Soaak app review: Can sound frequency therapy improve sleep and focus?

The concept of sound healing has been around for centuries, but it’s currently having a digital renaissance. Enter Soaak, a health-tech app that promises to deliver “transformational” sound frequencies straight to your headphones to help you sleep deeper, focus sharper, and manage stress. But does this digital sound bath actually deliver, or is it just high-priced white noise?

Price and what’s included

Soaak Technologies is a health and wellness platform that utilizes a whole-person approach to reduce anxiety, alleviate brain fog, and boost energy. The core of the app revolves around “clinically curated” audio frequencies designed by a team of doctors to target your cellular level and brainwave patterns. Alongside these targeted sounds, the app serves as a broader digital wellness hub, offering 21-day mindfulness programs, gratitude journaling, and daily affirmations. You can get Soaak for Apple iOS or Android devices, as well as use it directly from the website.

The Soaak app operates on a premium subscription model, costing $29.99 per month, or $299.99 per year. Users can take advantage of a 7-day free trial before committing. A subscription grants full access to the frequency library (which covers over 30 different compositions for sleep, focus, PMS, anxiety, and more), 21-day immersive wellness programs led by industry experts, daily “Mindful Intentions,” and biometric wearable connectivity.

A simplified “Sleep Membership,” which also includes a 7-day free trial, is available, but only includes a single Sleep Well Frequency and Daily Mindful Intentions. It’s quite limited in comparison, but only costs $4.99 per month, or $39.99 per year.

Finally, if you have an HSA or FSA plan through your employer, either Soaak membership should qualify. You’ll just need to fill out the proper form.

Features and science: Sound frequencies as therapy

The core scientific concept driving Soaak is “sympathetic resonance,” a form of vibrational healing. According to Soaak’s founders, your body’s malleable frequencies naturally align with the app’s unchanging frequencies, creating physiological shifts that can reduce cortisol or promote relaxation.

While sound therapy has broad anecdotal support, specific clinical research on Soaak’s proprietary frequencies is still catching up. Sleep experts and clinical psychologists note that while pleasant sounds can undoubtedly trigger a relaxation response, small-scale studies on frequencies like 432 Hz or 528 Hz often lack robust comparison groups or distinct sleep metrics in large populations.

Regardless of what the actual science will eventually determine, I’m admittedly one of the people who do seem to respond well to such frequencies. I’ve long been an advocate for, for example, pink noise for sleep, or brown noise for concentration. I genuinely find it gives both my ears and brain something specific to lock onto while trying to sleep deeper or focus better.

Frequencies and mindfulness: App-based therapy

Soaak’s library targets both reactive needs, like an active panic attack, and proactive routines, like passive listening while working. Headphones are recommended, particularly for scenarios like meditation, but I do find it can still be effective with open-air audio as long as the room itself is reasonably quiet.

Notable features include:

The Frequencies: Each 20-minute frequency comes in three variations: Original, Nature, and Music. The “Original” tracks are pure frequencies, which can sometimes sound jarring, eerie, or like a warped tinkling bell. To combat this, the Nature and Music tracks layer the frequencies beneath soothing soundscapes like acoustic guitars or rushing water. And while these default to 20-minute sessions, you can set your own timer, as well as loop the frequency if you want more.
Dual Audio: A standout feature that allows you to play Soaak’s frequencies in the background while you simultaneously listen to something else like an audiobook, a Spotify playlist, or a podcast. While the frequency library plays for its default 20 minutes, my other app’s audio can continue for the rest of the night, getting double the benefit for a deeper sleep.
Wearable Integration: Soaak connects with Apple Health and Oura Ring, as well as Garmin, Whoop, and Samsung, to ingest your biometrics like HRV, sleep quality, and recovery. This powers an AI-driven “Virtual Health Concierge” that delivers personalized, closed-loop frequency recommendations based on your real-time data.
Mindfulness & Programs: The app includes 21-day audio programs (often just five minutes a day) covering topics from breathwork to healing your inner child, alongside a daily gratitude journal. While I’m not big on that touchy-feely stuff, I do try to work short meditation sessions into my week, so this is ideal for that.

What about the competition?

I love the features in Soaak, but there are some notable omissions that may or may not impact your decision to stay after the free trial. For instance:

Generative Audio: An app like Endel uses real-time generative AI to create endless, non-looping soundscapes based on your movement, the weather, and the time of day. Soaak relies on static, 20-minute loops that may become repetitive longer term.
Extensive Guided Content: While Soaak has 21-day programs, it lacks the massive, constantly updated libraries of sleep stories and guided meditations found in apps like Calm and Headspace that cost a fraction of the price.
Purchase Options: Many of us suffer from subscription fatigue. Offering a lifetime license or a cheaper “audio-only” tier that might strip out the AI or leaderboards would make Soaak much more competitive. Right now, you just have a choice between the full-blown app or just a sleep-focused membership, and nothing in-between.

Should you subscribe to Soaak?

If you’re someone who actively uses sound as a productivity or relaxation tool, and you have the budget for a premium health app, Soaak is a unique, multi-layered addition to your routine. The wearable integration and Dual Audio features make it incredibly easy to passively stack into your day. However, if you’re strictly looking for guided meditations, or if you’re sensitive to the high price tag, you may find better value in standard, and sometimes less-robust, wellness apps. Nevertheless, Soaak is an easy recommendation, particularly since it has a no-risk 7-day free trial.

Pros:

Highly passive self-care: Dual Audio lets you reap the benefits without changing your normal listening habits.
Effective for sleep and focus: Anecdotal testing shows a strong correlation with deeper REM sleep, vivid dreams, and immediate physical calming.
Smart wearable integration: Syncs with Oura Ring, Apple Watch, and other devices (e.g., Garmin, Samsung) for personalized interventions.

Cons:

High price point: At $29.99/month for the full feature-set, it’s significantly more expensive than some high-profile competitors.
Jarring “Original” sounds: The raw frequencies can be off-putting, high-pitched, or sound a bit creepy.