Noise Player
Play white, pink or brown noise — and see why pink is usually what you actually want.
Volume warning
This test plays tones that can be loud and may damage hearing or speakers. Turn your volume down before starting, then raise it gradually.
How this test works
Four seconds of noise is generated into a buffer and looped, with a fresh buffer built each time you start so no loop pattern becomes recognisable. The three types differ in how power is distributed across frequency, and the distinction is the point of the tool. White noise has equal energy at every hertz — but because each octave spans twice the hertz of the one below it, more than half the total power ends up in the top two octaves, which is why it reads as bright, harsh hiss. Pink falls three decibels per octave, giving equal energy per octave, which matches how hearing is organised and is much closer to rain or distant surf. Brown falls six decibels per octave and is dominated by the low end. Pink is the default here despite white being the term people search for, because pink is almost always what they actually want.
What the results mean
- White
- Flat across frequency. Harsh and hissy, because over half the energy sits in the top two octaves.
- Pink
- Minus three decibels per octave. Equal energy per octave, balanced to the ear, and the usual right answer for sleep or concentration.
- Brown
- Minus six decibels per octave. Deep and rumbling, best for masking traffic and other low-frequency intrusion.
- Spectral slope
- How fast power falls as frequency rises. This single number is the whole difference between the three.
Common problems and fixes
- White noise gives me a headache
- That is the expected reaction and the reason pink exists. White concentrates most of its energy in the highest octaves. Switch to pink or brown.
- It is not masking my neighbours
- Match the noise to what you are masking. Speech sits in the midrange, so pink works; footsteps and traffic are low, so brown does better.
- Does this use data if I leave it on all night?
- No. The noise is generated in the browser rather than streamed, so it uses no bandwidth at all once the page has loaded.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between white and pink noise?
How the energy is spread. White has equal power at every frequency, which puts most of it in the top octaves and sounds like hiss. Pink has equal power in every octave, which sounds balanced and natural. Most people searching for white noise want pink.
Which noise is best for sleep?
Usually pink, because it is the least fatiguing over hours. Brown is better if the intrusion is low-frequency. White is rarely the right choice despite being the name everyone knows.
Is it safe to run noise all night?
Keep it quiet. Masking only requires the noise to be about as loud as what it masks, and that is a genuine exposure across eight hours. Loud enough to be soothing rather than loud enough to erase everything.