The focus.music alternative that shows its working
Hum is wordless music for focus and sleep, set up around you in a few questions. It tells you why it picked each setting, and a coach reads your own ratings. Here’s how it compares with focus.music.
Hum vs focus.music, feature by feature
| Feature | Hum | focus.music |
|---|---|---|
| Hear the real sound with no account or email | Yes | Yes |
| A reason and the strength of the evidence for each setting | Yes | Not found |
| A coach that reads your own ratings | Yes | Not found |
| A pulse you can set by hand, with the rate shown in Hz | Yes | Not found |
| Music written live as it plays | Yes | Not found |
| Nature sounds and noise you can mix yourself | Yes | Not found |
| Focus, relax, meditate and sleep in one place | Yes | Not found |
| In English, French, German, Spanish and Italian | Yes | Not found |
| Money back within 14 days even after listening, on monthly and yearly | Yes | Not found |
| Cancel from your own account | Yes | Yes |
| No analytics, ad or third-party scripts | Yes | Not found |
| Price | $7.99 a month or $59.99 a year, with $1 for your first 14 days | $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial |
What Hum gives you
- Reasons you can check. Each setting comes with the reason and the strength of the evidence, and you can change any of it.
- A coach that reads your own ratings. It compares your sessions, then gives you one thing it noticed and one thing to try.
- A pulse you control. Off, Low, Medium or High, with the rate shown in Hz, and up to 40 Hz by hand.
- A deal that’s hard to get wrong. Hear it free with no account, then $1 for your first 14 days, with your money back if you change your mind, even if you’ve listened every day.
- No trackers. No analytics, no ads and no third-party scripts, on the site or in the app.
What focus.music does well
focus.music costs less, has dedicated apps for computer and phone, and says its tracks are composed and performed by professional musicians. Its app notes say former Focus@Will subscribers will find it familiar. Hum runs in your browser and as an app on Windows, Mac and Android, and covers relaxing, meditating and sleep as well as focus.
Questions
Is Hum a good alternative to focus.music?
If you want to see why you got each setting, set the pulse yourself and have a coach read your own ratings, yes. You can judge it by ear first: the live app on the home page needs no account and no email.
Is Hum cheaper than focus.music?
No. focus.music lists $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial. Hum is $7.99 a month or $59.99 a year, with $1 for your first 14 days, and that includes the coach, the background sounds and the relax, meditate and sleep states.
Will Hum help me focus or sleep?
That’s what it’s built for, and you can judge it by ear before you pay. Its settings draw on research into music, noise and breathing, and the science page has the numbers. Then test it on yourself: Hum’s blind test plays your next 16 focus sessions with the pulse or without it, in an order it keeps from you, and shows you how the two compared.
You’ve read enough. Press play
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