White noise machine or app? What to buy in the UK

What to look for in a white noise machine

A good white noise machine makes a steady sound you stop noticing, at a volume you control, without a screen lighting up the room. These are the specs that separate one from another.

• How the sound is made. The Yogasleep Dohm Uno has a real fan inside, so the maker says there are no audio files and no loop. Most cheap machines and most apps play a recording that repeats. If you are the sort of person who hears the join in a loop and then cannot unhear it, a fan is the safer buy. The LectroFan Evo gets the same no-loop result electronically, its listing says, with no moving parts.
• Volume range. Look for a machine that goes low as well as loud. Yogasleep says the Hushh reaches up to 85dB. You will want far less than that at the bedside; the point of the headroom is a noisy hotel or a train.
• Power. Mains machines run all night without you thinking about it. The Dohm Uno sold on Amazon UK has a UK plug and a 2.2 metre cord. Battery machines travel: the Hushh listing says six hours or more per charge, though the Yogasleep comparison table on the same page says eight. The LectroFan Evo runs from mains or USB, its listing says.
• Controls. Physical switches are easier in the dark than a phone screen. The Dohm Uno has a high and low switch, and you rotate the cap and collar to change the tone. The Hushh has buttons and a lock so small hands cannot change the setting.
• Light. The Hushh has an amber night light you can use or ignore. A phone lights up with every notification unless you set Do Not Disturb.
• Timer. Some people want sound all night; others want it to stop after an hour. We could not see a timer on the Dohm Uno listing; the LectroFan Evo has an optional one. Apple added a timer to Background Sounds in iOS 26.

White noise machine or app: which should you get?

Get a white noise machine if you want the same sound every night without involving your phone; use an app if you only need sound now and then, or want to try the idea for free first.

Apps win on price and choice. iPhone Background Sounds is built into iOS 15 and later, with noise, ocean, rain and a few other sounds, a timer from iOS 26, and an option to stop when the phone locks. Endel is free to download with basic sleep, focus and relax soundscapes, and the App Store lists paid tiers that add more, including nine colours of noise. Its soundscapes also work offline, which matters on a train or in a hotel with bad wifi.

Machines win on friction. There is no app to open, no low battery warning at 3am and no notification sneaking in. The phone can charge in another room. If a screen by the bed is hard for you to ignore, that alone can justify under £40.

The honest middle route: try Background Sounds or the free tier of Endel for a fortnight. If you use it every night and the phone is the annoying part, buy a machine.

White noise machines and apps compared

For travel, shared rooms and children

For travel, the Hushh is the one to pack; for a shared bedroom where only one person wants sound, a headband beats any speaker.

The Hushh measures 8.6 by 4.1 by 9.8cm, has a clip for a bag, pushchair or cot, charges from USB and has a child lock. Yogasleep notes that it must be turned off and unplugged every 14 days or it may freeze or stop working properly. If it lives on a charger by the bed, build that into the fortnight.

For a partner who hates noise, sound in a headband keeps it to you. The MUSICOZY headband has thin, flat, felt-covered speakers in a stretchy fabric band, lasts at least 16 hours on a charge according to the listing, and the speakers come out so the band can be washed. It pairs with any app, so Endel or a noise track goes straight to your ears and nobody else's.

For children, a machine with a lock and no screen is simpler than handing over a phone. Put it across the room rather than by the pillow. Yogasleep's own safety note for the Dohm Uno says to avoid prolonged close-range use to prevent noise-induced hearing loss. We could not find official UK guidance on sound machines for babies, so follow the maker's instructions and keep the volume modest.

Things to know

• Pink, brown and white noise are different mixes of frequencies. Yogasleep says its Dohm machines actually make pink noise. Most product pages use "white noise" to mean any of them.
• Masking is not silencing. A sound machine covers irregular noise such as doors, traffic and next door's telly by giving your ears something steady to hear instead. It does not stop a loud noise reaching you. For that you need earplugs, and plenty of people use both.
• The Dohm Uno on Yogasleep's own website is a US and Canada model. Buy the UK-plug version, sold by Marpac UK on Amazon, rather than importing one and using an adaptor.
• Apps depend on your phone. Low battery, updates and alarms can all cut the sound. Charge overnight and use Do Not Disturb.
• We have not tested these machines ourselves. Specs come from the maker and retailer pages on 11 September 2026, and prices change.