Brain.FM is an app that offers functional music to boost your focus, help you relax and fall asleep. Focus@Will, however, offers personalized music to enhance your focus and attention. But which tool is better? I tested them both and here is my full comparison.
What Is Brain.FM?
A group of neuroscientists and psychologists developed Brain.FM, a popular music app that positively affects brain waves. Functional music, developed by Brain.FM, can:
- Affect your emotions
- Boost your energy and focus
- Make you more productive
- And help with relaxation and sleep
With a wide range of music, easy-to-use mobile and web app, and relatively affordable service, Brain.FM is definitely a tool to use.
You can read my full Brain.FM review here.
How About Focus@Will?
Focus@Will offers a similar service to Brain.FM with one major difference – it was primarily developed to help you focus. It uses features of sound discovered by neuroscientists to help you get focused and stay in the flow for a longer period.
Its music has been scientifically evaluated and tested, which confirmed the effectiveness of cognitive-boosting music. [*]
Focus@Will is especially useful if you work in an open office or noisy environment.
So, how do both services compare? And which one is better?
Brain.FM vs. Focus@Will – Similarities
Let’s have a look at what both apps have in common.
Boost Your Focus And Attention
Both apps were designed to enhance your focus and attention. They use specific songs and sound effects to help you get in the flow. The effects will help you avoid distractions and stay motivated while you work on challenging tasks.
Based on my experience, both apps work extremely well.
Developed By Scientists
Both companies claim that the soundtracks were developed scientists and are supported by science.
There is no doubt we lack clinical trials, but based on the available amount of data, functional music is effective.
Work Best With Headphones
You can use both services with any speakers, but they work best with headphones. As a matter of fact, I had the best results by using noise-canceling headphones. If you work in an open office, noise-canceling headphones will block about 80-90% of all background noise.
Listening to music with such headphones is more engaging and it can spike up your productivity. Also, it is harder to get distracted.
Similar Pricing
Focus@Will costs about $52 per year, which amounts to $4.3 per month. They currently do not offer a monthly subscription. Brain.FM costs $6.99 per month, but the yearly subscription is similar to Focus@Will at $49.99.
In terms of pricing, there isn’t much of a difference.
Free Trial
If you are not sure about the effects of functional music, you can try both services for free. Brain.FM offers listening to 5 songs for free, while Focus@Will has a free weekly trial.
I prefer the weekly trial since it gives you more time for experimentation, but I am happy that both services offer a free test anyway.
Brain.FM vs. Focus@Will – Differences
Are there any differences between the apps? Let’s have a look.
Brain.FM Does More
As I mentioned before, Brain.FM music can be used for sleep and meditation. On the other hand, Focus@Will was specifically designed for boosting focus.
I am not saying that Brain.FM is better in this regard, but it does offer a bigger value for its price. However, if your main goal is to improve focus, productivity, and motivation, then Focus@Will can equally compete with Brain.FM.
Brain.FM Has Patented Technology
Brain.FM holds patents on processes for creating functional music. They claim to have a technology that elicits neural phase locking. This allows neurons to engage in the coordinated activity.
I couldn’t find any data if Focus@Will also has a patented technology.
Focus@Will Has More Users
Based on the available data, Focus@Will has over 2 million subscribers, whereas Brain.FM currently has over 150.000 users. If the numbers are correct, then it seems that Focus@Will is a much more popular service.
The Reviews Of Brain.FM Are Slightly Better
During my research, I noticed that the reviews of Brain.FM are slightly better compared to Focus@Will. Focus@Will is especially struggling with its mobile app.
I found a few recent reviews of people complaining about their app crashing. That’s why the review score on Google Play is 3.4/5, whereas Brain.FM has a score of 4.0.
Brain.FM vs. Focus@Will – My Experience
I have been using Brain.FM for months and I have to admit that I love it. I primarily use it for enhancing my concentration and productivity, but I also used it for meditation. I tested it for sleep as well, but I do not like sleeping with headphones.
Whenever I use Brain.FM, I get focused in about 15-20 minutes. More importantly, I stay focused for a longer period than without using this service. Whenever I use the app, it gets harder to get distracted.
I also tested Focus@Will and I had a pleasant experience with it. It works similarly well, the tracks are amazing and the sounds really boost my productivity. I can admit that I probably prefer Focus@Will playlists.
On the other hand, I used Brain.FM for meditation a couple of times and I liked it as well. While there far better meditation apps available on the market, Brain.FM does a good job in this respect.
I can imagine that both companies will continue developing their apps, offering even better tracks for brain performance, and other playlists for sleep, meditation, stress, etc.
With all the distractions, it is extremely hard to focus nowadays. Without proper focus, we are all just nervously running around and working on multiple tasks until the day is gone. With alternative solutions such as Brain.FM and Focus@Will, we all have a better chance of getting concentrated during the peak hours of our workday.
And if science confirms that listening to such sounds and playlists is effective, why wouldn’t you try it out?
Want To Try It Out?
If you want to try Brain.FM, you can do it here >>
Fee free to use my promo code yourinception to get an additional 20% discount.
If you want to try Focus@Will, click here >>
Verdict
Both companies developed an effective app that helps boost brain performance. If you are a high-achiever, you should definitely try at least one of the apps.
I do see room for improvement, but as it currently stands, both tools are well-developed, effective, and fun to use.
That’s why I recommend trying them out for a month and see if they help you out. They definitely work for me!
2 thoughts on “Brain.FM vs Focus@Will – Which Music App Works Best?”
Thank you for your review. I invested in BrainFm during this past year. I need to use it more consistently. But, I heard an excellent podcast this morning by the creator of FocusAtWill and thus I wanted to see how they compared. You provided an excellent assessment of both. I guess I will stick with BrainFM. I found it intriguing, however, that the creator of FocusAtWill wrote the song “I’ve Been Thinking About You” years ago – one of my favorite songs.
Thanks, Laura, I appreciate your feedback! :)