BetterSleep, once called Relax Melodies, is a large sleep library. It has a sound mixer, bedtime stories, meditations and a sleep tracker. Liminal is an instrument you can tune, built around binaural beats and isochronic tones. Both aim to help you wind down. Here's how they compare, including where BetterSleep is the better choice.
At a glance
| Liminal | BetterSleep | |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | A tunable instrument: binaural beats, isochronic tones and Solfeggio frequencies over layered soundscapes | A sleep library: sound mixer, stories, meditations, music and a sleep tracker |
| What you control | Carrier and beat frequency, named brainwave bands, layers, 5-band EQ (Pro), multi-phase session designer (Pro) | Which sounds play and how loud each one is |
| Binaural beats | At the core: set any carrier from 40 to 1200 Hz and any beat up to 40 Hz, plus isochronic tones that work without headphones | Six fixed presets from 2.5 Hz to 20 Hz, one at a time, plus isochronic and Solfeggio tones |
| Stories and meditations | Guided sessions and a seven-day program | 100+ sleep stories and 250+ meditations |
| Sleep tracking | No | Yes, a tracker and a recorder for snoring and sleep talk |
| Free option | Free forever, no credit card | Free trial, then a subscription |
| Paid price | $5.99 a month or $39.99 a year | $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year, with a lifetime plan offered at times |
| Platforms | Web app | iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Apple Watch and web |
How each one works
BetterSleep gives you a big shelf of ready-made sound. You tap rain, a fan or a piano into a mix and set each volume, or play a bedtime story or a meditation. Its Brainwaves tab has six binaural beat presets, from Dreamless Sleep at 2.5 Hz to Focus at 20 Hz. At night the tracker can record snoring and sleep talk.
Liminal works with the classic tools of brainwave entrainment. Send a slightly different tone to each ear and your brain perceives a beat at the difference: 200 Hz and 210 Hz becomes a 10 Hz Alpha rhythm. You can set that carrier and beat by ear, jump to a named band from Delta to Gamma, add isochronic pulses or Solfeggio tones, and layer rain, forest or drones underneath. Our guide to binaural beats and isochronic tones explains the difference between the two.
Where BetterSleep is the better choice
- You want bedtime stories. BetterSleep has over a hundred. Liminal has none.
- You want to track your sleep. BetterSleep records snoring and sleep talk and shows sleep insights. Liminal doesn't track sleep.
- You want a big library. Hundreds of sounds, songs and meditations are ready to play.
- You want it on every device. BetterSleep has native apps for phones, tablets, Mac and Apple Watch, plus a web version.
- You want offline listening. BetterSleep's sounds play offline, and you can download stories and meditations.
- You want a long track record. It has a 4.7 rating from about 391,000 reviews on the US App Store.
Where Liminal is the better choice
- You want to set the exact frequency. Pick any carrier and beat instead of choosing from six presets, and change it mid-session.
- You want a free tier that stays free. BetterSleep's help center says it is no longer a free app. Liminal's free tier doesn't expire and needs no credit card.
- You practise meditation or lucid dreaming. Liminal has sessions and a seven-day program for these.
- You want to pay less. Liminal Pro costs less than BetterSleep on both the monthly and the yearly plan.
- You want honesty about the science. We tell you the evidence for binaural beats is mixed, and we don't promise health effects for any frequency.
Pricing
Liminal is free forever for preset sessions across every band, simple tone control with one soundscape, and the journal. Pro, at $5.99 a month or $39.99 a year, unlocks the full instrument. BetterSleep moved from a free app to a subscription in 2025, and new users get a free trial. Its own blog listed $9.99 a month, $59.99 a year and a lifetime plan offered at times for $249.99 when we checked on November 2, 2026. Prices vary by region and platform, so see bettersleep.com for current plans.
The short version
Pick BetterSleep if you want a big ready-made library with bedtime stories and sleep tracking, on every device you own. Pick Liminal if you want to tune binaural beats, isochronic tones and Solfeggio yourself, or practise meditation and lucid dreaming, with a free tier that doesn't run out.
FAQ
Does BetterSleep have binaural beats?
Yes. BetterSleep has six preset binaural beats, from 2.5 Hz to 20 Hz, and plays one at a time through headphones. Liminal lets you set any carrier and beat frequency yourself.
Is BetterSleep still free?
BetterSleep's help center says it moved to a subscription in 2025. New users get a free trial, and only a small selection of content stays free after it. Liminal's free tier has no time limit.
Does Liminal track sleep?
No. Liminal makes sound and doesn't track sleep. If tracking is what you want, BetterSleep or a dedicated sleep tracker is a better fit.
BetterSleep is a trademark of its owner. Liminal is not affiliated with BetterSleep or Ipnos. Details about BetterSleep come from its public website, help center and app store listings on November 2, 2026 and may have changed; check bettersleep.com for current plans.