Sleep is incredibly important to us - and many of us will try almost anything to get a solid night’s rest in the age of distraction.
Across the globe, the phrase ‘sleep well’ has been searched more than 227,000 times on Google in the past month alone. From hot baths with lavender oils, and pillow sprays to limiting screen time before bed, many tips and tricks are available to get a decent amount of shut-eye.
This also includes using apps we can download on our phones, which may offer more helpful solutions to aiding sleep like bedtime stories or hypnotherapy - not just for one night - but over a longer period.
At Opera Beds, we’ve compiled a comprehensive ranking of 25 of the highest-rated apps that help with sleep - bringing you their average star ratings from both Android and iOS stores - plus their percentage of one and two-star, and four and five-star written reviews.
We’ve also explored the apps’ costs and features, including the best free apps, so you can work out the top sleep apps for your iPhone or Android, that suit you and your budget.
The ten features searched for include Meditation, hypnotherapy, breathing exercises, music and sounds, sleep stories, mood tracker, sleep tracker, tailored advice, smart alarm clock and sleep programmes.
The Best Sleeping Apps of 2023: Diving into our Data
- Despite its huge popularity and having the second-highest download figure out of all apps (50M+ on Android), Calm ranks the lowest at number 25
- Spotify was thrown into the mix at number 20, thanks to its hosting of five of the features, like meditation and breathing exercises
- The app that ranks at number one - Let’s Meditate - has just two features and costs just 99p
- While most apps are free with the option to subscribe for access to further features, the most expensive app to access is number 7, Relax Melodies P: Sleep Sounds, which costs $99.99
- No apps were found to have all 10 features, but the two with the most (8) are Breethe, number 22, and Sleep Cycle, number 23
- The app with the least number of downloads from the Google Play Store at 1K+ is Core MediTation, still ranking highly at number 6
- Number 5, Sleep Sounds, has the highest number of four and five-star written reviews, but ranks lower due to its average rating being 4.8, while the top four come in at 4.9
- Let’s Meditate has 95% of four and five-star reviews on Android, while Calm has 87%
- Hatch Sleep, number 15, has the highest amount of one and two-star reviews by a longshot, with almost 42% - but it still ranks well due to its star rating
- There are four apps with subscription options over £100 at the higher end: 2 - Balance: Meditation & Sleep (£139.99), 9 - Wysa: Therapy Chatbot (£144.99), 15 - Wysa: Sleep & Meditation (£199.99) and 19 - Harmony Self Hypnosis (£199.99).
25 of the Highest-Rated Apps That Help with Sleep
Don’t get lost and overwhelmed searching for the best sleep app, take a look at our quick round-up in the image below. We’ve listed all the best features, provided you with the costs and summarised the overall satisfaction score.
We’ve tried to reduce your research time to help you get a good night’s sleep, However, it’s good to experiment and download a few. After all, you know your mind and body best
How Sleeping Apps Can Improve Your Sleep
Finding tools or routines that work consistently to aid sleep can be difficult, especially when there are many factors that can affect how easily we fall asleep and stay asleep.
They include our lifestyles, jobs, daily routines, diet, room temperature, mental health, physical health or ailments and having the right mattress and pillows.
Currently, distraction, screen time and the ability to switch off from social media or work are key players when it comes to determining the quality of our sleep.
These apps are designed to provide people with the tools to relax before bed, fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and track their sleep for insight. Some features can also be used during the day and aren’t specific for bedtime but can still help to improve sleep later. Others, like hypnotherapy, may even improve people’s day-to-day lives too.
Although it’s an ancient concept, the mindfulness movement has grown significantly in the past five years alone, and many of the features focus on clearing the mind, regulating the body’s nervous system or providing a relaxing sound or voice to focus on.
But it’s important to ensure people have the right mattresses and pillows for them that are good quality, and that you are lying in the correct position and not causing aches and pains which can that keep you awake.
How Do Sleep Meditation Apps Work?
Sleep meditation apps work by combining deep-sleep frequency sounds, calming, guided narration and sleep-triggering visualisations in line with scientific research and sleep psychology. They are designed to ease the mind and body into a full state of relaxation, helping to improve sleep quality and mental health.
Sleeping Positions to Help Improve Sleep
Zero gravity is an increasingly popular feature for adjustable beds. Often referred to as a miracle sleeping position, zero gravity can help combat sleep problems like insomnia and alleviate discomfort for better sleep.
It’s achieved by laying flat on your back and raising your head and feet slightly above heart level, so the spine is neutrally aligned, relieving pressure on the body.
Originally developed by NASA to protect astronauts' bodies from significant forces during space travel, it is one of the standard features of an Opera adjustable bed.
The Top 25 Best Rated Sleeping Apps
1 - Let’s Meditate
Average Rating: 4.9
4&5* Reviews on Android: 95%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 2.3%
Features: Meditation, stories
Initial Cost: £0.99p
Subscription Options: None
1M+ Downloads on Google Play
2 - Balance: Meditation & Sleep
Average Rating: 4.9
4&5* Reviews on Android: 95%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 4%
Features: Meditation, breathing exercises, music & sounds
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: £5.49-£139.99
1M+ Downloads on Google Play
3 - Insight Timer
Average Rating: 4.9
4&5* Reviews on Android: 94.9%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 3.4%
Features: Meditation, breathing exercises, music & sounds, stories, sleep tracker, tailored advice
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: £1.99-£55.99
5M+ Downloads on Google Play
4 - Medito
Average Rating: 4.9
4&5* Reviews on Android: 94.9%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 4.4%
Features: Meditation, breathing exercises, music & sounds, stories
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: None
1M+ Downloads on Google Play
5 - Sleep Sounds
Average Rating: 4.8
4&5* Reviews on Android: 97.4%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 1.8%
Features: Meditation, music & sounds, mood tracker, sleep tracker, smart alarm clock, sleep programmes
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: $0.99-$14.99
5M+ Downloads on Google Play
6 - Core Meditation
Average Rating: 4.8
4&5* Reviews on Android: 97%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 1.5%
Features: Meditation, breathing exercises, music & sounds, tailored advice
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: $9.99-$69.99
1K+ Downloads on Google Play
7 - Relax Melodies P: Sleep Sounds
Average Rating: 4.8
Review Data: Not found, unavailable on Google Play
Features: Meditation, music & sounds, sleep programmes
Initial Cost: $99.99
Subscription Options: Lifetime access for initial cost
8 - Relax & Sleep Well Hypnosis
Average Rating: 4.8
4&5* Reviews on Android: 94.9%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 2.7%
Features: Meditation, hypnotherapy, music & sounds
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: £0.99p-£11.99
500K+ Downloads on Google Play
9 - Wysa: Therapy Chatbot
Average Rating: 4.8
4&5* Reviews on Android: 93.8%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 4.3%
Features: Meditation, breathing exercises, stories, sleep tracker, tailored advice
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: £4.49-£144.99
1M+ Downloads on Google Play
10 - Lojong: Meditation & Sleep
Average Rating: 4.8
4&5* Reviews on Android: 92.1%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 3%
Features: Meditation, music & sounds
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: £9.99-£55.99
1M+ Downloads on Google Play
11 - Hatch Sleep
Average Rating: 4.8
4&5* Reviews on Android: 48%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 41.5%
Features: Music & sounds, smart alarm clock
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: £4.99-£88.99
500k+ Downloads on Google Play
12 - Ten Percent Happier Meditation
Average Rating: 4.7
4&5* Reviews on Android: 93.7%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 4.4%
Features: Meditations, stories
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: £5.99-£97.99
500K+ Downloads on Google Play
13 - Headspace
Average Rating: 4.7
4&5* Reviews on Android: 87.4%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 10.2%
Features: Meditation, breathing exercises, music & sounds, stories, mood tracker, sleep programmes
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: $12.99-$94.99
10M+ Downloads on Google Play
14 - Moshi Kids
Average Rating: 4.7
Review Data: Not found
Features: Meditation, breathing exercises, music & sounds, stories, tailored advice
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: $7.99-$79.99
1M+ Downloads on Google Play
15 - Wysa: Sleep & Meditation
Average Rating: 4.6
4&5* Reviews on Android: 91.2%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 7.9%
Features: Meditation, breathing exercises, music & sounds, stories, mood tracker, sleep tracker, sleep programmes
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: £4.49-£199.99
100K+ Downloads on Google Play
16 - SnoreLab
Average Rating: 4.6
4&5* Reviews on Android: 88.3%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 9.2%
Features: Mood tracker, sleep tracker, tailored advice
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: £3.99-£23.99
5M+ Downloads on Google Play
17 - BetterSleep
Average Rating: 4.6
4&5* Reviews on Android: 86.9%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 9.6%
Features: Meditation, hypnotherapy, breathing exercises, music & sounds, stories, sleep tracker
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: $9.99-$79.99
10M+ Downloads on Google Play
18 - Tide: Sleep & Meditation
Average Rating: 4.6
4&5* Reviews on Android: 86.6%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 9.4%
Features: Meditation, breathing exercises, music & sounds, mood tracker, sleep tracker, smart alarm clock
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: £1.49-£53.99
1M+ Downloads on Google Play
19 - Harmony Self Hypnosis
Average Rating: 4.6
4&5* Reviews on Android: 82.1%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 9.9%
Features: Meditation, hypnotherapy, music & sounds
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: £7.99-£199.99
100K+ Downloads on Google Play
20 - Spotify
Average Rating: 4.6
4&5* Reviews on Android: 84.1%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 11.9%
Features: Meditation, hypnotherapy, breathing exercises, music & sounds, stories
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: £5.99-£17.99
1B+ Downloads on Google Play
21 - Slumber: Fall Asleep, Insomnia
Average Rating: 4.5
4&5* Reviews on Android: 93.3%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 4.8%
Features: Meditation, breathing exercises, music & sounds, stories
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: £6.99-£51.99
100K+ Downloads on Google Play
22 - Breethe: Sleep & Meditation
Average Rating: 4.5
4&5* Reviews on Android: 88.7%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 8.8%
Features: Meditation, hypnotherapy, breathing exercises, music & sounds, stories, tailored advice, smart alarm clock, sleep programmes
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: £3.99-£87.99
1M+ Downloads on Google Play
23 - Sleep Cycle
Average Rating: 4.5
4&5* Reviews on Android: 86.3%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 9.2%
Features: Meditation, breathing exercises, music & sounds, stories, sleep tracker, tailored advice, smart alarm clock, sleep programmes
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: $2.99-$39.99
10M+ Downloads on Google Play
24 - Loóna
Average Rating: 4.5
4&5* Reviews on Android: 82.7%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 12.4%
Features: Meditation, breathing exercises, music & sounds, stories, smart alarm clock
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: £9.99-£59.99
1M+ Downloads on Google Play
25 - Calm
Average Rating: 4.4
4&5* Reviews on Android: 86.7%
1&2* Reviews on Android: 9.3%
Features: Meditation, breathing exercises, music & sounds, stories, mood tracker, sleep tracker, sleep programmes
Initial Cost: Free
Subscription Options: $14.99-$79.99
50M+ Downloads on Google Play
Methodology and Sources
1. More than 50 Android and iOS apps were analysed in total. Apps were selected for analysis if they were found to rank for ‘sleep’ or the term was mentioned in the apps’ descriptions on the Android (Google Play) or iOS (Apple) stores. Relevant category sections such as ‘health’ were also scoured, and apps were also chosen if they were mentioned in a selection of news articles about the best sleep apps. All apps can be found online by searching through Google
2. To determine the apps’ ‘average ratings’ (stars out of five), their individual star ratings were taken from both the Android and iOS stores, and then combined
3. The apps’ percentages of both one and two-star, and four and five-star written reviews, are from the Android store. The tool AppBrain was used to scrape this data
4. Apps were then ranked from 1-25 based on their average rating. Where ratings were the same, i.e four apps came in at 4.9, the four and five-star review data was used - those with the higher percentages ranked higher
5. Features, cost and subscription options were determined using AppBrain, plus the features and description sections of each apps’ iOS and Android sites. Some apps' features differ across both their Android and iOS apps so descriptions have been stuck to
6. Notes: The individual Android star rating for 6 - Core Meditation could not be found, so performance rating was used, and then combined with the iOS star rating to create the average. The Android rating for 7 - Relax Melodies P: Sleep Sounds could not be found, so only the iOS rating was used. The review data for 14 - Moshi Kids could not be found
7. Apps were analysed in August and September 2023, with data correct as of 01/09/23
8. Search data for ‘sleep well’ was taken from Google Trends (Glimpse) on 9/11/23
