focus.music vs Noisli

focus.music

• People who work best to instrumental music without vocals
• Former Focus@Will subscribers, whose access carries over
• Timed 25- or 50-minute work sessions with a soundtrack

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

focus.music

• There is no free plan: after the 7-day trial it costs $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year.
• It provides music and session timing only; the pages read describe no website or app blocking.
• focus.music takes the place of Focus@Will, which the vendor says has evolved into this product.
• The Mac app needs macOS 13 or later and the Windows app needs Windows 10 or later; no Linux app is listed.

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.

focus.music

Human-made focus music

Every track is composed and performed by professional musicians. There are no vocals and, the vendor says, no AI-generated audio.

Guided or free-flow modes

Guided mode recommends a focus environment based on your sessions. Free flow lets you browse and choose a channel yourself, and you can switch between the two at any time.

Timed sessions

Set a 25-minute, 50-minute or custom session, or run with no timer, and give the session the name of the task you are working on.

Recommendations that adapt

The system learns from the sessions you complete and adjusts what it suggests. The vendor describes this as machine learning trained on 16 years of listening data.

Channels and energy levels

A subscription includes every channel and energy level, so you can change the feel of the music when the kind of work changes.

Apps for desktop and mobile

One account works in the browser, in desktop apps for Mac and Windows, and in the iPhone, iPad and Android apps.

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.

focus.music

• Monthly$4.99

  per month, billed monthly

  Every channel and energy level, guided and free-flow sessions, and one account across web, iOS and Android.

• Yearly$39.99

  per year ($3.33 / month)

  The same access billed once a year. Both plans unlock everything, and the vendor labels this one a 33% saving.

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.

focus.music

• Annual discount

  Save 33% with yearly billing

  The pricing page lists Yearly at $39.99, equal to $3.33 a month, against $4.99 billed monthly, and labels it a 33% saving.

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.