A Brain.fm alternative without a subscription

Brain.fm makes music designed for focus, and a lot of people swear by it. The usual reasons to look for an alternative are the price, which is a subscription that never ends, or the fact that you do not actually want music: you want something steady in the background that covers the room. This page is for both.

What Brain.fm costs

At the time of writing Brain.fm costs $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, after a free trial, on the web, phone and desktop. Prices change, so check Brain.fm's pricing page before deciding. Over three years, that is about $300.

Sound instead of music, paid once

Kiri does not make music. It plays long ambient recordings and noise next to a focus timer: rain, brown, pink and white noise, a forest, a café, a fireplace, the sea, wind and a waterfall. The nature and café sounds are blended from real field recordings that do not loop. Five binaural beat frequencies sit underneath if you wear headphones.

The timer, rain, brown noise and alpha beats are free with no time limit. Everything else is €39 once, with a 30-day refund. Kiri runs only on a laptop or desktop, so the phone can go in another room.

When Brain.fm is the better choice

• Music works for you and noise does not. Some people find steady sound boring within minutes and need something with structure. Brain.fm is built for them.
• You want it on your phone. Kiri has no phone app, on purpose.
• You want sleep and relaxation too. Brain.fm covers those. Kiri is for work.

Try one block

The player above needs no account. Run one block with brown noise and compare. On what the research says about beats and noise, read do binaural beats work? and brown, white or pink noise.