier to sleep to, than anything that includes variations like that one loud wave crash that comes up every 15 minutes, or god damned seagulls squawking. I think that's what they were going for, anyway.

  YouTube comment · axisludi · watch the original ↗

• Awesome review. I bought this exact model based on your review. Thank you

  YouTube comment · Burps___ · watch the original ↗

• Thank you! I was trying to decide between this one and the dohm classic and received the Dohm Classic today and it’s not loud enough to block noise

  YouTube comment · Jesus-the-way-the-truth-life · watch the original ↗

• I appreciate your review, but unless I got a defective one - this machine is terrible. Sure the sound is nice and loud, however the sound on this is muffled and actually left my ears ringing, hurting, and gave me a terrible headache. All the sounds sound the same, including the fans. To me they sounded more like a factory running than a fan.

  YouTube comment · NicoleMarie011 · watch the original ↗

• The brown noise one is the only decent sound. The rest are terrible! Do people really fall asleep to a construction equipment, diesel engine or generator sound? That's what most of these sound like.

  YouTube comment · Wft-bu5zc · watch the original ↗

• I love this machine but absolutely hate the fact that i gotta hit the button 20 times to find the sound i want id rather have there be 20 sperate buttons tbh 20 sounds is a way over kill anyway i use like 4 out of 20 of them.

  YouTube comment · KingDoyle1996 · watch the original ↗

• Wish it went for 10 hours. I use the sounds on my Google devices

  YouTube comment · weatherchaser1166 · watch the original ↗

Why it ranks here. The Hatch is the sound machine, night light and sunrise alarm parents put on the registry and adults put on the nightstand, controlled from a phone, with realistic looping-free sounds. It ranks third because it is the most complained-about device here: the sound stops mid-nap for many owners, some on their third replacement, and the adult version wants $50 a year on top.

'We've been a hatch family for years. We have four products, never had any issues'↗, says one parent; another has had one 'for over 5 years and never had a single issue'↗. The sounds 'are so close to real and don't sound computerized'↗. The Rest Go travel version has 'the best battery life'↗ of any portable one owner tried. Then the fault: 'DO NOT BUY HATCH SOUND MACHINE. The brown noise setting randomly pauses and wakes up our baby'↗. Another: 'I am now on my third Hatch Rest 2nd gen machine and this has happened with every single one of them'↗, 'Total garbage'↗. A Restore owner was woken four nights running 'by sounds and the light turning on'↗. The subscription: '50 dollars a year for more features is a total deal breaker'↗. And one parent shakes her head at $70 spent when 'my $15 one from Amazon'↗ does the same.

“I am now on my third Hatch Rest 2nd gen machine and this has happened with every single one of them. This third one not only pauses, but when it’s turned all the way up the sound trips out (sounds like a record or CD skipping on extra extra loud). 100% a software issue. Total garbage.” — Reddit comment · u/s_k_c_31525 · r/BabyBumps · 2025-06-12

8 positive · 2 mixed · 7 negative · 17 voices · ✓ all 17 linked to source

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• I was considering this device but after learning that $140 was not enough, that they want me to pay a monthly subscription. Screw that. Greed always loses in the end.

  YouTube comment · petsur · watch the original ↗

• This was helpful information , I was considering this item as the rest + I bought for my newborn has been amazing and we use it daily it helps my daughter sleep and wind down. Thank you for being thorough with the information!

  YouTube comment · danielcastillon5055 · watch the original ↗

• I got this as a Christmas gift and have used it for 4 nights so far. Every night between 2am - 4am, I’ve been woken up by sounds and the light turning on. :( I saw that happened to a few other people on Amazon too. Just a warning to people looking to buy that you may get a faulty one, which is unacceptable especially given how expensive this is.

  YouTube comment · kathleen2116 · watch the original ↗

• Thanks for the review. 50 dollars a year for more features is a total deal breaker.

  YouTube comment · bunbee267 · watch the original ↗

• Well I'm sold! I have a hatch in my LO's room and the sounds are so close to real and don't sound computerized so thank you for sharing what their sounds. And I am going to be working nightshift so meditation is what I'll probably need to get to sleep during the day.

  YouTube comment · amyhasselbachable · watch the original ↗

• It is just a sound machine. I’ve found ones with many more features for half the price on Amazon. Doing it over again, would skip the Hatch one. Sure it’s cute and minimalistic, but nothing special for that price.

  Reddit comment · u/BUTT0N_MASHER · r/beyondthebump · 2025-05-24 · read the original ↗

• It’s just an overpriced sound machine, with something like 12 different sounds that you can cycle through. It does not connect to the Hatch app. I was annoyed to learn it does not come with the brown noise setting. I bought it because I was happy with the Hatch+ and didn’t want to research too much for a portable sound machine.

  Reddit comment · u/buffalo747 · r/beyondthebump · 2025-05-24 · read the original ↗

• We love ours, but I’m sure any portable sound machine would do the trick... We also just like the way it’s constructed if that makes sense? It’s easy to clip on and off of things.

  Reddit comment · u/alsothebagel · r/beyondthebump · 2025-05-25 · read the original ↗

• DO NOT BUY HATCH SOUND MACHINE. The brown noise setting randomly pauses and wakes up our baby, so we switched to white noise and it literally stopped mid nap and woke her up. This can completely throw off her day and any parent knows exactly how frustrating this can be!

  Reddit post · u/Ambitious-Low3731 · r/BabyBumps · 2025-05-17 · read the original ↗

• I am now on my third Hatch Rest 2nd gen machine and this has happened with every single one of them. This third one not only pauses, but when it’s turned all the way up the sound trips out (sounds like a record or CD skipping on extra extra loud). 100% a software issue. Total garbage.

  Reddit comment · u/s_k_c_31525 · r/BabyBumps · 2025-06-12 · read the original ↗

• Yeah we’ve had ours for over 5 years and never had a single issue. We’ve had another one for 3.5 years and no issues with that one either.

  Reddit comment · u/brownemil · r/BabyBumps · 2025-05-17 · read the original ↗

• I get your frustration. You just want this expensive piece of junk and plastic to WORK, right? We expect more out of a $200 purchase, particularly for our kids. Our Hatch Rest started doing the same thing in the last few weeks. Just turns itself off randomly at night, then my kid is likely to wake up from little sounds in the night. Worse, it doesn't respond to the app, so if I don't want my toddler to wake up, I've got to sneak into his room and unplug and replug the damn thing. Hatch Rests just sometimes go defective. It sucks, they know it and they don't care.

  Reddit comment · u/CaptPolymath · r/BabyBumps · 2025-08-24 · read the original ↗

• Sure but not a fancy/expensive one. A fan or air purifier works just as well too. We have a hatch and I shake my head every time I look at it knowing I spent $70 on it when my $15 one from Amazon or the air purifier we already use do the same thing except not on a schedule. The one benefit to the hatch is that you can “turn it up” from your phone if you’re about to do something noisy…but I wouldn’t say that feature justifies the price.

  Reddit comment · u/No-Psychology-5381 · r/BabyBumps · 2026-01-09 · read the original ↗

• Sounds like you may have a defective one or that’s needs a reset. We’ve never had any issues with ours and our 4 year old still insists on it.

  Reddit comment · u/NWSiren · r/BabyBumps · 2025-05-17 · read the original ↗

• We’ve been a hatch family for years. We have four products, never had any issues.

  Reddit comment · u/PEM_0528 · r/BabyBumps · 2025-05-17 · read the original ↗

• I had to buy us a second Hatch when we moved my daughter into her own room. I love white noise now

  Reddit comment · u/zillenial_sewist · r/BabyBumps · 2026-01-09 · read the original ↗

• I have tried other portable sound machine and to be honest the hatch go has the best battery life and we gravitate to our hatch more. It’s very simple but that’s all you need for on the go. We will take it traveling too and just put it under her pack and play for nighttime and it will last a very long time on just one charge.

  Reddit comment · u/pennynel · r/beyondthebump · 2025-10-04 · read the original ↗

Why it ranks here. The SNOOZ is the Dohm for people who want more: a real fan inside, an app that tunes it to the room and sets schedules, and owners who upgraded from a Dohm and never looked back. It ranks fourth because it costs $80 to $200, the night light dims only through the app, and few owners have written about it.

'Hands down the best on the market. We've tried them all. We upgraded from the Dohm and will never look back'↗, says one owner: 'Worth every penny!!'↗. Another found one new in a thrift shop for $7: 'I don't really need or use the app at all'↗. A six-year fan sleeper reckons '$200 is a lot but I've spent that the past 3 years trying to find a replacement'↗. One reviewer's viewer agrees 'we should be able to dim the nightlight by pushing a button instead of requiring the app'↗. There is 'No UK plug'↗, so an adaptor is needed. And like the Dohm, it spins a fan that can wear.

“Hands down the best on the market. We’ve tried them all. We upgraded from the Dohm and will never look back. We use the Snooz button when traveling. Worth every penny!! You can’t put a price on a goods night sleep, so cost was not a factor.” — YouTube comment · tiperik99

3 positive · 1 mixed · 2 neutral · 6 voices · ✓ all 6 linked to source

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• For the past 6 years I’ve heavily relied on a fan at night for the white noise and air flow... $200 is a lot but I’ve spent that the past 3 years trying to find a replacement at this point so, I’d be willing to try if it has enough good feedback.

  Reddit post · u/honee-bee · r/sleep · 2026-03-24 · read the original ↗

• I found one at a thrift shop new in box for $7 and I’m so in love with it!! I don’t really need or use the app at all. Thanks for the review!

  YouTube comment · Charlestonchew777 · watch the original ↗

• Thank you for this review! Been having issues sleeping even with an industrial fan in the room. So I was considering this machine. Definitely purchasing.

  YouTube comment · paulasomoano7253 · watch the original ↗

• Hands down the best on the market. We’ve tried them all. We upgraded from the Dohm and will never look back. We use the Snooz button when traveling. Worth every penny!! You can’t put a price on a goods night sleep, so cost was not a factor.

  YouTube comment · tiperik99 · watch the original ↗

• great review! you are the first person who actually did what most people want: to hear the darn device! So many reviewed it and talked through the whole thing. one lady I saw played the white noise for 5 seconds. silly. again, great review! agree we should be able to dim the nightlight by pushing a button instead of requiring the app.

  YouTube comment · r3jk8 · watch the original ↗

• No UK plug, so you'll need an adaptor for the socket.

  YouTube comment · roberth.8807 · watch the original ↗

Why it ranks here. The HoMedics is the $20 to $25 machine that runs on four AA batteries as well as the wall, so it travels. It ranks last because it has six sounds where the LectroFan has twenty, a green light that lights the room, and a build nobody expects to last.

'I got mine at Walmart, a Homedics. 6 different sounds. I love it'↗, says one owner. Another loves 'the sound of the ocean or waves'↗, and one fell asleep to its beach waves as a baby. 'Portability is a must and the price point is good'↗. The critic: 'so = 6 sounds to choose from when other same priced items on the market give you over 30 - and then there is that piercing green laser light that everyone complains about - that defeats the purpose of trying to sleep'↗. One owner says it 'Sounds like a fighter jet'↗. Reviewers call it a machine that gets the job done for now, not a nightly companion for years.

“so = 6 sounds to choose from when other same priced items on the market give you over 30 - and then there is that piercing green laser light that everyone complains about - that defeats the purpose of trying to sleep” — YouTube comment · peterlongprong7521

4 positive · 1 mixed · 1 negative · 6 voices · ✓ all 6 linked to source

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• I got mine at Walmart, a Homedics. 6 different sounds. I love it.

  Reddit comment · u/Ok-Isopod7893 · r/sleep · 2025-01-03 · read the original ↗

• Sounds like a fighter jet 😂⚡️✅💃

  YouTube comment · Rhsimplerecipe · watch the original ↗

• I used to have one of these, when I was a baby I would fall asleep to beach waves

  YouTube comment · doodlemoth · watch the original ↗

• so = 6 sounds to choose from when other same priced items on the market give you over 30 - and then there is that piercing green laser light that everyone complains about - that defeats the purpose of trying to sleep

  YouTube comment · peterlongprong7521 · watch the original ↗

• Love to fall asleep to the sound of the ocean or waves.

  YouTube comment · janicemyrick7869 · watch the original ↗

• Portability is a must and the price point is good.

  YouTube comment · RMartinLP · watch the original ↗