Key takeaways
- Focus Mode plays only tracks without lyrics, mostly deep Afro house and deep house, blended on the beat.
- Brain.fm lists $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year (October 2026). Boulevard is free to listen.
- A 2019 meta-analysis found a medium overall benefit from binaural beats; a 2023 review found brainwave results inconsistent.
- Focus Mode is music for working, not a treatment for ADHD, anxiety or anything medical.
What does Focus Mode play?
Only tracks without lyrics. Right now that means mostly deep, wordless Afro house and deep house, with the artist Motheo at the core. Each track flows into the next on the beat, so there is no silence, no sudden drop and no vocal hook dragging your attention away from the sentence you were writing.
What Focus Mode sounds like
Quiet CatharsisMotheo
Sunlit CoolMotheo
Hypnotic SpiritMotheo
Deep EuphoriaMotheo
Almost Called YouMotheo
Tell My MamaMotheo
Every track Focus Mode plays has no lyrics.
Start a focus session
Tap Focus & Study
Open boulevardai.app/listen and tap Focus & Study in your Library. No settings to choose.
Put it in the background
Tracks blend on the beat, so you can forget the app exists. On the web, a very quiet binaural layer runs underneath.
Skip what doesn't work
Recommendations learn from what you skip and finish, like everywhere else in Boulevard.
Why lyric-free music for focus?
If your work is words, a singer is competing for the same channel. Reading, writing and coding all ask your brain to hold language, and sung lyrics are language too. Wordless music keeps the energy and texture without asking you to follow a story. That's the whole design choice behind Focus Mode, and it's why the selection is narrower than the rest of Boulevard.
Do binaural beats help you focus?
A binaural beat is an illusion: play two slightly different tones in each ear and your brain hears a slow pulse between them. Some people swear by it. The research is less sure. On Boulevard's web player, Focus Mode adds a very quiet binaural layer far below the music, so if it does nothing for you, it costs you nothing.
Are binaural beats worth it for focus?
Maybe
- A 2019 meta-analysis of 22 studies found a medium overall effect on memory, attention, anxiety and pain perception.
- Effects were stronger when people listened before and during a task, and with longer exposure.
- They're cheap to add and easy to keep quiet, so the downside is small.
Not proven
- A 2023 systematic review of 14 EEG studies found only five supported the idea that beats entrain brainwaves; eight contradicted it.
- Studies use very different frequencies, durations and designs, so results don't add up to a clear rule.
- The meta-analysis authors note that the direction and size of the effect depend on the frequency used.
Treat binaural beats as a maybe, not a mechanism. We keep the layer quiet and the music doing the heavy lifting, and we make no medical claims.
- g = 0.45overall effect of binaural beats across 22 studies (memory, attention, anxiety, pain)Garcia-Argibay et al., 2019
- 5 of 14EEG studies that supported brainwave entrainment; 8 contradicted itIngendoh et al., PLOS ONE, 2023
Boulevard vs. Brain.fm vs. Endel
We make Boulevard, so weigh our pick accordingly. Brain.fm and Endel are dedicated focus apps with years of work behind them. Boulevard is a music streaming app with a focus mode. The honest comparison:
| Boulevard Focus Mode | Brain.fm | Endel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free to listen | $14.99/mo or $99.99/yr | Paid subscription; price shown in the app, not on endel.io |
| What you hear | Real wordless tracks, mostly deep Afro house | Functional music in Focus, Relax, Sleep and Meditate modes | Real-time generated soundscapes |
| The pitch | No lyrics, mixed on the beat | Patented 'phase-locking neural modulation' | Adapts to time of day, light, weather and more |
| Extra layer | Quiet binaural layer (web only) | Built into the music | Heart rate and motion on supported devices |
| Platforms | Any browser, Android app | Web, iOS, Android, desktop | iOS, Android, Apple Watch, Mac, Windows, web, Alexa |
| Sleep sounds | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
Brain.fm
The most science-forward focus app. Brain.fm says its research was funded by the National Science Foundation and published in Nature Communications. The music is functional rather than memorable, and $14.99 a month is steep if you only need background music.
- Price
- $14.99/mo or $99.99/yr (Oct 2026)
- Best for
- People who want a dedicated focus tool with a research story and will pay for it.
Pros
- Many focus, relax and sleep modes
- Research-backed claims with published work
- Every major platform
Cons
- $14.99 a month
- Music is designed to fade into the background, not to enjoy
- Its boldest claims, like a 119% beta-wave boost, come from the company
Endel
Beautiful, endlessly generated soundscapes that shift with time of day, weather and, on supported devices, your heart rate. Endel says they're scientifically designed. It's more ambient texture than music, and it doesn't publish prices on its website.
- Price
- Paid subscription, varies by store and region (Oct 2026)
- Best for
- Apple Watch and smart-speaker users who want sound that adapts to their day.
Pros
- Adaptive, never-repeating sound
- Huge platform reach, including Apple Watch and Alexa
- Sleep and relax modes too
Cons
- Prices only in the app
- Ambient textures rather than songs
- Science claims come without study details on its site
Boulevard Focus ModeOur app
Real tracks with a groove, no words, blended on the beat, with a quiet binaural layer on the web. The trade-off is range: it's mostly one style and one core artist today.
- Price
- Free
- Best for
- People who want free, lyric-free music that still sounds like music.
Pros
- Free, no account needed to start
- Actual songs, not drones
- Beat-matched transitions, no gaps
Cons
- Small selection, mostly deep Afro house
- No sleep sounds, nature sounds or lo-fi
- Binaural layer only on the web
Who is Focus Mode not for?
If you need rain sounds, white noise, sleep timers or a wide range of lo-fi and classical, Focus Mode isn't there yet, and Brain.fm or Endel will serve you better. If you want something you'd actually enjoy hearing for four hours, with no lyrics and no subscription, start here. More reading: deep work music, binaural beats for focus and the best focus music apps.
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 there a free alternative to Brain.fm?
Yes. Boulevard's Focus Mode is free in any browser and in the Android app. It plays only lyric-free tracks, mixed on the beat, with a quiet binaural layer on the web. It is narrower than Brain.fm, mostly deep Afro house, with no sleep modes, and makes no neuroscience claims.
How much does Brain.fm cost?
As of October 2026, Brain.fm's pricing page lists $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, with a free trial. Older listings show lower prices, so check brain.fm/pricing for your region before subscribing.
Are there any lyrics in Focus Mode?
No. Focus Mode plays only tracks without lyrics, mixed on the beat, so there are no words competing with whatever you are reading, writing or coding, and no chorus pulling you into singing along.
Do binaural beats really work?
The evidence is mixed. A 2019 meta-analysis of 22 studies found a medium overall effect on memory, attention, anxiety and pain, while a 2023 review of EEG studies found inconsistent evidence that they change brainwaves. Boulevard keeps its binaural layer very quiet and makes no medical claims.
Can I use Focus Mode for ADHD?
Anyone can listen, but Focus Mode is not a treatment for ADHD or any condition, and we make no medical claims. Some people find lyric-free music easier to work to. If attention is a daily problem, a doctor or psychologist is the right first step.
Does Focus Mode work on iPhone?
Yes, in Safari: open boulevardai.app/listen and add it to your Home Screen. The iPhone app is not out yet. The quiet binaural layer plays only in the web player.
Sources
- Brain.fm pricingBrain.fm, 2026-10-31
- Brain.fm: music to focus betterBrain.fm, 2026-10-31
- Endel technologyEndel, 2026-10-31
- Endel: personalized soundscapesEndel, 2026-10-31
- Efficacy of binaural auditory beats in cognition, anxiety, and pain perception: a meta-analysisPsychological Research (Garcia-Argibay, Santed, Reales), 2019
- Binaural beats to entrain the brain? A systematic review of the effects of binaural beat stimulation on brain oscillatory activityPLOS ONE (Ingendoh, Posny, Heine), 2023-05-19
