Moodist vs Noisli (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Moodist grades higher than Noisli: 3.0 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Moodist grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Noisli grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Noisli
Ambient sound mixer with a session timer and text editor
Which one is for you
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
Pick Noisli if
- Fits if you need to drown out an office, traffic or the rest of the house
- Works for writers who want background sound, a timer and an editor in one tab
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if all you want is noise, at $10 a month billed yearly for Pro, or $12 monthly
- Tight if you're staying free, with 1.5 hours of streaming a day and 16 of the 28 sounds
- Skip it if you're on Android, as the site's Google Play link returned Not Found
- Watch out: Oscillation, Shuffle and the advanced timer and editor need Pro, and the iPhone app is a separate $1.99
- Pricey if you're a team, as Business is $24 a month for 2 users, billed yearly
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAMoodistVery good | 2.2GPANoisliFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | DPro is $10 a month billed yearly ($120), or $12 monthly, when this category's middle is $3.99 and its dear quarter starts at $8.33. Everything you'd want is up there: unlimited streaming, all 28 sounds, the better timer and editor. The iPhone app is a separate $1.99, paid once. |
| Free plan and trial | AEverything is free: all 84 sounds, presets and tools, with no account and no cap. | C16 of the 28 sounds, 3 curated Playlists and up to 5 Favorites. Then the cap: 1.5 hours of streaming a day, nowhere near a working day. |
| Features | 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. | CA mixer with a volume slider per sound, saved Combos, curated Playlists, a session timer and a Markdown editor. It does background noise fully, and that's a smaller job here. Its own site's Android and Chrome extension links are dead, and Noisli says the plan features are meant for desktop browsers. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record, but there is nothing to set up. Open the page and start adding sounds. | BNo store rating on record for it. Nothing to set up either: open a tab, pick a sound, set its volume, add another. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, installable as an offline PWA. No native apps and no integrations. | BWeb, plus a separate iPhone and iPad app, with the editor able to send text to Dropbox or Google Drive. Its site names an Android app and a Chrome extension, but the Google Play link returned Not Found and the Chrome Web Store showed the item as unavailable. |
| Best for | free layered ambient sounds with no account | mixing your own background noise in a browser tab |
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: Moodist and Noisli. How we grade
Price against what you get
Moodist has no paid plan and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Noisli starts at $10 a month and scores 2.7.
Noisli scores higher, and starts $10 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other focus apps on the chart, none scores higher than Moodist for less, and 16 score higher than Noisli 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.
- Noisli also covers Markdown.
At a glance
| Moodist | Noisli | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $10 / month billed yearly (Pro); the iOS app is $1.99 once |
| Free plan | Everything is free; the site says there are no subscriptions or registrations. | Free plan for 1 user: 16 sounds, 1.5 hours of streaming a day, 3 curated Playlists, up to 5 Favorites, and the simple Timer and Text Editor. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Maze | Noisli Labs UG (haftungsbeschränkt) |
| Price read from | moodist.mvze.net | noisli.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Noisli
- The Free plan limits streaming to 1.5 hours a day and includes 16 of the 28 sounds.
- Oscillation, Shuffle, the advanced Timer and the advanced Text Editor need Pro or Business.
- Noisli says plan features are intended for desktop browsers on Mac or Windows; the iPhone and iPad app is a separate $1.99 purchase.
- The site also names an Android app and a Chrome extension, but its Google Play link returned Not Found and its Chrome Web Store link showed the item as not available.
Key features
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.
Noisli
- Sound mixer
- 28 background sounds, each with its own volume control, can be layered into a mix that Noisli calls a Combo. The Free plan includes 16 of them.
- Curated Playlists
- Playlists group suggested Combos for situations such as focus, study, writing and sleep. Free accounts get 3 Playlists and paid plans 10.
- Favorites
- Save your own Combos to replay later and share them with other people. The Free plan stores up to 5 and paid plans up to 10.
- Session Timer
- Set the length of work sessions and breaks, with optional auto-start and a daily count of finished sessions. Sounds stop when the time is up.
- Text Editor
- A minimal writing space with Markdown formatting and a word counter. Text is saved to the account and can be downloaded or sent to Dropbox or Google Drive.
- Oscillation and Shuffle
- On paid plans, Oscillation slowly varies the volume of sounds within a Combo, and Shuffle moves between Combos at a frequency you set.
Plans
Moodist
Free$0
All 84 sounds, presets, timers and tools, with no account.
Noisli
Free$0
1 user, 16 sounds, 1.5 hours of streaming a day, 3 curated Playlists, up to 5 Favorites, simple Timer and Text Editor.
iOS app$1.99
one-time purchase, US App Store
The iPhone and iPad app, bought separately from the web plans: offline sounds, saved Combos and a timer with fade-out.
Pro$10
per month, billed yearly ($120)
1 user, 28 sounds, unlimited streaming, 10 Playlists, advanced Timer and Text Editor, Oscillation and Shuffle. $12 if billed monthly.
Business$24
per month for 2 users, billed yearly
Pro features plus team management and centralised billing. The page's plan data prices it at $144 per user a year, or $14 per user monthly.
Ways to pay less
Moodist
No public discounts listed.
Noisli
- Annual discount
Yearly Pro billing costs about 17% less
The pricing page's plan data lists Pro at $120 billed yearly against $12 billed monthly, which comes to $144 over twelve months.
- Education
Discount for students and teachers
Noisli offers students, teachers and educational institutions a special discount on its yearly plan. The page does not state the amount.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Moodist or Noisli?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Moodist is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $10 a month for Noisli. Moodist is free, and Noisli starts at $10 / month billed yearly (Pro); the iOS app is $1.99 once.
Which has a free plan, Moodist or Noisli?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Moodist and Noisli have a free plan.
Which platforms do Moodist and Noisli run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Noisli lists an iOS app. 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.