SleepTrace vs Sleep Cycle
Two apps that track sleep from the nightstand, with one decisive difference in what the free tier gives you.
Sleep Cycle is the more established product: a large user base, a big sleep aid library, Android support, and a feature that can tell two snorers apart. But its snore and sound detection are Premium-only, at $9.99 per month or $29.99 per year. SleepTrace includes snoring detection with playable clips and sleep stages on the free tier, and analyses everything on the device. If you want breadth and polish, Sleep Cycle. If you want to hear your snoring without paying, SleepTrace.
Side by side
What you get, and what it costs
| Sleep Cycle | SleepTrace | |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep stages (light / deep / REM) | Yes | Yes — classified every 30 seconds from audio |
| Smart alarm in a wake-up window | Yes, on the free tier | Yes, on the free tier |
| Snoring detection and clips | Premium only — sound and snore detection sit behind the subscription | Included on the free tier, with a decibel reading per clip |
| Telling two snorers apart | Yes — the ‘Who’s Snoring?’ feature uses machine learning to separate people | No — it records the room and cannot reliably separate two sleepers |
| Other night sounds (coughing, talking) | Premium | Included on the free tier |
| Sleep aid library and sleep programs | Yes, Premium | Sleep sounds with an auto-off timer |
| Cloud backup of your nights | Premium (online backup) | Premium; analysis itself stays on the device |
| Where the analysis runs | Not stated as on-device | On the iPhone — works in airplane mode |
| Price | $9.99/month or $29.99/year for Premium | Free tier, Premium €6.99/month |
| Platforms | iOS and Android | iPhone only for now |
| Track record | Long-established, very large user base | Launched July 2026 |
Where these details come from. Sleep Cycle’s free-versus-Premium split and pricing are taken from Sleep Cycle’s own support documentation and its App Store listing, checked on 22 August 2026. Prices vary by region and both apps change often, so verify anything decision-critical at the source. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
Credit where it is due
Where Sleep Cycle is the better pick
If you share a bed with another snorer. Sleep Cycle’s ‘Who’s Snoring?’ feature separates people using machine learning. SleepTrace records the room and cannot reliably tell you who made a sound. That is a real gap on our side, and if it is your main question, Sleep Cycle answers it and we do not.
If you are on Android. Sleep Cycle runs on both platforms; SleepTrace is iPhone-only for now.
If you want a large library of sleep aids and programs. Sleep Cycle has spent years building that catalogue. We have calming sounds with a timer, not a programme library.
If a long track record matters to you. Sleep Cycle has been refined over many years with an enormous user base behind it. SleepTrace launched in July 2026. That is a fair reason to prefer them, and pretending otherwise would be silly.
The decisive difference
Snoring costs extra there. Here it does not.
Most people who install a sleep app after being told they snore want one thing first: to hear it. On Sleep Cycle that specific capability — snore detection, sound detection, the recordings — sits behind Premium.
On SleepTrace it is in the free tier: every night, with each episode labelled, measured in decibels, and playable in the morning. So is sleep-stage tracking, so is the smart alarm. You do not have to pay to answer the question you downloaded the app for.
The trade-off is honest: Sleep Cycle gives you more overall, on more platforms, with more history behind it. We give you the snoring part without a paywall, and we keep the audio on your phone.
Common questions
SleepTrace vs Sleep Cycle, answered
No. Sleep Cycle's free tier covers the smart alarm, sleep analysis and the nightly sleep graph, but snore detection and sound detection are Premium features, priced at $9.99 per month or $29.99 per year. SleepTrace includes snoring detection with playable clips on its free tier. If hearing your own snoring is the reason you are downloading an app, that is the difference that matters most.
Sleep Cycle is a mature, polished product with a very large user base, an extensive sleep aid library, Android support and a feature that can tell two snorers apart. SleepTrace is newer and narrower: it puts snoring detection and sleep stages in the free tier and analyses everything on the device. Choose Sleep Cycle for breadth and a long track record; choose SleepTrace if you want to hear your snoring without paying and prefer your audio never leaving the phone.
Yes — its 'Who's Snoring?' feature uses machine learning to distinguish between people sharing a bed. SleepTrace cannot do this: it records the room, and while placing the phone on your side biases the recording towards you, it does not identify who is snoring. If you share a bed and that distinction matters, Sleep Cycle has the better answer.
Neither. Both work with the phone on the nightstand. Both can optionally pair with a smartwatch for heart rate and related metrics, but it is not required for sleep tracking in either app.
SleepTrace analyses the night on the device and works in airplane mode, and its recordings are not sold or shared. Sleep Cycle offers online backup as a Premium feature. If you want your sleep audio to stay on your phone by default, that is a structural difference rather than a policy one.
Sleep Cycle is a trademark of its respective owner and is not affiliated with SleepTrace. SleepTrace is a wellness app and does not diagnose any condition.