Short answer: Endel generates soundscapes that adapt to your day, on almost every device you own. If you mainly use it to focus at a computer, Nova Focus is a free alternative: a browser timer with rain, café and noise sounds, plus playlists from Nova Sounds, a Stockholm focus-music label. If you use Endel for sleep, on your watch or through a smart speaker, stay with Endel.
Prices and features checked on endel.io and the US App Store on 2026-09-30.
What Endel does well
- Adaptive sound. Endel says its soundscapes are generated in real time and react to time of day, weather, heart rate and location (endel.io).
- Everywhere. iOS, Android, Mac, Apple Watch (Endel says it won Apple Watch App of the Year 2020), Apple TV, Fire TV, Alexa and a web player.
- Classic soundscapes for Focus, Sleep, Relax and Move, and a Premium library with colored noise, study and nature soundscapes and artist collaborations (App Store).
- Offline. The App Store listing says all soundscapes are available offline.
Endel describes itself as “backed by neuroscience” and links a whitepaper on bioRxiv, a preprint server. Nova Focus makes no claims of that kind.
Why people look for an Endel alternative
- Price. endel.io shows no prices. The US App Store lists in-app purchases from $2.99 to $19.99 a month, $34.99 to $119.99 a year, and $124.99 lifetime; the price you see depends on the offer and your region.
- The payment screen. Endel’s listing tells you to skip the payment offer with the “X” to reach the Free Edition, and some reviewers say a trial required setting up the subscription.
- The timer is a Premium feature. Endel’s Focus Timer, “the famous interval work method”, is listed under Premium. People who work in a browser tab often want a free timer on the page, with no app or card.
Nova Focus vs Endel
| Nova Focus | Endel | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, no ads | Free Edition in the app (contents not listed); Premium via app stores, e.g. $119.99/year or $124.99 lifetime (US) |
| Trial | Not needed | Offered on some plans; length not stated on the listing |
| Sound | Rain, café and brown noise under every timer, pink and white noise on the Music page, all generated in the browser; Nova Sounds playlists on Spotify | Generative soundscapes that adapt to context; 9 colors of noise on Premium |
| Focus timer | Free: Pomodoro 25/5, 50/10, 52/17, 90-minute blocks, Flowtime, countdowns from 1 minute to 3 hours, classroom and fullscreen modes | Focus Timer on Premium, in the app |
| Sleep and relax | No | Yes |
| Devices | Any modern browser | Phone, tablet, Mac, watch, TV, smart speaker, web player |
| Offline | No | All soundscapes |
| Claims | None about your brain | “Backed by neuroscience” (preprint whitepaper) |
Who should pick which
Stay with Endel if you use it for sleep or winding down, want sound that changes with the weather and your heart rate, listen on an Apple Watch or smart speaker, need offline listening, or like its lifetime option.
Pick Nova Focus if you work at a computer in timed blocks, want to choose between methods such as 25/5, 50/10 or a 90-minute block, and want something free that needs no card or account.
Consider Brain.fm if you want a paid focus-music app with its own published research. We compare the two in Brain.fm vs Endel.
An Endel-like focus block in Nova Focus
- Open the 90 minute timer and add the 15-minute break. The 90-minute idea comes from the basic rest–activity cycle, a sleep-research concept (overview). In sleep, a cycle of 80 to 100 minutes is well documented (NHLBI); whether a similar cycle shapes focus while awake is debated. Treat 90 minutes as a convenient length, not a biological rule.
- Choose brown noise with a little rain for something close to a soundscape, or open the Nova Ambient playlist for slow, evolving pieces. Compare the noise colors on sounds.
- Keep the volume low. The sound should disappear after a few minutes.