Groclock alternative: a sleep trainer clock app

If you are looking for a Groclock alternative, you are probably not looking for another clock. The things parents say about the Groclock (also written Gro Clock) on parenting forums are about the box: it is fiddly to set, a child can get at the buttons, it is bright for some families, and not every two-year-old takes to it. A sleep clock on a tablet answers most of that, and the Groclock still wins on one thing. Here is the honest comparison.

What parents say about the Groclock

From threads on Mumsnet, the UK parents' forum, that we read on 12 November 2026:

• It is fiddly to set. Settings live on the clock’s buttons, so a change means standing by the bed.
• Some children press the buttons until the sun shows, or work out how to change the settings and get past the key lock.
• It is too bright at night for some families, though it can be dimmed and its light can be turned off.
• Children take to it at different ages: some at about two, some nearer three, and some not at all.

Those are parents' reports, not ours, and plenty of families are happy with it. It is the sleep trainer clock Ireland and the UK know, it costs nothing to run, and it does not need a tablet.

The comparison

Prices and facts checked on 12 November 2026 from Tommee Tippee’s own pages, from Homestore and More for the price in euro, and from the app stores for Ireland. They change; check before you buy. Snoozaroo is not affiliated with Tommee Tippee, with any shop or with the makers of the apps below.

Where each one wins: the Groclock needs no tablet and no app, and nothing on it can be bought. Snoozaroo wins when you want to change things from your phone, and when you want the bedtime routine on the same screen.

Other sleep clock apps

Snoozaroo is not the only app that does a Groclock’s job. These two were on the app stores for Ireland on 12 November 2026. We have not used them, so we list what their store pages say and compare nothing else.

What it costs in practice

A Groclock is a one-off purchase, one device for one bedroom. Snoozaroo’s clock is free, and the things that make it more than a clock are in Plus: €2.99 a month, €19.99 a year or €44.99 once, with 14 days free in the app and no card. Prices are set in Google Play and may change; you always see the current price before you pay.

Moving from a Groclock

Keep the same bedtime and wake time your child already knows, and put the tablet where the clock was. Show them the pal and the six stars at bedtime, and the sun in the morning, with the same words you used before.

Questions