Key takeaways
- Brain.fm costs $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year as of October 2026; Endel shows its prices only inside the app.
- Endel adapts to time of day, weather and heart rate; Brain.fm lets you set activity, genre and effect strength.
- Both companies' key studies were run or funded by the companies themselves.
- Boulevard's Focus Mode is free in the browser, plays only wordless tracks, and makes no medical or brain claims.
Brain.fm vs Endel vs Boulevard at a glance
| Brain.fm | Endel | Boulevard | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99/mo or $99.99/yr | Paid subscription, price shown in the app | Free to listen |
| Free option | Free trial | Unlimited 10-minute sessions | ✓ No account needed |
| What you hear | Instrumental music with a modulation pulse | Generative ambient soundscapes | Wordless AI house and Afro house |
| Lyrics | None | None | None in Focus Mode |
| Adapts to | Your chosen activity, genre and effect level | Time of day, weather, heart rate, light | What you skip and finish |
| Science claims | Patented neural phase locking; 2024 company-led study | Up to 7x focus claim; 2022 company-funded study | None. Quiet binaural layer on web, evidence mixed |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows | iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, web, Apple Watch, TV | Any browser, Android app |
| Offline | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| iPhone app | ✓ | ✓ | Not yet (use Safari, add to Home Screen) |
How do Brain.fm and Endel sound different?
Brain.fm sounds like music: lo-fi, piano, electronic, even classical, with a fast regular pulse in the volume that you can turn up or down. Endel sounds like weather: soft generative textures that shift slowly with the time of day and, if you connect a watch, your heart rate. Neither has lyrics.
Boulevard is different again. It is a streaming app where every song is made with AI and performed by an AI artist, and Focus Mode picks only the tracks without lyrics, then mixes them on the beat so there are no jolts between songs. Right now that is mostly deep, wordless Afro house and deep house: real grooves, kept low and steady.
Which has better science, Brain.fm or Endel?
Brain.fm, narrowly. Its 2024 paper in Communications Biology combined an online attention task with fMRI and EEG, and found the modulated music helped sustained attention, most for people reporting attention difficulties. The lead author is a Brain.fm employee. Endel's 2022 paper followed 62 people with a consumer EEG headband and found its soundscapes beat silence; it was funded by Endel and Arctop.
- 4experiments in Brain.fm's 2024 study, including fMRI and EEGWoods et al., Communications Biology, 2024
- 62participants in Endel's 2022 focus studyHaruvi et al., Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience, 2022
- 5 of 14EEG studies in a 2023 review that supported binaural-beat brain entrainmentIngendoh et al., PLOS ONE, 2023
Boulevard makes no brain claims. On the web, Focus Mode adds a very quiet binaural layer, and the research on binaural beats is genuinely mixed: a 2019 meta-analysis found a medium effect on some tasks, while the 2023 review above found more brainwave studies against entrainment than for it. We think the honest pitch for any of these apps is simpler: wordless, steady sound removes distractions. Our binaural beats guide has the details.
What is each app like to use every day?
Brain.fm: set it and work
You pick an activity like Deep Work, a genre and an effect level, then start a timer. It is built around sessions, so it nudges you into work blocks. The desktop apps for Mac and Windows keep it out of your browser tabs, which helps if tabs are your weakness.
Endel: press play and forget it
Endel asks almost nothing of you. Open Focus, and the sound shifts on its own as the day goes on. On a watch it is especially handy: start it from your wrist and leave your phone in another room. The free version stops after 10 minutes, so heavy users will hit the paywall quickly.
Boulevard: a radio with no words
Open Boulevard in your browser, start Focus Mode, and it plays wordless tracks back to back, each one landing on the beat of the last. There are no sessions or timers to manage. Boulevard's recommendations learn from what you skip and finish, so it gets closer to your taste the more you listen.
Our verdict on each focus app
Brain.fm
The most complete focus music product: activity modes, timers, an adjustable effect, desktop apps and offline downloads. Its research is the most detailed in the category but company-led, and the price now sits above Spotify Premium.
- Price
- $14.99/mo or $99.99/yr (Oct 2026)
- Best for
- Long solo work blocks by people who want music, not ambience
Pros
- Sounds like music, many genres
- Adjustable modulation and Pomodoro timers
- Offline and on every major platform
Cons
- Most expensive of the three
- Research led by a Brain.fm employee
- Can feel repetitive over weeks
Endel
Endel generates sound on your device that shifts with your day, so it is calm, endless and works offline. It has the widest platform list here. The catch is opaque pricing and big headline numbers drawn from its own research.
- Price
- Free 10-minute sessions; paid plans shown in the app (Oct 2026)
- Best for
- Ambient, adaptive sound on every device, including your watch
Pros
- Adapts automatically through the day
- Works offline; Apple Watch, TV and Alexa
- Usable free version
Cons
- Prices only visible inside the app
- Headline claims from company-funded research
- Texture rather than songs
Boulevard Focus ModeOur app
Boulevard is an AI music streaming app; Focus Mode plays only tracks without lyrics, mixed on the beat. It is free in any browser and the Android app. It is not a science product, its focus catalog is small and mostly one style, and there is no offline mode or iPhone app yet.
- Price
- Free to listen (Oct 2026)
- Best for
- People who focus best with real grooves and no words, and do not want to pay
Pros
- Free, no account needed
- Only wordless tracks, mixed on the beat
- Feels like music you would actually choose
Cons
- Small focus catalog, mostly deep and Afro house
- No offline downloads
- No iPhone app yet
Who should pick which focus app?
- Pick Brain.fm if you work in long solo blocks, want music with no words and are happy to pay for the yearly plan. It is also the most interesting option if attention is a struggle for you; see our guide to music for ADHD focus.
- Pick Endel if you want sound that follows your day, need it offline on flights, or want it on your Apple Watch.
- Pick Boulevard if you want free, prefer a real groove to ambient texture, and work in a browser anyway.
- Pick none if a plain instrumental playlist already works for you. No study shows these apps beat music you love.
Is there a free version of Brain.fm or Endel?
Brain.fm has a free trial, then you pay. Endel has a lasting free version: unlimited sessions of up to 10 minutes each across Focus, Relax, Sleep and Move. Boulevard is free to listen with no time limit; a free account only matters if you want to comment, react or keep a library. For more options, see our best focus music apps roundup.
What Boulevard's Focus Mode plays
Quiet CatharsisMotheo
Sunlit CoolMotheo
Hypnotic SpiritMotheo
Deep EuphoriaMotheo
Almost Called YouMotheo
Tell My MamaMotheo
Wordless tracks only. Focus Mode mixes them on the beat.
We make Boulevard, so weigh our pick accordingly. Scores reflect our own testing of features and prices as of the date above.
Frequently asked questions
Is Brain.fm or Endel better for studying?
For studying, Brain.fm usually fits better because it sounds like music and has timers built for work sessions, including Pomodoro. Endel suits students who prefer quiet ambient sound or study offline. If budget matters, Endel's free 10-minute sessions or a free option like Boulevard's Focus Mode cost nothing.
Is Brain.fm more expensive than Endel?
Brain.fm lists $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year as of October 2026. Endel does not publish a price list; its prices appear inside the app and vary by offer, so compare the two on your own device before you commit.
Do Brain.fm and Endel work offline?
Yes, both do. Brain.fm lets you download music for offline listening, and Endel generates its sound on your device, so it plays without a connection. Boulevard does not offer offline downloads.
Is Boulevard a Brain.fm alternative?
For people who want free, wordless music while they work, yes. Boulevard's Focus Mode plays only tracks without lyrics, mixed on the beat, in any browser. It is not a science product: it makes no brain claims, its focus catalog is small, and it has no offline mode.
Which focus app has the best science?
Brain.fm has the most detailed published study, a 2024 Communications Biology paper with behavioral, fMRI and EEG experiments. Endel has a 2022 EEG study with 62 people. Both were run or funded by the companies, and neither has been independently replicated as far as we could find.
Can I use Brain.fm or Endel on a computer?
Yes. Brain.fm has a web player and desktop apps for Mac and Windows. Endel has Mac and Windows apps and a web player. Boulevard runs in any browser, and on Mac or Windows you can install it as an app from Chrome or Edge.
Sources
- Brain.fm pricingBrain.fm, 2026-10-31
- Download Brain.fm for Mac and WindowsBrain.fm, 2026-10-31
- Endel: personalized soundscapes to help you focus, relax and sleepEndel, 2026-10-31
- Endel free version and free trialEndel Help Center, 2026-01-07
- Using Endel offlineEndel Help Center, 2026-10-31
- Rapid modulation in music supports attention in listeners with attentional difficultiesCommunications Biology (Woods et al.), 2024-10-23
- Measuring and modeling the effect of audio on human focus in everyday environments using brain-computer interface technologyFrontiers in Computational Neuroscience (Haruvi et al.), 2022-01-27
- Efficacy of binaural auditory beats in cognition, anxiety, and pain perception: a meta-analysisPsychological Research (Garcia-Argibay et al.), 2019
- Binaural beats to entrain the brain? A systematic review of the effects of binaural beat stimulation on brain oscillatory activityPLOS ONE (Ingendoh et al.), 2023-05-19