A Soft Murmur vs Dark Noise

A Soft Murmur

• Masking noise in a library, coffee shop or shared office
• People who want ambient sound in a browser tab at no cost
• Falling asleep to rain or waves with a fade-out timer

Dark Noise

• Falling asleep or masking noise with a simple sound app
• Apple users who start sounds from widgets, Siri or Shortcuts
• People who prefer a one-time purchase to a subscription

A Soft Murmur

• The free web app has 10 sounds; the other 15 in its list need Pro at $14.99 a year.
• The mobile apps include four sounds free, and the rest are in-app purchases.
• The site's upgrade screen says Pro's extra sounds work on the web and Android only; the iOS release notes say Pro accounts get its added sounds, and others buy packs.
• There is no desktop app. The App Store's latest version is dated 10/13/2023 and Google Play shows the Android app as updated on Aug 23, 2023.

Dark Noise

• Apple platforms only: iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision. No Android, Windows or web version is listed.
• The free tier has 8 sounds; the rest of the library, custom mixes, alternate icons and premium themes need Dark Noise Pro.
• The App Store listing requires iOS 26, iPadOS 26 or macOS 26 or later.
• Custom mixes cannot be shared natively; the help center suggests sending a screenshot for others to copy.

A Soft Murmur

Sound mixer

Each sound has its own volume slider. The free web app carries rain, thunder, waves, wind, fire, birds, crickets, a coffee shop, a singing bowl and white noise, and up to 10 sounds can be active at once.

Meander

With Meander switched on, the volume of every active sound drifts up and down at random, so the mix keeps changing instead of looping at fixed levels.

Timers

A timer can stop the sounds after a set period, start them after a delay, or fade them out gradually, which the site suggests for falling asleep.

Saved and shared mixes

Mixes can be named, saved and switched between. A mix can be shared as a link, and the web app has share buttons for Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and Tumblr.

Extra sounds with Pro

The web app lists 15 Pro sounds, among them brown and pink noise, two fan speeds, air conditioning, a city, a stream, a waterfall, three more rain recordings, cicadas and frogs.

Offline mobile apps

The iPhone, iPad and Android apps store their sounds on the device, play without a connection and keep running in the background alongside music or podcasts.

Dark Noise

Sound library

More than 50 ambient sounds, each with an animated icon, including stereo remasters of Rain, Thunderstorm, Beach and Airplane Interior and a Green Noise sound. Eight sounds are free.

Custom mixes

Dark Noise Pro lets you combine sounds into a named mix, with a volume slider for each sound and a custom icon. Mixes cannot yet be shared with other people from inside the app.

Magic Mix

Describe a soundscape, such as a stormy beach, and Apple Intelligence builds a custom mix from the prompt. It arrived on iOS in version 3.5 and on the Mac in 3.6.

Fade-out timer

A timer fades the sound out at a set time of day or after a set duration, and a Long Fade option stretches the fade over a period you choose.

Widgets, Siri and Shortcuts

Interactive Home Screen, Lock Screen and Control Center widgets start and stop sounds without opening the app, and Siri or a Shortcut can play a sound by name.

Offline playback and AirPlay

Every sound is stored on the device and plays without an internet connection. AirPlay is supported, and Siri Shortcuts can start a sound on a HomePod.

A Soft Murmur

• Free$0

  Ten sounds on the website with the mixer, Meander, timers and saved mixes; four sounds in the iPhone and Android apps.

• iOS sound packs$1.99 to $3.99

  per pack, US App Store in-app purchase

  Unlock all default sounds is $3.99, described as a one-off purchase, and adds the six sounds beyond the free four. Six themed packs cost $1.99 to $3.99 each.

• Android in-app purchases$2.49 to $14.99

  per item on Google Play (US); the basis is not shown

  The listing says a single in-app purchase unlocks six of the app's ten sounds, and shows only a price range for its in-app items.

• A Soft Murmur Pro$14.99

  per year, or local currency equivalent

  A yearly license bought on the website through Paddle: the 15 extra sounds in the web app's list, plus any web sounds released later.

Dark Noise

• Free$0

  Eight sounds with infinite looping, the fade-out timer, and Siri and Shortcuts integration.

• Dark Noise Pro (monthly)$2.99

  per month, US App Store in-app purchase

  Unlocks more than 50 sounds, custom mixes, alternate app icons and premium themes. The app is universal across iPhone, iPad and Mac.

• Dark Noise Pro (yearly)$19.99

  per year, after a 7-day free trial

  The same Pro features billed yearly. The App Store shows amounts without periods; the billing basis is from the vendor's release posts.

• Dark Noise Pro Lifetime$49.99

  one-time purchase

  Pro unlocked with a single payment in place of a subscription.

A Soft Murmur

No public discounts listed.

Dark Noise

• Annual discount

  Yearly Pro costs about 44% less than monthly

  The vendor prices Dark Noise Pro at $19.99 a year against $2.99 a month, which comes to $35.88 over twelve months.

• Lifetime license

  Dark Noise Pro Lifetime for a one-time payment

  The US App Store lists a Dark Noise Pro Lifetime in-app purchase at $49.99, which the vendor describes as a one-time purchase.