Best Apps for Sleep Tracking in 2026: 9 Apps Compared

Sleep Cycle is the easiest place to start because it asks for nothing you do not already own. Put your phone on the nightstand or bedside table, and it uses sound and movement to estimate when you fall asleep, how long you sleep, and when to wake you within a window you choose. The free plan covers basic tracking and the smart alarm, which is more than many rivals give away.

Premium adds longer history, snore recording, and a sleep aid library, at $39.99 a year. That is a fair price for an app many people open every morning, but check the free version first. One honest caveat: phone tracking estimates sleep stages from movement and sound, so treat the stage breakdown as a pattern guide rather than a precise measurement.

Pillow is built around the Apple ecosystem, and it shows. With an Apple Watch it tracks automatically while you sleep, and with an iPhone alone it can still track from the bedside. Its analysis covers sleep stages, heart rate, and recorded sounds such as snoring, and it compares sleep quality with other Apple Health measures such as steps and caffeine. Analysis happens on your device, and Pillow states that it does not collect or sell your data.

The free version gives you a useful taste, but detailed statistics, unlimited history, and full recordings sit behind Premium at $49.99 a year. Android users should look elsewhere, since Pillow is Apple-only.

SleepScore takes a different technical path from most trackers. Instead of a sensor on your wrist or a phone under your pillow, it uses sonar from your phone speaker and microphone to sense breathing and movement from the nightstand. The result is a single nightly score from 0 to 100, plus a breakdown of light, deep, and REM sleep and advice on improving each stage.

The trade-off is placement. The phone needs a clear spot near chest height, and thick bedding or clutter on the nightstand can interfere. Premium costs $59.99 a year and adds full history, a printable report you can share with a clinician, and deeper coaching. For people who dislike wearables, it is the most capable contact-free option here.

Rise works best as a second layer on top of a tracker you already use. It pulls sleep data from Apple Health, Fitbit, Oura, Garmin, and Sleep Cycle, then works out two numbers: how much sleep you personally need, and how much sleep debt you have built up over the past two weeks. From there it predicts your daily energy dips and peaks and suggests a bedtime window.

That focus is useful if your problem is timing rather than measurement. The catch is the price and the setup: at $69.99 a year it is the priciest app here, and on its own it records nothing, so you still need another app or wearable feeding it data. A 7-day trial lets you see whether its numbers change your habits before you pay.

Sleep as Android is the power user's choice, and the only Android-first app on this list. It tracks with your phone sensors, sonar, or a wide range of wearables, and it adds features most rivals skip: a smart alarm with tasks you must complete to stop it, anti-snoring nudges, lullabies, sleep deficit stats, and integrations with lights and health services. Full access comes through a one-time license rather than a yearly subscription, which is rare in this category.

The downside is the experience. The settings run deep, and the interface can feel crowded next to Sleep Cycle or Pillow. If you want something you can set up in two minutes, pick a simpler app.

BetterSleep, formerly Relax Melodies, starts from the other end of the night. Its core is a library of mixable sounds, sleep stories, and meditations, and you can layer rain, wind, and music into a personal soundscape that plays until you drift off. A sleep tracker and sound recorder are included, so you can still review your nights, but they are not the main event.

The paid plan opens the whole library, and its price varies by plan and region, so check the app listing before subscribing. BetterSleep is the right pick if racing thoughts at bedtime are your main issue and tracking is a bonus rather than the goal.

AutoSleep is the outlier on price: a single $9.99 purchase with no subscription and no extra in-app purchases. Wear your Apple Watch to bed and it tracks automatically, with no buttons to press. It reports time asleep, a sleep rating, sleep rings, heart rate, blood oxygen where the watch supports it, and readings from the Apple Sleep app, and it keeps all data on your devices with no analytics tracking or data upload.

The limits are clear. It is Apple-only, it needs a watch for the best results, and there is no free tier, so $9.99 is the cost of finding out whether you like it.

SleepWatch turns your Apple Watch into a dedicated sleep tracker with an emphasis on trends over time. Wear the watch to bed, or use your iPhone, and it reports total sleep time, sleep rhythm, resting heart rate dip, heart rate variability, and disruption, then shows how those measures move across weeks and months. Activity tagging lets you note habits such as late caffeine or exercise and see whether they line up with better or worse nights.

The free version covers basic tracking, while deeper analysis sits behind a paid plan whose price is not clearly published on the website, so check the app listing. Android users and people without a watch will get more from a phone-first app such as Sleep Cycle.

ShutEye bundles the two jobs most sleep apps split apart: it tracks your sleep and records night sounds, and it also offers a library of relaxing sounds and bedtime stories to help you fall asleep. A smart alarm wakes you in a lighter phase of sleep, and the app presents a daily report with duration, quality, and recorded sounds. That combination makes it a good single-app choice if you do not want one app for sounds and another for tracking.

Price varies by plan and region, so confirm it in the app store before subscribing. For a straightforward all-in-one that covers both falling asleep and reviewing the night, ShutEye is a solid and simple pick.