Brain.fm vs Noisli

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

Noisli

• Masking office, traffic or household noise while working
• People who prefer mixing their own ambient sound to playing music
• Writers who want background sound, a timer and an editor in one tab

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.

Noisli

• The Free plan limits streaming to 1.5 hours a day and includes 16 of the 28 sounds.
• Oscillation, Shuffle, the advanced Timer and the advanced Text Editor need Pro or Business.
• Noisli says plan features are intended for desktop browsers on Mac or Windows; the iPhone and iPad app is a separate $1.99 purchase.
• The site also names an Android app and a Chrome extension, but its Google Play link returned Not Found and its Chrome Web Store link showed the item as not available.

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.

Noisli

Sound mixer

28 background sounds, each with its own volume control, can be layered into a mix that Noisli calls a Combo. The Free plan includes 16 of them.

Curated Playlists

Playlists group suggested Combos for situations such as focus, study, writing and sleep. Free accounts get 3 Playlists and paid plans 10.

Favorites

Save your own Combos to replay later and share them with other people. The Free plan stores up to 5 and paid plans up to 10.

Session Timer

Set the length of work sessions and breaks, with optional auto-start and a daily count of finished sessions. Sounds stop when the time is up.

Text Editor

A minimal writing space with Markdown formatting and a word counter. Text is saved to the account and can be downloaded or sent to Dropbox or Google Drive.

Oscillation and Shuffle

On paid plans, Oscillation slowly varies the volume of sounds within a Combo, and Shuffle moves between Combos at a frequency you set.

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.

Noisli

• Free$0

  1 user, 16 sounds, 1.5 hours of streaming a day, 3 curated Playlists, up to 5 Favorites, simple Timer and Text Editor.

• iOS app$1.99

  one-time purchase, US App Store

  The iPhone and iPad app, bought separately from the web plans: offline sounds, saved Combos and a timer with fade-out.

• Pro$10

  per month, billed yearly ($120)

  1 user, 28 sounds, unlimited streaming, 10 Playlists, advanced Timer and Text Editor, Oscillation and Shuffle. $12 if billed monthly.

• Business$24

  per month for 2 users, billed yearly

  Pro features plus team management and centralised billing. The page's plan data prices it at $144 per user a year, or $14 per user monthly.

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.

Noisli

• Annual discount

  Yearly Pro billing costs about 17% less

  The pricing page's plan data lists Pro at $120 billed yearly against $12 billed monthly, which comes to $144 over twelve months.

• Education

  Discount for students and teachers

  Noisli offers students, teachers and educational institutions a special discount on its yearly plan. The page does not state the amount.