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 one device that has to be in the room, and not every two-year-old takes to it. A toddler 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. One more thing, from its maker’s pages and not from parents: the Groclock does not change itself when the clocks change, so twice a year the time is set again on the clock, by hand. It is the sleep trainer clock New Zealand knows, it costs nothing to run, and it does not need a tablet. If your Plunket nurse or a sleep consultant has talked you through a wake-up routine, the same routine works on a tablet.
The comparison
Prices and facts checked on 12 November 2026 from Tommee Tippee’s and Zazu’s own pages and, for the prices in New Zealand dollars, from the New Zealand shops The Sleep Store, Baby On The Move and Sleepytot, some of which had sold out that day. They change; check before you buy. Snoozaroo is not affiliated with any of them.
| Groclock | Zazu Sam the Lamb | Snoozaroo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A plug-in clock with a picture face: stars at night, morning at the time you set | A lamb-shaped clock and night light that closes and opens its eyes | A tablet or phone app with a pal, six stars and a sunrise |
| Price | About NZ$80 in the shops we checked | NZ$79.95 to NZ$89.95 in the shops we checked | Free; Plus from NZ$5.49 a month, NZ$32.99 a year or NZ$74.99 once |
| Set from your phone | No, on the clock itself | No, on the unit; its maker mentions no app | Yes |
| Change it at night without going in | No | No | Yes, with Plus, while the app is open on the screen |
| Shows when it is OK to get up | Yes, the picture changes to morning | Yes, Sam’s eyes open and the light turns green | Yes, the sun and the pal waking |
| The clock-change weeks | Set again by hand on the clock | Set by hand on the unit; its manual mentions no automatic change | Follows the tablet’s clock, nothing to press |
| Routine activities | No | No | Brush teeth, bath, read a book and more, with Plus |
| Naps | A second wake time | A nap timer | Yes, each with its own stars |
| Works without a tablet | Yes | Yes | No |
Where each one wins: the Groclock needs no tablet and no app, and nothing on it can be bought; Zazu Sam runs from a USB cable or from batteries. Snoozaroo wins when you want to change things from your phone, and when you want the bedtime routine on the same screen.
What it costs in practice
A Groclock or a Zazu Sam is a one-off purchase. Snoozaroo’s clock is free, and the things that make it more than a clock are in Plus: NZ$5.49 a month, NZ$32.99 a year or NZ$74.99 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
Does Snoozaroo work on a Groclock?
No. It is an app for an Android tablet or phone, with iPad coming later.
Is a tablet screen worse for sleep than a Groclock’s face?
The night scene is dark, dim and still, and the brightness is yours to set. What it does and does not claim is on screens and sleep.
From what age?
From about two and a half, with most children understanding it by three. Under that, the stars and the pal are still a calm bedtime signal; the “OK to get up” part comes with age.
What about daylight saving?
Bedtime and wake-up are the clock times you set. When the clocks go forward at the end of September and back at the start of April, the tablet’s clock changes with them and the stars and the sun follow, with nothing to press on the screen. The whole country changes together, so every family gets the same two weeks a year.
Can grandparents use it at their house?
Yes. Take the tablet, or set up a second screen there, and keep home times or switch to the new time zone from the next sleep.
Can I try it without paying?
Yes. The clock is free, and every new family gets 14 days of Plus with no card.