Brain.fm vs Forest

Brain.fm

• People who find lyrics distracting while they work
• Timed work sprints with a built-in interval timer
• One subscription that also covers sleep and meditation audio

Forest

• People who respond to a visual reward for staying off their phone
• Friends or study groups who want to focus in a shared session
• Short timed work sessions in the Pomodoro style

Brain.fm

• There is no free plan; listening after the free trial requires a subscription.
• The pricing page does not state how long the trial lasts; the 14-day figure comes from the App Store listing.
• The yearly plan is charged as a single $99.99 payment; paying monthly costs $14.99 a month.
• The student discount and team pricing are arranged by contacting the company rather than at checkout.

Forest

• Seekrtech does not publish Forest Plus prices on its site; it says they vary by region and platform and points to the app stores.
• No Mac or Windows app is listed; on a computer Forest runs only as a Chrome or Firefox extension.
• Custom app allowlists, focus analytics, custom tags and real-tree planting need Forest Plus.
• Forest Pro, the earlier unlock, is no longer available to new users; existing Pro holders keep it.

Brain.fm

Modes for different activities

Focus covers Deep Work, Creativity, Learning, Light Work and Motivation. Separate modes handle relaxation, sleep, including power naps, and guided or unguided meditation.

Adjustable neural effect level

The intensity of the modulation in the music can be turned up or down. A short quiz at sign-up sets a starting level, and a high level is aimed at listeners with ADHD.

Built-in timers

A count-up timer tracks how long you have worked, a countdown timer ends a session, and an interval timer alternates work and breaks in the Pomodoro style.

Music made to stay in the background

Tracks have no lyrics or intrusive sounds and run extra long so that a work session is not broken up by song changes.

Offline listening on mobile

The App Store listing says music can be downloaded for offline use, including in airplane mode.

Desktop apps with menu bar control

Apps for macOS 12 or later and Windows 10 or later sit alongside the web player, with playback control from the Mac menu bar.

Forest

Tree-growing focus timer

A tree grows during a countdown or stopwatch session and dies if you leave to use other apps. Each finished session is added to your forest.

Deep Focus Mode

A stricter mode that blocks other apps or sends you back to Forest when you open one. It is free; building a custom allowlist of permitted apps needs Plus.

Time Guard

Scheduled windows during which chosen apps or sites are blocked. The free tier covers 1 app or site and Plus covers several.

Plant Together

Create a room, invite friends with a code and plant the same tree in a synchronized session. If one person gives up, the tree dies for everyone.

Real tree planting

Plus and legacy Pro users can spend coins earned from focus sessions to have real trees planted through Trees for the Future, up to 5 per account.

Focus statistics and tags

Your forest shows total focus time, patterns by day, week or month, and streaks. Focus analytics and custom tags are part of Plus.

Brain.fm

• Yearly plan$99.99

  per year, billed annually

  Full access to the focus, relax, sleep and meditate modes on web, desktop and mobile. Starts with a free trial.

• Monthly plan$14.99

  per month, billed monthly

  The same access paid month to month, with cancellation at any time.

Forest

• Free$0

  Countdown and stopwatch timer, Deep Focus app blocking, Time Guard for 1 app or site, 1 soundscape and group focus rooms.

• Forest Plus (monthly)$5.99

  per month, US App Store in-app purchase

  Custom app allowlist, Time Guard for multiple apps and sites, all soundscapes, focus analytics, custom tags and real-tree planting.

• Forest Plus (annual)$32.49 or $35.99

  per year, US App Store in-app purchase

  The same Plus features billed yearly. The App Store lists two annual purchases and does not say which one a new subscriber pays.

Brain.fm

• Annual discount

  Yearly plan costs less than paying monthly

  The yearly plan is $99.99 against $14.99 a month, which comes to $179.88 over twelve months. The pricing page marks the yearly plan with a 40% discount badge.

• Education

  20% discount for active students

  Students can email support from a .edu address, or send a copy of a student ID or other proof of enrollment, to receive 20% off.

• Other savings

  Special pricing for teams

  Brain.fm supports team accounts for companies and classrooms and asks teams to get in touch through a form for special pricing.

Forest

• Annual discount

  Annual Forest Plus costs about half of monthly

  The US App Store lists the monthly Forest Plus purchase at $5.99 and annual purchases at $32.49 and $35.99, so a year paid annually costs about half of twelve monthly payments.