BetterSleep

What BetterSleep does

BetterSleep (operated by Montreal-based Ipnos Software Inc.) is a privately held consumer wellness company founded in 2006 by Philippe Lapierre and Simon Alex Bérubé, originating as a personal solution for tinnitus-induced insomnia and evolved into one of the larger sleep and relaxation apps in the consumer health app ecosystem. The flagship product is a mobile and web application that delivers audio-based sleep and relaxation content organized across four integrated content pillars: customizable soundscapes (colored noises, nature audio, Solfeggio frequencies, binaural beats, hypnotic words, sleep affirmations), guided sleep meditations and hypnosis (7 minutes to 8+ hours), narrated SleepTales bedtime stories, and curated music playlists (Deep Sleep, Deep Focus, Healing Music, Spa Music, Soft Piano, Celtic Music, Baby Bedtime). The app integrates with Apple HealthKit and Google Fit for sleep data import, and is hosted on Google Cloud; marketing attribution runs on AppsFlyer with analytics across Iterable, Mixpanel, Facebook SDK, and Google Analytics. The platform claims 65M+ users, over 2 billion relaxation sessions facilitated, a 4.8-star App Store rating across 600,000+ reviews, plus Apple's "Editor's Choice" and "App of the Day" recognitions.

The revenue model is a freemium consumer subscription: a free tier with limited content (e.g., 3 free sounds) and a Premium monthly or annual subscription unlocking the full 540+ piece library (300+ soundscapes, SleepTales, meditations, music), supported by a free trial, a student discount program, and digital gift cards. Go-to-market is product-led and primarily consumer self-serve through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store globally (across English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and Russian), supplemented by a B2B Employee Sleep Program ("For Work") targeting corporate wellness buyers and an affiliate program managed via Impact. Supporting assets include the BetterSleep Podcast, a sleep-science blog, and educational content surface around chronotypes and sleep hygiene. The company is privately held, founder-controlled (no disclosed institutional funding, no parent company, no M&A activity), and operates with a headcount band of 11-50 employees.

Name

BetterSleep

Legal name

Ipnos Software Inc.

Website

https://bettersleep.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BetterSleep, operated by Montreal-based Ipnos Software Inc., is a consumer wellness company offering a freemium mobile and web app with customizable sleep soundscapes, guided meditations, narrated SleepTales, and curated music playlists for individual consumers worldwide, plus a B2B Employee Sleep Program for corporate wellness.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sleep and Meditation Mobile App

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Meditation Apps, Digital Courses & Online Communities (HSADAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Guided Meditation Instruction (1:1 & Group) (HSADAJAA), Mindfulness, Meditation & Stress Management Education (EDAAAHAD)

Keywords

• Sleep meditation app
• Wellness mobile app
• Guided meditation content
• Sleep sounds library
• Ambient audio wellness

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Premium Subscription: The primary revenue stream is a Premium subscription that unlocks the full content library (soundscapes, SleepTales, music playlists, meditations). The app is free to download and use with limited free content, with a free trial offered. Premium is available as monthly or annual subscription.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

BetterSleep is a cross-platform mobile and web sleep and meditation application that gives individual users access to a library of customizable ambient soundscapes, guided sleep meditations, narrated bedtime stories (SleepTales), and curated relaxation music. The app is offered on a freemium basis: free to download with limited content, with a monthly or annual Premium subscription unlocking the full content library of 300+ sounds, expert-designed meditations, SleepTales, and music playlists, plus a parallel B2B employee sleep program for corporate wellness buyers.

Product overview

BetterSleep is a unified consumer wellness platform built around its flagship mobile and web application, designed to help users improve sleep quality and overall well-being through audio-based relaxation content. The core product ecosystem consists of three integrated content pillars: (1) Sleep Sounds — over 25 customizable ambient soundscapes mixing nature audio, colored noise variants, and specialty sounds; (2) Sleep Meditations — guided hypnosis, breathing exercises, and mindfulness sessions ranging from 7 minutes to 8+ hours; and (3) SleepTales — narrated bedtime stories across adventure, nature, and fantasy themes. Supporting the core experience are curated Music Playlists (Deep Sleep, Healing Music, Spa Music, etc.), the BetterSleep Podcast featuring expert interviews, and an Employee Sleep Program for B2B wellness markets. Content is delivered via a freemium model: a free tier with limited sounds and a Premium subscription unlocking the full 540+ piece content library. The platform also offers Gift Cards, a Student Program with discounted pricing, and Sleep Science educational content. The company was founded in 2006 as Relax Melodies and rebranded to BetterSleep, now reaching 65M+ users worldwide with over 2 billion relaxation sessions completed.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Relax Melodies: Related brand mentioned in privacy policy listing (www.relaxmelodies.com), predecessor or alternative branding for Ipnos's sleep/wellness apps.

Products and services

• BetterSleep App (Mobile & Web) Flagship mobile and web application providing ambient sleep sounds, guided meditations, narrated SleepTales, and music playlists designed by sleep experts to help individual users fall asleep faster and improve overall sleep quality.
• Employee Sleep Program (For Work) B2B wellness program that offers employers and HR teams a group subscription to the BetterSleep app as an employee sleep and meditation benefit, positioned as a corporate workforce-wellness solution.
• Premium Subscription Paid monthly or annual subscription that unlocks the full BetterSleep content library (300+ soundscapes, SleepTales stories, guided meditations, curated music playlists) and is offered after a free trial of the free tier of the BetterSleep app.
• BetterSleep Gift Card Digital gift cards redeemed on bettersleep.com that grant the recipient Premium-level access to 540+ sounds, stories, meditations, deep sleep insights, personalized sound mixes, and lifetime sleep tracker statistics.
• Student Program Discounted Premium subscription tier available to verified students, providing reduced-cost access to the full BetterSleep content library.

Quantifiable outcome

• 81% of users reported feeling less stressed and anxious
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Apple HealthKitcoreTechnology or IntegrationBetterSleep integrates with Apple HealthKit, allowing users to import and share sleep data (when permission is granted) with the Apple health ecosystem. This enables the app to work alongside other health apps and provides users a unified health data experience. HealthKit data is not used for advertising or sold to data brokers.
• Google FitcoreTechnology or IntegrationBetterSleep integrates with Google Fit, enabling users to import sleep pattern data and integrate with the Google health platform. Data shared via Google Fit is not used for advertising or sold to data brokers.
• Google CloudcoreTechnology or IntegrationBetterSleep uses Google Cloud for data hosting and storage of user data. The company may change hosting providers in the future and will update its privacy policy accordingly.
• AppsFlyercoreTechnology or IntegrationBetterSleep uses AppsFlyer as its mobile marketing attribution platform to track user acquisition, optimize promotional campaigns, and measure advertising performance across platforms.
• Impact (Affiliate Partnership Program)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerBetterSleep runs an affiliate partnership program through Impact.com (app.impact.com/advertiser-advertiser-info/BetterSleep.brand), allowing partners and affiliates to refer new users to the platform in exchange for commissions.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Noisli: Noisli is an ambient sound mixer app that lets users combine multiple background sounds for productivity, relaxation, and sleep. It is a focused competitor to BetterSleep's sound mixing engine category, with a more limited scope (no stories or meditations) but comparable customizability for sound layering, the exact feature that BetterSleep cites as a key differentiator.
• Slumber: Slumber is a sleep story and meditation app offering narrated bedtime stories, sleep meditations, and soundscapes. It directly competes with BetterSleep's SleepTales and Sleep Sounds categories at a smaller scale, and represents a niche player in the sleep story sub-category that BetterSleep has carved out.
• Pzizz: Pzizz is a sleep and focus app that uses psychoacoustic principles to generate personalized audio for sleep, power naps, and focus. It is a smaller, more specialized competitor to BetterSleep in the sleep soundscape and audio customization category, with a similar subscription model and overlap on binaural beats and nature sounds.
• Sleep Cycle: Sleep Cycle is a sleep tracking and smart alarm app that focuses on sleep analysis using phone microphones and integrations. While more focused on tracking than content, it overlaps with BetterSleep's sleep improvement mission and targets a similar consumer base, and increasingly offers sleep aid content as part of its premium tier.

Direct peers

• Calm: Calm is the leading consumer meditation and sleep app, offering guided meditations, Sleep Stories narrated by celebrities, sleep music, and masterclasses. It is the closest direct competitor to BetterSleep with overlapping product categories (sleep sounds, meditations, narrated stories) and a similar freemium subscription business model targeting the same consumer wellness segment.
• Insight Timer: Insight Timer is the largest free meditation app, offering guided meditations, sleep music, and a community of teachers and users. While its freemium positioning differs from BetterSleep's, it competes directly for the same user base seeking meditation and sleep content, and represents a price-sensitive alternative that could cap BetterSleep's premium conversion rates.
• Ten Percent Happier: Ten Percent Happier is a meditation and sleep app offering guided meditations, sleep content, and expert-led courses. It is a direct competitor to BetterSleep in the meditation/sleep hybrid category, with similar freemium pricing and comparable content depth (sounds, meditations, stories).
• Headspace: Headspace is a major consumer meditation and sleep app offering guided meditations, sleepcasts (similar to SleepTales), sleep music, and mindfulness exercises. It is a direct competitor to BetterSleep with comparable product depth, freemium subscription model, and a B2B channel (Headspace for Work) that mirrors BetterSleep's Employee Sleep Program.

Broad incumbents

• Spotify: Spotify offers sleep playlists, podcasts, and white noise content within its broader music streaming platform. While not a dedicated sleep app, Spotify Premium bundles sleep and relaxation content at $10.99/month (similar to BetterSleep's premium price point), making it a partial substitute for users who don't need a dedicated sleep app and threatening BetterSleep's value proposition for casual sleep-music users.

Others

• Apple Health: Apple's Health app and watchOS include built-in sleep tracking, wind-down features, and integration with Apple HealthKit — the very platform BetterSleep integrates with. While Apple Health itself is not a content app, it controls the platform ecosystem (App Store, HealthKit, Watch sleep features) and could expand native sleep content offerings that compete directly with BetterSleep's core proposition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bettersleephq
• Facebookfacebook.com/bettersleep
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ipnos-software-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BetterSleep