The Best Portable Sound Machines for a Travel-Ready, Well-Rested Baby

The Hushh 2 has several convenient features you’d want while using a sound machine out and about or traveling. It’s easy to use, has a long-lasting battery, and has a variety of settings and lights (which I’m especially excited about; more on that in a bit).

There are seven soothing sounds to choose from, including Yogasleep’s popular Dohm signature sound as well as white noise, rainforest, gentle surf and two truly zen-inducing music options (think calming spa music). As you cycle the sounds, you’ll know you’ve gone through all of the options when you hear a soft ding sound. Most sound machines don’t have this feature, and it’s something most parents appreciate so they’re not blindly scrolling through the options. Small speakers can sort of grate on your ears if they’re not well made, but this one is great quality—one Babylist parent even called the sound “lovely”.

But what really sets this portable sound machine apart is that it not only has a night light but also backlit buttons—meaning you can see what you’re doing in the dark! The night light has three settings and is super convenient when you’re up at night feeding or changing diapers.

It also has a long battery life, lasting up to 34 hours of use on a single charge. (You could probably go a whole weekend trip without needing to plug it in.) It uses a USB-C charger (one less thing to pack if that’s what you use for your phone) and you can tell where the battery level is while charging because it’ll blink fast when drained, slowly when it’s almost full and turn off once it’s ready. One Babylist parent shared, “The battery lasts through several naps.” You can let it play continuously or choose from three timer settings: 30 minutes, one hour, or two hours. And there’s also a toddler lock (because they love to play with these almost as much as they do the TV remote).

Parents have very few complaints about this portable sound machine. The biggest issue is that the clip isn’t as durable as other options. “The design of the clip can be better. It broke once for us, but the customer care team was nice enough to replace it for us,” a Babylist parent said. (Some people say they get a different strap to use with it.) It also doesn’t have a battery indicator light, making it hard to tell when it’s running low.

We had a hard time choosing between this and the Hushh 2 for the best overall pick; this sound machine is well-made, has convenient features and is affordable.

First and foremost, the Dreamegg D11 is known for its long battery life—a feature most parents mention in their reviews; some parents even said they didn’t need to charge it for a few days (even after using it all night). It's worth noting that the battery life can vary depending on volume—the louder you play it, the faster the battery tends to drain.

One Babylist parent who responded to our Best Baby Products survey said it was their favorite baby product “because it has different sound options, lights up, [is] easy to take around, and has different volumes. I still use it for my toddler and it is a nice background noise [that] soothes her to sleep. We used the white noise when she was months old but now we use the lullaby song.”

With 21 sounds to choose from (including white noise, nature and instrumental lullabies) your baby is bound to find something they prefer—because they’re the judge, ultimately. It also features three timer settings—30, 60, or 90 minutes—that come in handy for shorter stretches of sleep, plus a memory setting so you don’t have to find your baby’s favorite each time you turn it on. It’ll remember where you left off. Like the Hushh 2, it’s one of the few portable sound machines that plays a little tune when you’ve cycled through each sound. It features a lock switch on the back that prevents any accidental setting changes while baby’s sleeping.

One thing to be careful of is the timer button; one parent mentioned they thought their Dreamegg kept dying and then later figured out they’d accidentally set the timer on it. A few parents also said that after about a year of consistent overnight use, the sound machine stopped holding a charge, and parents would need to have it plugged in to use for longer stretches of sleep. Because of this, it’s better for light use (during naps or occasionally overnight) as opposed to being your regular white noise machine. It’s also a bit bulky in my opinion (think: the size of a big juicy apple), and it takes up quite a bit of space in your diaper bag, but it’s not too big to be a deal breaker. You’ll also want to be mindful of the volume you set it at; this one can get pretty loud (more on that below!).

Babylist parents raved about the Hatch Go in our Best Baby Products survey, many saying it was one of the most useful items they added to their Babylist registry. The Go is easy to use, plays similar sounds to the popular Hatch sound machine that many parents already own, and it just looks cute. One Babylist parent wrote, “It works amazingly in putting my baby to sleep. And it’s portable so we can use it wherever the baby is!”

The Rest Go features 10 sound options that have the same vibe as the Hatch Rest (also a top sound machine pick among our editors and Babylist parents). The snoozy sounds include white noise, rain, wind, fan, heartbeat, ocean, water, dryer, a lullaby and a “hush” option. And though it’s small, it’s mighty—the volume gets pretty loud, so you’ll want to be sure you set it appropriately depending on how close it is to your baby. “We like the impressive volume this mini sound machine can create, it’s loud,” one Babylist parent shared. With 12 different volume levels, it definitely has quite the range.

The simple design features just three buttons—the middle circle turns it on and off and cycles through the sounds, plus two volume buttons. It’s much smaller than the other picks on this list, too. This means it isn’t cumbersome to attach to your baby’s stroller, carrier or car seat (just be sure to remove it when you’re in the car since it’s not safe to have anything attached to their seat when driving!). It’s also durable—it’s drool, dust, and drop-resistant. The Rest Go comes in five aesthetically pleasing colors for those who are into that kind of thing (like me). You can even register for a bundle with the Hatch Rest so you have an extra on hand.

I bought this right after it launched, so I’ve had it for a while and have used it a lot. Although it’s well-loved among parents, I think there are a few things that would make it better; namely, it lacks a few convenient features that we think make life easier.

There is only one button to turn it on and off and also scroll through the sound options. To turn it on and off, you press and hold the circle button. Once on, you use that same button to cycle through the sounds and it takes a while to go through the ten options. As you scroll through, the sounds sort of fade in, taking a second to start playing (one user said it takes 2-3 seconds, which I confirmed). There also is no indication that you’ve cycled through all of your options. This can be inconvenient when you’re trying to find your preferred sound while soothing a fussy baby.

It also has no battery indicator light, making it hard to tell how full the battery is while charging or when it’s even due for a charge. The battery life is only 15 hours, which is why we think this is a good pick for parents looking for something to take on quick outings, although it works while charging, so it could also work for weekend trips or vacations if you don’t forget the charger (Hatch says it should take about two hours to charge fully from empty). And as with any of the portable sound machines on this list, the battery life can vary depending on settings—the louder you play it the faster it’ll drain.

This magical sound machine is more of a “shusher” (hence the name). And you might be thinking, “Can’t I just do that myself?” Yes, you can—but speaking from experience, it gets really tiring, really fast. “Honestly, I thought this was stupid when I was planning my registry. After my baby arrived and I’d invested hours of my life making the shh sound within the first week, I revisited this little invention,” one Babylist parent said. I too thought the same thing…until I had baby number two (who preferred the shushing coming from my mouth over the white noise machine). It’s the definition of a weirdly useful baby product.

It has minimal yet simple settings—you just twist the top to set it to one of the three shushing intervals and the bottom twists to adjust the volume. (Check out this video for a helpful demo) Though it takes batteries, we used ours for almost a year before needing to replace them. The biggest thing most parents agreed on was wishing they had added it to their registry.

You certainly don’t need two portable sound machines, but I found this helped my baby in a different way than other sound machines did. It worked wonders for settling her during fussy car rides or when she was having a hard time snoozing in the baby carrier. It’s a good tool to add to your collection, which is why it’s on this list. It also has a built-in timer that shuts the machine off after 30 minutes (a good thing to note if you plan on using it for longer naps).

Some parents mention they wish the shape were different. “[it’s] kind of inconvenient, it rolls around unless you set it upright, but then the speaker is covered,” a Babylist parent shared. Based on the shape, you’ll probably want to set it upright—but then the speaker would be blocked. And lying on its side, it has a tendency to roll around. Another gripe is the price: "It's kind of expensive for what it is, but if your baby likes the shushing noise, it's worth it.”

The Driftaway features a sleek and super lightweight design that makes it easy to pack without taking up much space in your weekender or luggage. But what really sets this option apart from the rest on our list is the built-in volume limit. ErgoPouch designed this sound machine to have a max volume setting of 65 decibels as a safety feature (there are recommended volume settings and usage for sound machines; more on that below).

The battery lasts a whopping 34 hours between charges. My family used the Driftaway while out of town, and it lasted for two nights without needing to be charged.

It has six different sounds to choose from: white noise, heartbeat, shushing, fan, rain, ocean, and nature. Like the Hushh 2, it has a night light, making it “so handy in the middle of the night,” according to one Babylist parent.

There are only four buttons on this sound machine, and they are quite loud when pressed, making a clicking sound that could disrupt light sleepers. The on/off button is also a bit tricky to figure out because it controls the sound machine power and also the night light. You have to press and hold a few seconds to start the white noise. Once it’s on, you have to use the same button to turn on the night light and cycle through the three brightness options.

“My husband also gets confused with turning the sound on each time we use it and starts by turning the light on multiple times. Would be better if the light and sound were different buttons,” one Babylist parent shared. To turn it off, you long-press it until the sound shuts off. When the white noise is not on, you just use a regular clock with the on/off button to turn the light on/off. (Check out ergoPouch’s helpful demo video.

While there is a volume limit, some parents felt it was too low. “[We] really wish it got louder. Its max volume is not loud enough in my opinion,” another Babylist parent shared. This is a safety feature that keeps the white noise within healthy decibel limits (see below) and I didn’t personally feel like it was too quiet.

If you’re looking for a portable sound machine with a long battery life that you can use, too, this is the one. Yogasleep knows their sound machines; they took the original Rohm and upgraded it with a bunch of innovative features. The Rohm+ is not just a portable sound machine; it’s also a wireless Bluetooth speaker, which is a nice feature if you want to stream lullabies, sleep stories, or soothing meditations for kids. “How cool to combine a sleep/sound machine and a wireless speaker,” one Babylist parent said. I personally use this to play calming bedtime stories for my toddlers using the Goldminds App.

Another notable feature is the timer. You can set it to 45 minutes, 90 minutes, or 8 hours. The longer settings mean it won't cut off, potentially causing your baby or toddler to wake up before they’re ready. There are also separate buttons for every feature, which makes it super easy to navigate.

There are 20 different sounds included on this little machine. And each sound genre—white noise, nature and music—has its own button. So if your baby prefers one type over another, you don’t have to cycle through everything to find their fave. The music options give wellness spa vibes, and there’s even a cozy fireplace crackle sound in the nature genre. And like the Hushh 2 and Dreamegg, you’ll know when you’ve cycled through every option when you hear the soft ding.

The Rohm+ also feels high quality—it’s a little heavy from the materials (like metal and thick plastic) used to make it and it's designed to be durable—it’s dust and water-resistant. At 20 hours of battery life when fully charged, it doesn’t last as long as the Hushh 2 or ergoPouch, if you’re thinking of using it for a weekend away without charging. But it does have wireless charging capabilities (sold separately) to keep it charged up while you sleep.

Because it’s also a wireless speaker, the volume can get pretty loud. So you’ll want to pay close attention to how loud you set it for baby’s safety (more on that below). It’s also one of the more expensive options on the list, but we think its features and versatility make up for it. Many parents find themselves using it more for themselves than their baby and using it as a speaker when they no longer need white noise. One thing to note is that some say the battery drains faster than expected, and that the battery life depends on how much (and how loudly) you use it.