Your streaming app was built for songs. Hum was built for work
Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and Deezer are great at playing the songs you love. That’s exactly the problem on page 40. Hum is wordless music set up for the task in front of you, for about $5 a month on the yearly plan.
“But I already have Apple Music.” Keep it
Hum doesn’t replace your streaming app. Keep it for the commute, the gym and the songs you love. Hum is for the hours you need your head: reading, writing, coding, revising, the work that pays.
Songs you love are the problem there. Researchers pooled 65 studies on background sound and reading, and music with lyrics got in the way more than anything else they measured. A streaming app is built to make you listen. Hum is built so you stop noticing it.
And it costs less than the app you already have. Hum’s yearly plan works out at $5 a month. In the US, Spotify Premium is $12.99 a month and Apple Music $11.99.
Hum vs the streaming services, feature by feature
| Feature | Hum | Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube | Deezer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hear the real sound with no account or email | Yes | Not found | Not found | Yes | Not found |
| No ads, on any plan | Yes | Not found | Yes | Not found | Not found |
| Every sound made for focus, rest or sleep | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| No lyrics, ever, with no setting to remember | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| A reason and the strength of the evidence for each setting | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| A coach that reads your own ratings | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| A pulse you can set by hand, with the rate shown in Hz | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| A blind test of the pulse, on you | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| Music written live as it plays | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| Nature sounds and noise you can mix yourself | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| In English, French, German, Spanish and Italian | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cancel from your own account | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| On your phone and your computer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No analytics, ad or third-party scripts | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| Price | $7.99 a month or $59.99 a year, with $1 for your first 14 days | $12.99 a month in the US, with no yearly plan listed, and a free plan with ads | $11.99 a month in the US, with no yearly plan listed and no free plan | Free with ads, or Premium at €14.99 a month or €149.99 a year in France | Free plan with ads, or €11.99 a month or €107.99 a year in France |
What a streaming app can’t do for your focus
No lyrics, ever
Hum is wordless from the first note to the last, so there’s nothing to sing along to on page 40. We couldn’t find a setting in any of these four that keeps songs with lyrics out.
No ads in the middle of a good run
Hum has no ads, on any plan. The free plans of Spotify, YouTube and Deezer play ads.
Nothing to pick
Answer a few questions and your sound is set. It starts playing after the first one, so you’re not scrolling playlists while the clock runs.
A sound for each task
Four states and 19 activities, and each keeps its own settings, so reading doesn’t get the sound you code to.
Every setting explains itself
Hum shows you why it picked each setting and how strong the evidence is, and you can change any of it. We couldn’t find that in any of the four.
A pulse you control
Switch it off, pick Low, Medium or High, or set the rate by hand up to 40 Hz, with the number on screen. We couldn’t find a rate you can set by hand in any of the four.
A coach that reads your own ratings
Rate your sessions and it compares them by time of day, session length and whether you named the task first, then gives you one thing it noticed and one thing to try. We couldn’t find anything like it in any of the four.
Test it on yourself, blind
Your next 16 focus sessions play with the pulse or without it, in an order Hum keeps from you. At the end you see how the two compared, for you.
Compare them one by one
Questions
Is Spotify or Apple Music good for focus?
Their wordless focus playlists can help. But they’re built for songs: we couldn’t find a setting in either that keeps lyrics out, and nothing sets the sound for your task or tells you what works for you. Hum is built only for focus, rest and sleep, and you can hear it free before you decide.
I already pay for a streaming service. Why pay for Hum too?
Because they do different jobs. Keep your streaming app for the songs you want to hear. Hum is for the hours you don’t want to notice the music: wordless, set up for the task, with a coach that reads your ratings. On the yearly plan it’s about $5 a month, and your first 14 days cost $1, with your money back if you change your mind.
Is Hum cheaper than Spotify or Apple Music?
On the yearly plan, yes: $59.99 a year works out at $5 a month. In the US, Spotify Premium Individual is $12.99 a month and Apple Music Individual $11.99, and we couldn’t find a yearly plan for either. Monthly, Hum is $7.99.
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
Answer the first question and the sound starts, with no card to hear it. If it isn’t for you, close the tab.