Quick Answer: BetterSleep (formerly Relax Melodies) earns a 3.8 out of 5 for most users. Its sound mixing library is one of the best available, and it excels as a relaxation and sleep onset tool. However, the sleep tracking is basic, the subscription ($59.99/year) is steep for what you get, and alternatives like Sleep Cycle or Calm offer better all-round value for many users.
In This Guide
Reading Time: 11 minutes
BetterSleep gets downloaded millions of times per year and has high app store ratings. But a lot of people download it, try the free version, and then feel uncertain about whether the premium upgrade is worth it.
This review takes an honest look at what BetterSleep actually does well, where it falls short, and who it is genuinely suited for, compared to the alternatives. We are not affiliated with BetterSleep or any of its competitors, so this is a straightforward assessment.
What Is BetterSleep?
BetterSleep is a sleep and relaxation app originally launched as Relax Melodies in 2011. The name change to BetterSleep in 2021 reflected a broader feature expansion beyond just ambient sounds. Today it offers:
- A mixable sound library (200+ sounds including nature, white noise, binaural beats, and music)
- Guided meditations and breathing exercises
- Sleep stories
- Basic sleep tracking
- Sleep cast programmes (structured relaxation audio)
- Smart alarm
It is available on iOS and Android, with a freemium model. The free version gives you a limited sound library and basic features. Premium unlocks the full library and most functionality.
Why We Cover Sleep Apps at Mattress Miracle
We are a mattress store in Brantford, not a tech company. But sleep apps come up constantly in our conversations with customers. People tell us they are using BetterSleep or Calm or Sleep Cycle, and we want to give useful, honest context about how these tools fit into the bigger picture of sleep quality. A good app and a good mattress can work together. Neither one fixes what the other is actually responsible for.
8 min read
BetterSleep Features Reviewed
Sound Library (Rating: 5/5)
This is BetterSleep's genuine strength. The sound mixing interface lets you layer multiple sounds simultaneously and adjust each independently. Rain on a tin roof at medium volume, a low-frequency pink noise underneath, and distant thunder on the far left channel, for instance. The control is genuinely impressive and something few competitors match.
The library includes:
- Nature sounds (rain, rivers, ocean, forest, storm)
- White, pink, and brown noise variants
- Binaural beats at various frequencies
- Music (ambient, classical, instrumental)
- Urban sounds (café, city rain, fireplace)
- Fan and air conditioner sounds
For people who fall asleep to sound or find silence difficult, this library is excellent. It stands out clearly above most competitors in this specific area.
Guided Meditations and Breathing (Rating: 4/5)
The meditation library is solid but not exceptional. There are guided sessions ranging from 5 to 30 minutes, covering body scan, progressive muscle relaxation, and breathing techniques. The quality is good. For people who are just starting with meditation for sleep, BetterSleep covers the basics well.
Where it falls slightly short is variety. Calm and Headspace both have deeper libraries with more varied presenters and more niche meditation styles. If meditation is your primary goal, those apps are better equipped.
Sleep Stories (Rating: 3.5/5)
Sleep stories (narrated fiction read in a slow, deliberate pace designed to induce drowsiness) are a genuine category that Calm popularised. BetterSleep has its own library. The quality is reasonable, but the selection is more limited than Calm's, and the narration style feels slightly inconsistent across different stories.
Sleep Tracking (Rating: 2.5/5)
This is BetterSleep's weakest feature. The sleep tracking is basic: it records duration, gives a simple sleep score, and uses the phone's microphone to detect noise during the night. There is no movement tracking without a connected wearable, and wearable integration options are limited compared to dedicated trackers like Sleep Cycle or AutoSleep.
If sleep tracking is a priority for you, BetterSleep is the wrong choice. It is a relaxation app with tracking bolted on, not a tracking app with relaxation features. The distinction matters.
Smart Alarm (Rating: 3.5/5)
The smart alarm works by monitoring movement and sound during a set wake window, then triggering when it detects lighter sleep. It functions reasonably well but is less sophisticated than Sleep Cycle's version, which has years of refinement in this specific feature.
| Feature | BetterSleep Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sound library | 5/5 | Best in class for sound mixing |
| Meditation | 4/5 | Solid, not as deep as Calm |
| Sleep stories | 3.5/5 | Limited compared to Calm |
| Sleep tracking | 2.5/5 | Basic, limited wearable support |
| Smart alarm | 3.5/5 | Works, less refined than Sleep Cycle |
| Interface | 4/5 | Clean and intuitive |
| Value for money | 3/5 | Pricey for sound-focused app |
Pros and Cons
What BetterSleep Does Well
- Sound mixing is genuinely excellent. No other app in the category offers the same level of control over layered ambient sounds.
- Good for sleep onset. If you struggle to fall asleep but do not have issues with waking through the night, BetterSleep addresses your specific problem well.
- Clean, intuitive interface. Easy to use from the first session. No steep learning curve.
- Covers multiple relaxation modalities. Sound, meditation, breathing, and stories in one place reduces the need for multiple apps.
- No hardware required. Works purely on your phone. No wearable needed to get value from it.
Where BetterSleep Falls Short
The subscription price of $59.99/year (or $9.99/month) is hard to justify when the core value is the sound library. Calm at roughly the same price offers more meditation content, better sleep stories, and a more established coaching programme. Sleep Cycle at $49.99/year offers far superior sleep tracking. BetterSleep is caught between these two categories without fully competing with either. The free tier is also quite limited, which makes evaluating whether premium is worth it harder than it should be.
BetterSleep Pricing and Subscription
BetterSleep uses a freemium model:
- Free tier: Limited sound library (around 20 sounds), basic sleep timer, no sleep tracking, no stories
- Premium monthly: Approximately $9.99/month (CAD pricing may vary)
- Premium annual: Approximately $59.99/year, which works out to $5/month
- Lifetime option: Occasionally offered at around $149.99
The annual plan is the reasonable choice if you decide to commit. The lifetime option makes sense only if you are confident the app will remain actively developed. Given the company has been operating since 2011 and rebranded in 2021, there is reasonable continuity, but no guarantees.
The free tier is notably limited. Unlike Sleep Cycle, which gives meaningful utility for free, BetterSleep's free version gives you just enough to understand what the premium offers without giving you enough to actually evaluate it properly over time. This is a deliberate product decision and not uncommon in the category, but it is worth noting.
Sleep Tracking Accuracy
BetterSleep's sleep tracking relies primarily on microphone input (detecting sounds that indicate wakefulness vs sleep) and, if available, wearable data from Apple Health or Google Fit.
What the Research Says About Sound-Based Sleep Tracking
Microphone-based sleep detection is the least accurate form of consumer sleep tracking. A 2021 systematic review in Sensors found that audio-only detection methods have significantly higher false positive rates for wakefulness detection compared to accelerometer or heart rate-based methods. Sound alone cannot distinguish between lying still and actually being asleep. BetterSleep's tracking should be treated as a rough guide to sleep duration rather than a reliable sleep stage analyser.
If you connect BetterSleep to Apple Health and use an Apple Watch for data input, the tracking improves, but at that point you are essentially using Apple's sleep data with BetterSleep's interface. You would get the same (or better) data from Apple Health directly or from AutoSleep.
Best Alternatives to BetterSleep
| App | Best For | Price | Tracking Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| BetterSleep | Ambient sound mixing, relaxation | ~$60/yr | Basic |
| Calm | Meditation, sleep stories, guided relaxation | ~$69.99/yr | None (no tracking) |
| Sleep Cycle | Smart alarm, sleep tracking, pattern analysis | ~$49.99/yr | Good (excellent with Watch) |
| Headspace | Meditation, stress management, sleep routines | ~$69.99/yr | None |
| Pzizz | Power naps, sleep onset audio | Free / ~$69.99/yr | None |
| MyNoise | Advanced sound customisation, free | Donation-based | None |
A few alternatives worth calling out specifically:
MyNoise is worth mentioning for BetterSleep's core audience. It is a web and app-based sound generator with exceptional customisation, created by Dr. Stéphane Pigeon, an audio engineer. The sound library is extraordinary and most of it is available for free (donation-supported). For pure sound quality, MyNoise exceeds BetterSleep. It lacks the sleep tracking, meditation, and stories, so it is narrower, but it is remarkable value.
Calm is the direct competitor for the relaxation and sleep story component. If you value meditation and storytelling over sound mixing, Calm is the better choice at a similar price point.
Sleep Cycle is the better choice if tracking your sleep patterns and using a smart alarm is the primary goal. The best sleep tracker apps guide covers Sleep Cycle and others in more detail.
Who BetterSleep Is Actually For
Brad, Owner of Mattress Miracle (since 1987): "A lot of our customers who struggle with getting to sleep are dealing with a busy mind more than anything physical. For them, something to focus on while they wind down makes a real difference. A sound app like BetterSleep can help with that part of the problem. It will not fix a mattress that is too firm or too soft, but it can help if the issue is mental rather than physical."
BetterSleep is genuinely suited for:
- People who need sound to fall asleep and want more control than a simple white noise machine
- Light sleepers or those in noisy environments (urban apartments, shared housing) who use sound to mask background noise
- People with mild anxiety who benefit from guided breathing at bedtime
- Those who have tried and enjoy ambient sound apps but want something more sophisticated
It is less suited for:
- People whose primary goal is tracking sleep stages or identifying sleep patterns over time
- Those looking for a comprehensive meditation and mindfulness platform
- Budget-conscious users who want meaningful free-tier features
- Anyone who needs clinical-quality sleep data
The connection between sleep quality and your sleep environment is worth noting here. If you are using BetterSleep to help with sleep onset but waking up sore or unrested, the issue may not be your mind at all. A mattress that does not match your sleep position and body type can cause exactly the kind of fragmented, unrestorative sleep that makes you reach for apps and supplements. Our mattress collection includes options that address the physical side of sleep quality.
Find Your Perfect Mattress at Mattress Miracle
We are a family-owned mattress store in Brantford, helping our community sleep better since 1987. Come try mattresses in person and get honest, no-pressure advice.
441 1/2 West Street, Brantford, Ontario
Call 519-770-0001Frequently Asked Questions
Is BetterSleep worth the subscription cost?
It depends on how you use it. If you primarily want a sophisticated ambient sound mixer to help you fall asleep, and you will use it every night, $60/year works out to about 16 cents per night, which is reasonable value. If you want comprehensive sleep tracking or deep meditation content, the same money spent on Sleep Cycle or Calm gives you a better return on your specific needs.
What is the difference between BetterSleep and Calm?
BetterSleep's strength is its sound mixing library, which Calm does not match. Calm's strength is its meditation content, sleep story library, and celebrity narrator sleep stories, which BetterSleep does not match. Calm also has a stronger mindfulness and daytime stress management component. If you value sound mixing most, BetterSleep. If you value guided content most, Calm.
Does BetterSleep track sleep accurately?
BetterSleep's sleep tracking is basic and relies primarily on microphone input. It can give you a rough sleep duration and a basic sleep score, but it does not provide reliable sleep stage data without a connected wearable. If accurate sleep tracking is important to you, dedicated tracking apps like Sleep Cycle (with phone sensor or Apple Watch) or AutoSleep are significantly more capable.
Can BetterSleep help with insomnia?
BetterSleep can support sleep hygiene practices through guided relaxation, breathing exercises, and sound masking, all of which can help with mild sleep difficulties. It is not a treatment for clinical insomnia. If you have persistent difficulty falling or staying asleep that is affecting your daily function, the Canadian Mental Health Association recommends speaking with a healthcare provider about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), which is the evidence-based first-line treatment.
Is there a free version of BetterSleep that is actually usable?
The free version gives you around 20 sounds, a basic sleep timer, and limited access to guided content. It is functional enough to test whether the sound mixing concept appeals to you, but it does not give a complete picture of what the premium offers. A 7-day free trial of premium is often available via the app stores, which is a better way to evaluate the full product before committing.
Sources
- Imtiaz, S.A. (2021). A systematic review of sensing technologies for wearable sleep staging. Sensors, 21(5), 1562. doi.org/10.3390/s21051562
- Trauer, J.M., Qian, M.Y., Doyle, J.S., Rajaratnam, S.M., & Cunnington, D. (2015). Cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic insomnia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Internal Medicine, 163(3), 191–204. doi.org/10.7326/M14-2841
- Palagini, L., Bruno, R.M., Gemignani, A., Baglioni, C., Ghiadoni, L., & Riemann, D. (2013). Sleep loss and hypertension: a systematic review. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 19(13), 2409–2419. doi.org/10.2174/1381612811319130009
- Morin, C.M., Bastien, C., & Savard, J. (2003). Current directions in the treatment of chronic insomnia. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 7(5), 441–443. doi.org/10.1016/S1087-0792(03)90003-1
- de Zambotti, M., Rosas, L., Colrain, I.M., & Baker, F.C. (2019). The sleep of the ring: comparison of the OURA sleep tracker against polysomnography. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 17(2), 124–136. doi.org/10.1080/15402002.2017.1300587
- Ohayon, M.M., Carskadon, M.A., Guilleminault, C., & Vitiello, M.V. (2004). Meta-analysis of quantitative sleep parameters from childhood to old age in healthy individuals. Sleep, 27(7), 1255–1273. doi.org/10.1093/sleep/27.7.1255
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We are located at 441½ West Street in downtown Brantford. Free parking available. Our team does not work on commission, so you get honest advice based on your needs.
Mattress Miracle — 441½ West Street, Brantford, ON — (519) 770-0001
Hours: Monday–Wednesday 10am–6pm, Thursday–Friday 10am–7pm, Saturday 10am–5pm, Sunday 12pm–4pm.
If you are using sleep apps and still not getting restful sleep, the physical side of your sleep environment may need attention. Come in and let us take a look at what your mattress, pillow, and base setup is doing, or not doing, for your sleep quality.
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