Hatch: the wake-up light works without Hatch+

Hatch Rest 2nd gen and Rest+ 2nd gen run their wake-up and bedtime routines, light, sounds and clock display without Hatch+. The paid plan adds stories, music and guided content.

Hatch Baby comes with three months of Hatch+, including chat with Hatch’s sleep consultants. If you do not renew, its basic lights and sounds and its Time-to-Rise and Time-for-Bed schedules keep working.

You still need the Hatch Sleep app and an account to set any of them up; that is the control, not a subscription.

Nanit: standard routines are free; Predictive OK to Wake is not

Nanit Sound + Light runs day-by-day sound and light routines without a paid plan. Its Predictive OK to Wake is a different feature: it needs a Nanit Pro Camera, a compatible mount and a paid Insights plan, and it is not part of the machine on its own.

Clocks with nothing to pay for

Light to Rise, Groclock, MELLA, NESSI and ZAZU Sam have no subscription or paid extras: everything runs on the clock.

Light to Rise, MELLA and NESSI also play sleep sounds; Groclock and Sam do not, though both have an optional alarm.

Free does not mean the same

Rest+ 2nd gen, Rest 2nd gen and Nanit can use different times on different days and several steps a night. Groclock has a nap wake-up time, and MELLA, NESSI and Sam have nap timers.

Power is separate too: Rest+ 2nd gen and Nanit keep running on their batteries, and Sam on AA batteries, while Groclock, MELLA, NESSI, Light to Rise, Rest 2nd gen and Hatch Baby stop when the power goes off.

An app is not a subscription

A clock can be free of subscriptions and still need an app, an account or Wi-Fi: the Hatch clocks and Nanit do. The Tommee Tippee Connected needs its app, an account and Wi-Fi, and Tommee Tippee does not say whether any subscription applies.

Compare these one at a time: paid plan, account, app, Wi-Fi for setup, changing times without internet, and saved times that keep running. The app or buttons guide explains what each one means at home.

Before you buy

  • Decide which signal you need: light, alarm, sound, a schedule or a nap timer.
  • Check whether the paid plan adds content or switches on the signal itself.
  • Treat an account and Wi-Fi as separate from paying.
  • On Hatch clocks the wake-up light is included; Hatch+ adds a bigger library, and on Hatch Baby the first three months.

Sources

Details can differ between versions and countries. Dates show when we last checked something that changes, like stock or a recall. Every source we use