Brain.fm
Functional music for focus, relaxation, sleep and meditation
Brain.fm report card
Good · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 9, 2026
Best for focus music with no lyrics to pull you away
Brain.fm plays instrumental music made to sit behind your work, with no lyrics and tracks that run extra long so a song change never breaks your flow. You pick what you're doing, say Deep Work or Learning, and it runs on the web, your computer and your phone. It's also $99.99 a year with no free plan, which is a lot for background music.
Who Brain.fm is for
- Great if lyrics pull you out of your work and silence doesn't help either
- Handy when you work in timed sprints, since the interval timer is built in
- Good for people who want sleep and meditation audio in the same subscription
Who Brain.fm is not for
- Pricey if you only want something on in the background, at $99.99 a year
- Not for you if you want a free version to live on, because after the trial it's pay or stop
- Skip it if you'd pay monthly for long, as twelve months at $14.99 comes to $179.88
Why Brain.fm gets a 2.6
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for money$99.99 a year, or $14.99 if you pay monthly. That's at the dear end for a focus tool, and what it buys is one thing: its own music. Students can ask for 20% off.
- DFree plan and trialNo free plan. The free trial comes as the start of the yearly plan, which is then charged as a single $99.99 payment. The pricing page doesn't say how long the trial runs; the App Store listing says 14 days.
- AFeaturesModes for focus, relaxing, sleep and meditation, with five kinds of focus alone. You can turn the effect up or down, run a Pomodoro-style timer inside it, and download music to your phone for a flight.
- BEase of use4.5 from about 5,500 App Store ratings, a shade under where our A starts. A short quiz at sign-up sets your starting level, then you press play.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, so every device is covered. It doesn't connect to anything else, though, and no API is listed.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Brain.fm's own pages on 4 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/brain-fm#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/brain-fm.svg" alt="Brain.fm: 2.6 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>What is Brain.fm?
Brain.fm streams instrumental music written for a particular mental state: focus, relaxation, sleep or meditation. Each mode offers several activities, such as Deep Work or Learning, and the strength of the audio effect can be adjusted. The app has count-up, countdown and interval timers, and the vendor cites its own published research for the focus music.
Brain.fm is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $99.99 / year, billed annually. See every plan
Good for
- 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
Worth knowing
- 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.
Key features
- 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.
Brain.fm pricing
- Starts at
- $99.99 / year, billed annually
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- Free trial with full access; 14 days according to the App Store listing
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly plan | $99.99per 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 | $14.99per month, billed monthly | The same access paid month to month, with cancellation at any time. |
Read from brain.fm on Oct 4, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Brain.fm before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountYearly 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.
Stated on brain.fm - Education20% 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.
Stated on brain.fm - Other savingsSpecial 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.
Stated on brain.fm
How people rate the Brain.fm app
4.5
out of 5 for the iPhone and iPad app
- 5 stars80%
- 4 stars8%
- 3 stars3%
- 2 stars2%
- 1 star6%
5,494 ratings on the App Store in the United States, read Oct 5, 2026. It rates the app, not everything the product does. See the listing
Brain.fm alternatives
- Brain.fm vs Forest
Free plan · from $5.99/mo
- Brain.fm vs Session
Free plan · from $3.33/mo
- Brain.fm vs Freedom
Free plan · from $3.33/mo
- Brain.fm vs Rize
Free trial · from $9.99/mo
Featured in
- The best focus apps in 2026Best of
Common questions
Is Brain.fm free?
No, Brain.fm is a paid product, but you can try it first. Free trial with full access; 14 days according to the App Store listing.
How much does Brain.fm cost?
Brain.fm lists 2 plans. Yearly plan: $99.99 per year, billed annually. Monthly plan: $14.99 per month, billed monthly. Prices were read from brain.fm on Oct 4, 2026.
What platforms does Brain.fm work on?
Brain.fm is available on Web, macOS, Windows, iOS and Android.
Does Brain.fm offer any discounts?
Brain.fm publicly lists the following: Yearly plan costs less than paying monthly; 20% discount for active students; Special pricing for teams.
How is Brain.fm rated?
Brain.fm's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.5 out of 5 from 5,494 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 5, 2026. That is the store's rating of the app, not a score from us.
Does Brain.fm have a Linux app?
No Linux app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 4, 2026. Brain.fm is listed for Web, macOS, Windows, iOS and Android.
Is Brain.fm open source?
Brain.fm is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 4, 2026.
Does Brain.fm work offline?
Yes, according to its own site. What works without a connection differs by plan and platform, so check the vendor's page for the detail.
Does Brain.fm have a student discount?
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.
Who makes Brain.fm?
Brain.fm is made by Brain.FM, Inc. It dates from 2014.
What are the alternatives to Brain.fm?
The closest alternatives to Brain.fm in our directory are Forest, Session, Freedom and Rize. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Brain.fm.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 4, 2026. What people say is linked where it appears.