A Soft Murmur vs Moodist (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, A Soft Murmur and Moodist share a 3.0 GPA, both have a free plan, and Moodist has no paid plan to buy, against $1.25 a month when paid by the year for A Soft Murmur.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
A Soft Murmur grades higher on platforms. Moodist grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
A Soft Murmur
Ambient sound mixer for the browser, iPhone and Android
Which one is for you
Pick A Soft Murmur if
- Fits if you want rain or coffee-shop noise in a browser tab without paying
- Works for falling asleep to waves, since a timer can fade the sound out
Look elsewhere if
- Too light for people who want a big library, as it tops out at 25 sounds on the web
- Tight if you listen on your phone, where only four sounds are free and the rest are paid packs
- Not for you if you want a Mac or Windows app, because there isn't one
- Watch out: neither phone app has been updated since 2023, going by the App Store and Google Play
- Watch out: the site says Pro sounds work on web and Android only, while the iOS notes say Pro accounts get them
Pick Moodist if
- Fits if you want to blend several sounds at once rather than play a single loop
- Works for anyone who wants a sound tool with no account and no ads
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a native phone or desktop app, as it runs in the browser
- Not for you if you need support behind it: it is a one-person project funded by voluntary donations
- Too light for task tracking, because the Pomodoro timer and notepad are small add-ons
- Watch out: some bundled sounds carry third-party licences, as the README notes
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAA Soft MurmurVery good | 3.0GPAMoodistVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | APro is $14.99 a year, which works out at $1.25 a month where the cheapest quarter of focus tools starts at $2.99 and the middle is $3.99. Most people won't even reach for it, since the free web mixer does the job. On iPhone the extra sounds come as packs at $1.99 to $3.99. | AFree outright with no subscription or sign-up, where focus apps in the middle charge $3.99 a month. The code is MIT-licensed, and a Docker image exists if you want your own copy. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe website is free with ten sounds, the mixer, Meander, timers and saved mixes, which one person could use for years. The wall is the other 15 sounds, and the phone apps, which hand over only four before you pay. | AEverything is free: all 84 sounds, presets and tools, with no account and no cap. |
| Features | CIt does its one thing completely: a slider per sound, up to ten playing at once, Meander to keep the mix drifting, timers that fade out and mixes you can save and share. That one thing is a small job, though, and the library stops at 25 sounds with Pro. | CIt does its one job fully: layered sounds, shareable mixes, binaural beats and a sleep timer, plus a basic Pomodoro timer and notepad. It is a smaller job than a full focus app. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record, but there's nothing to set up at all: open the page, drag a slider, you're listening. No account, no install, no settings to learn. | BNo store rating on record, but there is nothing to set up. Open the page and start adding sounds. |
| Platforms and integrations | BAny browser, plus iPhone, iPad and Android apps that play their sounds offline. No desktop app, nothing it connects to and no API, and both phone apps were last updated back in 2023. | CWeb only, installable as an offline PWA. No native apps and no integrations. |
| Best for | background noise in a browser tab | free layered ambient sounds with no account |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: A Soft Murmur and Moodist. How we grade
Price against what you get
A Soft Murmur starts at $1.25 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Moodist has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
A Soft Murmur scores higher, and starts $1.25 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other focus apps on the chart, 1 scores higher than A Soft Murmur for less, and none scores higher than Moodist for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Moodist is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Moodist also covers Pomodoro timer.
At a glance
| A Soft Murmur | Moodist | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $14.99 / year (Pro, bought on the web); iOS sound packs are $1.99 to $3.99 each | Free |
| Free plan | Free on the web: 10 sounds with the mixer, Meander, timers and saved mixes. The iPhone and Android apps include 4 sounds free: rain, thunder, waves and wind. | Everything is free; the site says there are no subscriptions or registrations. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Sleepy Rabbit LLC | Maze |
| Price read from | asoftmurmur.com | moodist.mvze.net |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Moodist
- There is no native mobile or desktop app; it runs in the browser and can be installed as a PWA.
- It is a one-person open-source project, supported by voluntary donations through Buy Me a Coffee.
- Some bundled sounds are under third-party licenses (Pixabay or CC0), as the README notes.
Key features
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.
Moodist
- 84 layered sounds
- Sounds are grouped as nature, rain, animals, urban, places, transport, things and noise, and any number can play at once.
- Shareable mixes and presets
- A mix can be shared through a URL and imported with one click, and you can save, rename and reapply presets.
- Binaural beats and isochronic tones
- The README lists built-in generators for both.
- Built-in tools
- The README lists a breathing exercise, Pomodoro timer, countdown, to-do list and notepad, plus a sleep timer that fades sound out.
- Installable and offline
- The README describes an installable PWA with offline caching.
- Self-hosting
- The code is MIT-licensed and a Docker image is published for running your own copy.
Plans
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.
Moodist
Free$0
All 84 sounds, presets, timers and tools, with no account.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, A Soft Murmur or Moodist?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Moodist is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $1.25 a month when paid by the year for A Soft Murmur. A Soft Murmur starts at $14.99 / year (Pro, bought on the web); iOS sound packs are $1.99 to $3.99 each, and Moodist is free.
Which has a free plan, A Soft Murmur or Moodist?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both A Soft Murmur and Moodist have a free plan.
Which platforms do A Soft Murmur and Moodist run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only A Soft Murmur lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.