Berceuse gives you lo-fi and ambient playlists with rain, fire or a café mixed underneath, for $39.99 a year. Brain.fm makes "functional" music for focus, built on amplitude modulation, for $99.99. Here is how the two focus music apps compare.
We make Berceuse. We tried to be fair to Brain.fm: every Brain.fm price and feature below comes from its pricing page, its blog and its App Store listing, checked in October 2026.
The short answer
Pick Berceuse if you want lo-fi and ambient music you choose yourself, with rain, fire or a café mixed underneath at your own volume, no ads and offline play. It costs $39.99 a year against Brain.fm's $99.99. Brain.fm fits better if you want music designed for focus, on your computer as well as your phone.
Berceuse and Brain.fm side by side
US prices, checked in October 2026. Brain.fm's prices come from its pricing page and the US App Store.
| Berceuse | Brain.fm | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per year (US) | $39.99 | $99.99 |
| Price per month (US) | $5.99 | $14.99 |
| Free trial | 3 days | 7 days monthly, 14 days yearly (Brain.fm's blog) |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Ads | None | None |
| The music | More than 40 lo-fi playlists, plus ambient, piano, jazz and more, picked by you | "Functional" music in more than 20 genres, including lo-fi and rain |
| Rain and nature | Separate layers, each with its own volume | Genres you pick, not layers you mix |
| Offline | Yes, after download | Yes, in the mobile apps |
| Platforms | iPhone and Android phones | Web, iOS, Android, Mac and Windows |
| Best for | Lo-fi you pick, with rain or a café mixed in, for work and for sleep | Music designed for focus, on a computer as well as a phone |
Berceuse lets you choose the music and mix the rain yourself
Berceuse is an app for iPhone and Android phones, with more than 900 sounds and music tracks as of September 2026. For focus, it has more than 40 lo-fi playlists, such as Study Beats, Library Hush, Tape Piano and Bossa Desk. It also has ambient, piano, jazz and classical music, with tags such as focus, study and work to browse. More than 80 ready-made mixes pair lo-fi with rain, fire or a café.
The big difference with Brain.fm is the mixer. In Berceuse, rain is not a genre. It is a layer with its own volume slider, playing under the playlist. You can add up to 10 layers on iPhone, 6 on Android. Want the rain loud and the beats faint? Or a quiet café under piano? You set it, then save the mix and rename it. When you create a mix, you pick focus as the purpose, then the sounds, the music and a cover.
Berceuse makes no claim that its music changes how your brain works. It gives you music and sounds, and lets you set them the way you like. If you want to know what research says about music and focus, a 2018 review of 65 studies found that music with lyrics hurts reading the most, while instrumental music showed no reliable effect. We go through the studies in Does lo-fi help you study or sleep?
What else you get:
- No ads. Nothing breaks into a work session.
- Offline after download. Mixes and playlists play offline, for up to 30 days between subscription checks.
- Keeps playing with the screen locked. Lock-screen controls work on both platforms, plus a Live Activity and the Dynamic Island on iPhone (iOS 16.2 or later).
- Siri on iPhone. With iOS 17 or later, say "Play lo-fi on Berceuse" and a lo-fi mix starts.
- From work to bed in one app. When focus turns into bedtime, switch to a sleep mix and set the timer for 5 to 60 minutes. The sound fades out over the last 30 seconds instead of stopping hard.
What Brain.fm does well for focus
Brain.fm is a serious product with a clear idea. It makes "functional" music for focus, relaxation and sleep, built with a technique called amplitude modulation. It has 4.5 stars from about 5,500 ratings on the US App Store.
- Music made for one job. You pick focus, relax or sleep, and the music is built for that, in more than 20 genres including lo-fi and rain.
- It runs everywhere. Web, iOS, Android, Mac and Windows, which matters if you work at a computer all day.
- No ads and offline play. There is no free tier with ads, and the mobile apps play offline.
- Research it can point to. A 2024 study in Communications Biology found that amplitude-modulated music helped attention in people with more ADHD symptoms. Its lead author is Brain.fm's director of science.
Berceuse costs $60 less a year than Brain.fm
- Berceuse: $39.99 a year, or $5.99 a month.
- Brain.fm: $99.99 a year, or $14.99 a month.
Over a year, that is $60 less with Berceuse, for lo-fi, ambient music and sleep sounds in one app. Neither has a free tier. Both offer a free trial: Berceuse's is 3 days, and Brain.fm's is 7 days on the monthly plan or 14 days on the yearly plan (Brain.fm's blog). Before you pay for Berceuse, you can browse the whole library and hear 10-second previews.
Home: tonight’s featured mix and the ones you played last.
Or tap a moment: sleep, focus, calm, study.
The mixer: each sound has its own volume, with music underneath.
Why we think Berceuse is the better choice for lo-fi and focus sounds
- You choose the music. Pick a lo-fi playlist you like, from more than 40, rather than a track picked for you.
- Rain is a layer, not a genre. Put rain, fire or a café under the beats, each at its own volume.
- More than lo-fi. Ambient, piano, jazz, classical and more, in more than 900 sounds and music tracks as of September 2026, for work and for sleep.
- No ads, offline after download. Study on a train or a plane.
- Siri on iPhone. "Play lo-fi on Berceuse" starts a lo-fi mix.
- Less than half the price. $39.99 a year against $99.99 for Brain.fm.
Who should still pick Brain.fm
- You want music designed for focus, and the research behind amplitude modulation matters to you.
- You work at a computer. Brain.fm runs on the web, Mac and Windows. Berceuse is made for phones, with no web player or desktop app.
- You would rather not choose. If picking a playlist and setting volumes feels like one more task, Brain.fm's approach may suit you better.
To compare more options, see the best lo-fi apps and Berceuse vs Lofi Girl and Spotify.
Questions people ask
Is Berceuse better than Brain.fm for lo-fi?
Yes, for lo-fi you choose yourself. Berceuse has more than 40 lo-fi playlists and puts rain, fire or a café under them as separate layers, each at its own volume. It has no ads, plays offline after download and costs $39.99 a year against $99.99. Brain.fm is the better fit if you want music designed for focus, or you work at a computer.
Is Brain.fm backed by science?
Brain.fm cites research. A 2024 study in Communications Biology found that amplitude-modulated music helped attention in people with more ADHD symptoms. Its lead author is Brain.fm's director of science, so the study is not independent of the company.
Can I mix rain with music in Brain.fm?
Not as a separate layer. Brain.fm has lo-fi and rain among more than 20 genres, all made with its amplitude modulation method, and you pick one. In Berceuse, rain is a layer with its own volume under a lo-fi playlist.
Is Berceuse free?
No. Berceuse is a subscription at $5.99 a month or $39.99 a year in the US, with a 3-day free trial. You can browse the library and hear 10-second previews before you pay.
Does Berceuse work on a computer?
No. Berceuse is made for iPhone and Android phones. It has no web player and no desktop app. Brain.fm runs on the web, Mac and Windows.
Do Berceuse and Brain.fm work offline?
Yes, both. Brain.fm plays offline in its mobile apps. Berceuse plays downloaded mixes and playlists offline, for up to 30 days between subscription checks.
Sources
- Brain.fm pricing
- Brain.fm on the App Store
- Woods et al., Communications Biology (2024)
- Vasilev, Kirkby and Angele, Perspectives on Psychological Science (2018): meta-analysis of 65 studies on background sound and reading
