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

The Sprucely Travel Sound Machine is a parent favorite for its simplicity and thoughtful design. It’s incredibly easy to use, with a smooth volume wheel (no fumbling with push buttons) and quiet controls that won’t disturb a sleeping baby. One Babylist parent raved, “The biggest feature for me other than the light was the EASE of changing the volume. I've used a few machines that were so difficult to adjust the volume on!”

The built-in night light adds extra functionality for late-night feeds or travel, and the long-lasting battery powers through 12+ hours without a recharge. “The battery is amazing, it truly lasts a whole lot before it needs to be recharged. We forgot to plug it in the first night we were in Texas and it lasted the whole night, 12 solid hours and still going in the morning," one Babylist parent shared in their review. I have personally taken this on weekend getaways and work trips and am impressed by how long a charge holds. And when you do need to charge it, it features a USB-C charging port, which means you don’t need to carry around a special charger.

As one parent put it, “This sound machine is fresh, modern, and definitely useful for fussy days.” Another added, “The biggest feature for me other than the light was the EASE of changing the volume—no fumbling around with this one!”

There are few things parents don’t love about this portable sound machine option, aside from the night light color. “My only complaint about this sound machine is that the night light is only offered in 1 color, white. With our full-size sound machine that we use at home, we use a red light, so the white light was an adjustment at first,” one parent said. While some parents miss the option of a red night light—believed to be more sleep-friendly—the bright white setting still provides just enough glow for middle-of-the-night diaper changes, nursing sessions or travel, without being overly disruptive.

Babylist parents raved about the Hatch Go in our Most-Loved Products survey, with many saying it was one of the most useful items they added to their Babylist registry. And the only reason it didn’t make it in the best overall slot is because I found the buttons on Sprucely’s Travel Sound Machine much more intuitive. 

This little portable sound machine features a simple, modern design and plays similar sounds to the popular Hatch sound machine that many parents already own. It doesn’t hurt that it just looks cute, too—coming in a bunch of different colors. 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 Hatch Go features 10 sound options that have the same vibe as the Hatch Baby (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 pack of two 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’s 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 10 options. “Great variety of sounds but on/ off button is funky—you have to press and hold the center button first, but you can’t tell if it’s on until you press the volume increase button,” one Babylist parent said in their review. 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, as long as 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. “It was used non stop during the newborn days and saved us so much breath,” one Babylist parent shared in our annual survey.

“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. “Thought it was a waste of money (Even though I didn't buy it) but it's been a life/sleep saver.” one Babylist parent said in our survey.

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.” 

This sound machine is well-made, has convenient features and best of all it’s under $20. First and foremost, the Dreamegg is known for its long battery life—a feature most parents mention in their reviews. While battery life can vary depending on volume, some parents even said they didn’t need to charge it for a few days (even after using it all night). 

One Babylist parent who responded to our most loved 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 Sprucely and Rohm+ below, 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 dealbreaker. You’ll also want to be mindful of the volume you set it at; this one can get pretty loud (more on that below!). 

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 eight 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. I also appreciate that 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 used to make it and 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 Sprucely Travel Sound Machine (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 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.