Brain.fm vs Sukha

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

Sukha

• Writers, developers and designers doing solo deep work
• People who want music, timer, tasks and blocking behind one button
• Slack users who want their status set automatically during focus time

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.

Sukha

• There is no free plan: after the 3-day trial it costs $20 a month or $400 once, and no annual plan is listed.
• It runs only in Chromium browsers such as Chrome, Edge, Arc and Brave, with no native desktop app; Safari and Firefox are not listed.
• The site says blocking reaches apps and websites on your phone but does not explain how, and it lists no mobile app.
• The vendor says Sukha is not suited to people whose day is mostly phone calls, Zoom and meetings.

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.

Sukha

One-button focus sessions

A single Play button starts the music, the timer and the blocking together, so a session needs no separate setup. Members get unlimited daily sessions.

Flow music

Lofi and binaural tracks plus six more sound worlds, playing for as long as a session runs.

Distraction blocking

Blocks distracting websites and apps during a session, on the computer and, the vendor says, on your phone. A free Chrome extension extends the blocking across the browser.

AI task manager and coach

A task list keeps the next step in view, and the AI assistant breaks a task that feels too big into one specific next step. To-dos can be imported from Todoist, Linear and Google Tasks.

Automated Pomodoro timer

Sessions run on a work-and-break rhythm with prompts for healthy breaks, and streaks and points track how consistently you show up.

Slack status updates

When a session starts, Sukha sets your Slack status to say you are in a session and mutes incoming notifications.

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.

Sukha

• Monthly$20

  per month

  Unlimited daily focus sessions, flow music, distraction blocking on desktop and phone, AI task manager, Pomodoro timer and AI focus assistant.

• Lifetime$400

  one-time

  Everything in Monthly for a single payment, with all future features and priority support.

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.

Sukha

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime access for a one-time $400

  A single $400 payment replaces the $20 monthly membership, the same cost as twenty months, and includes all future features and priority support.

• Other savings

  Discounts on request

  The pricing page invites students, people between jobs and people in other countries who need a lower price to email the founder, who says he will work something out.