Toniebox alternative: Which listening box is right for your child?

The Toniebox is in many children's bedrooms. Nevertheless, many parents are looking for an alternative: because their child is still very young, because they want to play their own music, or because they prefer to do without Wi-Fi and an account.

In this guide, we compare the best-known audio systems for children by age, duration of use, cost, operation, data protection, and volume. We also openly state where the Toniebox is strong and when an alternative is worth it.

For transparency: Lenabo is our own product. We introduce it at the end and therefore base the comparison only on verifiable manufacturer information, as of November 2026. You can find the links to the manufacturer pages in the sources at the end.

The most important things in brief

• From birth: Lenabo, rock my sleep, and myHummy. The Toniebox 2 is certified from 1 year, most other boxes are intended from 3 years.
• Without internet: hörbert, Galakto, rock my sleep, and myHummy. Lenabo only needs Wi-Fi for setup, updates, and new content.
• Without subscription and figure purchase: hörbert and rock my sleep play your own MP3 files.
• Without microphone: Lenabo and the Yoto Mini in the 2024 edition, according to the manufacturer.

What you should look for in a Toniebox alternative

Whether audio box, music box for children, or audio player: eight points determine whether a system is right for your family.

1. Age: Many boxes are intended from a certain age according to the manufacturer. Check the information and whether there is content for your child's age, for example, sleep sounds for babies.
2. Duration of use: Some devices are suitable mainly for one phase, a music box for example for babyhood. Others grow with new content. Consider whether your child will still use the device in two, three years.
3. Content and follow-up costs: Figures, cards, streaming subscription, or your own MP3 files. Pay attention to what is included in the price and how you get new content.
4. Operation: Can your child start, pause, and turn it down alone? For toddlers, large buttons and starting without a display count.
5. Offline and Wi-Fi: Some systems need Wi-Fi for setup or for new content. That counts on trips, in the car, and at the grandparents'.
6. Data protection: Does the device have a microphone or a camera, and do you need an account? The fewer data flow, the more relaxed.
7. Volume: A firmly limited maximum volume protects sensitive children's ears. For babies, the distance also counts, more on this in our guide to white noise.
8. Material and care: Boxes must withstand falls, stuffed animals the washing machine sometimes.

The Toniebox briefly categorized

The Toniebox 2 has been on the market since autumn 2025 and according to tonies is certified for children from one year; the first Toniebox was intended from 3 years and is no longer sold. The box costs €119.99, the starter set with "My First Tonies" €139.99.

Strengths: large selection of well-known figures and audio plays, operation by placing the figure, and a creative Tonie for up to 90 minutes of your own recordings. Via the app, there is a sleep timer with a night light, a good-night mode, and a light alarm, for sleep melodies also your own night light Tonies.

Limits: New audio plays usually come as another figure. The box needs Wi-Fi for setup and when playing every new Tonie for the first time.

When an alternative is worth it: if your child is younger than one year, if you want a stuffed animal instead of a box, if you want to play your own music without buying a figure, or if you want to do without an account and internet.

The alternatives at a glance

These systems are on the list of parents, from the audio box with cards to the stuffed animal with a speaker. All prices according to the manufacturer's shop, as of 03.11.2026.

Yoto Player and Yoto Mini

Yoto from London works with cards instead of figures. The Player 4 costs €129.99, the smaller Mini 4 €99.99, both according to the manufacturer from 3 years. The Player 4 has a night light and alarm, sleep sounds, podcasts, and radio are available free in the app.

Important for German families: Yoto only sells cards in English, French, and Spanish. Your own recordings go over self-playable cards, for that there is the Yoto Club from €4.99 per month.

tigerbox

The tigerbox by Tiger Media from Hamburg relies on streaming: With the tigertones subscription (from €12.99 per month or €124.99 per year), you load audio plays onto the box. Individual titles are available as tigercards from €5.95.

The tigerbox MINI costs €129.99 and is from 3 years, the TOUCH PLUS costs €139.99 and is intended for 5 to 12 years. It needs Wi-Fi for setup and downloads; the TOUCH PLUS has a night light and sleep timer.

hörbert

The hörbert from Bremen is the opposite model to figures and subscription: You play your own MP3 files on an SD card and manage playlists in the browser over the device's own Wi-Fi, without internet and without registration. It has a microphone for your own recordings, runs on batteries for up to 35 hours, and is manufactured in Germany.

With €269.00, it is the most expensive entry in the comparison; power supply and batteries cost extra. It is recommended from 3 years.

wobie box

The wobie box from Hamburg plays Spotify on seven buttons, also with a free Spotify account, and your own audio files from a microSD card. It costs €134.95 and is intended for 4 to 12 years, not for children under 36 months. For Spotify, the box needs internet, and Spotify Kids does not work according to the manufacturer.

Galakto

Galakto by Tiny Monster from Berlin is the cheapest entry: The starter set currently costs €49.99 instead of €59.99, audio plays come as magnetic tokens for €9.99 to €12.99. There is no app and no internet, the battery lasts up to 20 hours.

An official age indication is missing; according to the manufacturer's FAQ, most children from 3 operate the player themselves. Only the headphone outputs are limited to 85 dB, not the speaker.

Stuffed animals with music: rock my sleep and myHummy

For babies, there are stuffed animals with a player instead of a box. The Sleep-Well set from rock my sleep costs €77.00, is suitable from 0 months, and plays your own MP3 files or titles from the manufacturer's audio world (5 more songs currently €18.00 instead of €19.95). It comes completely without Wi-Fi and app, and is washable at 30 °C.

myHummy is a pure sleep aid: The 5in1 bunny with light (€59.99) has white, brown, and pink noise, three melodies, and a scream sensor built in. Stories or audio plays are not available there.

How a music box, music box, and stuffed animal with a speaker differ fundamentally, is explained in our guide Music box, music box, or stuffed animal with a speaker?.

Not in the comparison

For Faba from Italy and Lunii from France, we could not reliably check current German offers and content, therefore they are missing here. Jooki is no longer sold according to its own website.

All systems in comparison

Only Lenabo, rock my sleep, and myHummy are usable from birth; the Toniebox 2 starts from 1 year, most boxes from 3 years.

Tabelle seitlich wischen

Prices according to manufacturer's shop, as of 03.11.2026; promotional prices may differ.

Which alternative is right for which age?

Under one year sleep sounds and a soft cover count, from 3 years the selection and that the child can operate it themselves.

• 0 to 1 year: Lenabo, rock my sleep, and myHummy are intended from birth. For babies, quiet sleep sounds, melodies, and no swallowable parts count. According to the recommendations for safe baby sleep, stuffed animals do not belong in the baby bed, so place the device with distance next to the bed.
• 1 to 3 years: Now the first songs and stories are added. The Toniebox 2 has a special 1+ mode for this, Lenabo brings good-night stories from 2 years, and the buttons of rock my sleep children operate themselves from about 2 according to the manufacturer.
• From 3 years: Audio plays and more selection. Yoto, tigerbox, hörbert, and Galakto are intended for this age, the wobie box from 4. Lenabo stays with the same stuffed animal, now with audio plays from 3 and learning content from 4.

From when audio plays are even sensible is explained in our guide to audio plays for children.

Lenabo: the Toniebox alternative that grows with your child from birth

Lenabo is intended for families who want to start already in babyhood. A smart speaker is in a soft stuffed animal, the Lenabie, and plays content from 0 to 7+ years per figure. With this, Lenabo combines four things for which parents often purchase several products:

• Music box: White noise and sleep melodies calm already in babyhood. Unlike a classic music box, it does not stay with a few melodies.
• Stuffed animal: The Lenabie is soft and made for cuddling, not just a carrier for audio content. So it can become a trusted companion, at home and on the go.
• Storyteller: Good-night stories and audio plays, told with the figure's own voice, plus songs.
• Learning companion: From 4 years age-appropriate learning content is added, combining entertainment and playful learning.

Every Lenabie has its own voice

Every Lenabie is its own figure: with its own personality, its own voice actor, and its own stories from its world. Aaron for example is a brave bear from the forest with a calming voice. At Lenabo you therefore do not simply choose a figure to play audio content with your child, but a cuddly friend with character. The Lenabo universe is continuously expanded. More about the figures you can learn in our post about what a Lenabie is.

A cuddly friend that grows with you

Many children are very attached to their favorite stuffed animal. From a music box they often grow out of, if the melodies no longer fit the age. At Lenabo the trusted companion remains the same, only the content grows with: In the first year the Lenabie stands with distance next to the bed and plays white noise, later it tells good-night stories, plays audio plays, and discovers the world with your child. Your child recognizes its cuddly friend not only by its appearance and cuddling, but also by its voice. So it grows up together with its Lenabie in a way.

Content by age, on the example of Aaron, the bear:

• from 0: White noise and sleep melodies
• from 2: Good-night stories
• from 3: Audio plays
• from 4: Learning content

How it works

At the first start you create an account in the Lenabo app with your email address, then the app guides you through the setup in a few minutes. After that, the speaker runs without the app. You put it in the pocket on the back of the Lenabie, it recognizes the figure via an sewn-in chip and starts its content: 90 minutes per figure, playable as often as you want. Only the good-night melodies are the same for all figures per theme world (forest or island). Further content you can preview in the app and buy.

You only need the speaker once: It fits in every Lenabie. So siblings can also share a speaker, each child with its own Lenabie. That is practical, but a box for all figures or cards is also available with other systems. The difference lies in what is added with every new figure: with Lenabo a whole stuffed animal with its own voice, its own personality, and its own stories. A Lenabie therefore cannot simply be compared with an audio figure.

What makes Lenabo different:

• Stuffed animal instead of box: soft, without swallowable small parts, and washable at 30 °C, as soon as the speaker is outside
• No microphone, no camera; only parents use the app, once for setup and afterwards for volume, playlists, and sleep timer. Children listen without a screen
• Offline: After setup, stored content runs without internet and without app, you only need Wi-Fi for updates and new content
• Maximum volume limited to 85 dB, measured at 50 cm distance; in the app you set the volume and can additionally limit the maximum to 60%
• Tested according to EN 71 and CE-marked, awarded with the Kind + Jugend Innovation Award 2025

Important for babies: Stuffed animals do not belong in the baby bed in the first year of life. Place the Lenabie with distance next to the bed for falling asleep and choose a quiet level. More on this in our guide to the safe sleep environment for your baby.

Honestly: The selection is smaller than with Tonies, well-known licensed figures from books or series are not available. Instead, every Lenabie has its own personality and voice. Who wants above all their own music or streaming is more flexible with an open box. And the speaker needs to be charged regularly via USB-C.

Conclusion: Which alternative is right for your family?

There is no single best Toniebox alternative. If your child is at least one year old and loves familiar audio play characters, the Toniebox remains a good choice. If you want to play your own music without buying figures, check out hörbert or rock my sleep. From age 3, Yoto, tigerbox and Galakto are also available with cards, streaming or tokens, and from age 4, the wobie box with Spotify. For pure sleep aid for babies, myHummy is sufficient.

If you are looking for more than a playback box, Lenabo offers a different concept: a music box, cuddly toy, storyteller and learning companion all in one. Each Lenabie has its own voice, personality and stories, one speaker fits all figures, and the content grows with your child from the first sleep sounds to audio plays and educational content. The familiar cuddly toy remains the same.

An audio box accompanies your child with stories. A Lenabie can accompany them as they grow up, from the very first bedtime.

Price: The Starter Kit with speaker, one Lenabie of your choice, USB-C cable and the figure's content costs €99.99. That is €9.99 less than buying separately, and shipping is free in Germany. Six figures are currently available to choose from. Each additional Lenabie costs €39.99, but your child gets a new cuddly toy with its own voice and 90 minutes of content. Additional audio packages cost €4.99 for 45 minutes in the app; there is no subscription. With points you collect in the app, you can also unlock premium content without purchasing.

View Starter Kits · How it works

Frequently Asked Questions

From what age is the Toniebox suitable?

According to tonies, the Toniebox 2 is certified for ages one and up and has a restricted 1+ mode for this purpose. The first Toniebox was intended for ages 3 and up.

Which Toniebox alternative is suitable for babies?

Lenabo, rock my sleep and myHummy are designed for newborns. For babies, quiet sleep sounds, a soft cover and limited volume are important.

Is there a Toniebox alternative without internet?

hörbert, Galakto, rock my sleep and myHummy work without internet. Lenabo plays offline and only needs Wi-Fi for setup, updates and new content.

Which alternative has the lowest ongoing costs?

hörbert and rock my sleep play your own MP3 files at no additional cost. With Lenabo, 90 minutes per figure are included in the price, additional audio packages cost €4.99 for 45 minutes, with no subscription. tigerbox uses a subscription for streaming.

Which audio box has no microphone?

According to the manufacturer, Lenabo has neither a microphone nor a camera, and neither does the Yoto Mini in the 2024 edition. The hörbert has a microphone for your own recordings; the manufacturers of the other systems do not make a clear statement.

How loud can an audio box for babies be?

As quiet as possible and at a distance from the bed. Lenabo limits the maximum volume to 85 dB, measured at a distance of 50 cm. In the app, you can additionally limit the maximum adjustable volume to 60% so that the speaker is not accidentally turned up too loud. Find out more in our guide to white noise.

Sources and status

All information is according to the manufacturer's websites, as of 03.11.2026. Toniebox® and Tonies® are registered trademarks of tonies GmbH, Düsseldorf; all other product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

• tonies: Toniebox 2, product page with price, starter set, how it works, all Tonies, nightlight Tonies, 1+ mode
• Yoto: Player 4, Mini 4, Mini Edition 2024, Yoto Club, card languages
• tigerbox: tiger.media, tigerbox MINI, tigerbox TOUCH PLUS
• hörbert: hörbert 3.0
• wobie: wobie.de, wobie box, how the wobie box works, Spotify Kids
• Galakto: Starter Set, FAQ
• rock my sleep: Schlaf-Gut-Set, song package
• myHummy: Häschen 5in1 with Light
• Jooki: jooki.com
• Lenabo: FAQ, Starter Kits, Starter Kit Aaron, What is a Lenabie?
• Baby sleep: Berlin Senate: Safe Baby Sleep (2024)