In short
- Lumosity Premium is US$11.99 a month or US$59.99 a year on the US App Store, with three free rotating games a day.
- For the most research behind it, BrainHQ is the alternative; it costs more and its exercises are deliberately repetitive.
- For a similar experience at a lower price, Peak and NeuroNation offer broad game libraries with free tiers; Elevate focuses on reading, writing and maths.
- For a different kind of practice, Percore measures four senses in two minutes a day and claims nothing beyond what it measures; Human Benchmark is a free set of web tests.
- No app on this list has good evidence of improving everyday cognition. The things that do — exercise, sleep, learning a real skill — are not apps.
How this list was made
Each product was checked against its own App Store or Google Play listing and its own site on 21 October 2026. Prices are what the US listing showed on that date in US dollars; stores set local prices, and most of these apps discount heavily and often, so treat a price as the list price rather than what you will pay. We did not use star ratings or download counts. Percore, the app this site belongs to, is included as what it is — a different kind of alternative — and not placed first.
One thing to know before reading on. In 2016 the most thorough review of brain-training research, by Daniel Simons and colleagues, found that these products improve performance on their own games and on closely related tasks, and show no convincing improvement in everyday cognition. That applies to every brain-training app below, not only to Lumosity. Perception training vs brain training sets out the evidence. The entries here describe what each app does well on its own terms.
The alternatives
BrainHQ
- Best for
- The most research behind the exercises
- Platform
- iOS, Android and web
- Price
- Free daily exercise; US$13.99 a month or US$94.99 a year on the US App Store
BrainHQ, from Posit Science, is the brain-training product most often cited in published studies, and the one most often named when a researcher is asked which of these apps has evidence. Its exercises target processing speed, attention, memory and navigation, and they are built like laboratory tasks: adaptive, repetitive and unglamorous. The free tier is one rotating exercise a day; the subscription unlocks the full set and the progress tracking.
It is the most expensive app on this list and the least like a game. If what you disliked about Lumosity was the lack of evidence rather than the price or the feel, this is the alternative. If the research matters less to you than enjoying the daily session, look further down.
The limit. The best evidence in the category is still evidence of improvement on the trained tasks; it is not proof of a sharper mind at work.
Peak
- Best for
- A Lumosity-like experience at a lower yearly price
- Platform
- iOS and Android
- Price
- Free with ads; Peak Pro listed at US$34.99 a year on the US App Store, often discounted
Peak is the closest thing to Lumosity in shape: a daily workout of short games across memory, attention, problem solving, language and coordination, a score for each area, and a progress chart. The games are polished and the free tier is usable, with advertising. The Pro plan removes the ads and opens the full library and the personalised workouts, and its yearly list price is well under Lumosity's.
It is a good choice if you liked Lumosity's format and want to pay less for it. It makes the same kind of claims, with the same kind of evidence.
The limit. Advertising in the free tier, and the Pro price swings widely between promotions.
Elevate
- Best for
- Reading, writing, speaking and maths rather than abstract games
- Platform
- iOS and Android
- Price
- Free basic version; yearly subscription with a seven-day trial, priced by country
Elevate is narrower than Lumosity on purpose. Its games are built around communication and arithmetic: vocabulary, grammar, reading speed, listening comprehension, mental maths, estimation. If the thing you want to get better at is writing a clear email or doing a tip in your head, the practice is at least pointed at the right skill, and the daily sessions are short and well made.
The US App Store listing did not show a dollar price on the date checked; European listings showed a yearly plan around €38, with a monthly option and a seven-day trial. Check the store page for your country.
The limit. Skill-specific practice, which is its strength; it is not a general brain workout and does not cover memory or attention games in any depth.
NeuroNation
- Best for
- A German-built alternative with a usable free tier
- Platform
- iOS, Android and web
- Price
- Free tier with a limited set of exercises; Premium from US$6.99 a month on a yearly plan on the US App Store
NeuroNation is the Berlin answer to Lumosity, popular in German-speaking Europe and available in English. The free account offers a subset of the exercises and a daily test drawn from them; Premium opens more than thirty exercises, personalised training and performance reports. The exercises are the familiar kind — memory, attention, reasoning, speed — presented more soberly than most.
Its listing emphasises that it has worked with university researchers, which is true of several apps in this category and should be read with the 2016 review in mind.
The limit. Prices vary a lot by region and the listing's own figures changed between regions on the date checked; confirm before subscribing.
Impulse
- Best for
- Puzzles and a broad library, if you manage the trial carefully
- Platform
- iOS and Android
- Price
- Three-day free trial, then a subscription or lifetime purchase; content is behind the trial
Impulse has grown into one of the larger brain-training libraries, with games across logic, memory, attention and maths, plus the IQ and personality quizzes its listing advertises. It is ad-free and the sessions are short. The catch is the commercial model: on the date checked, the app asked for a subscription with a three-day trial before any content was available, and public reviews include complaints about cancelling in time.
If you try it, cancel through the App Store or Google Play subscription settings rather than by email, and do so well before the third day.
The limit. A paywall before the first game and a short trial; the model is the most aggressive on this list.
A different kind of alternative
The five apps above are alternatives to Lumosity in the sense of being other brain-training apps. The three below are alternatives in a different sense: they answer the same wish — a short daily practice that shows you something true about yourself — without making the claim that the 2016 review could not support.
Percore
- Best for
- A two-minute daily practice that measures four senses and claims nothing else
- Platform
- iPhone
- Price
- Free daily practice; Pro US$39.99 a year or US$4.99 a week
Percore replaces the brain-training premise with a perceptual one. Each day, four short sessions show or play something — a colour, a pitch, a duration, a shape — take it away, and ask you to reproduce it from memory. You are told exactly how far off you were, in degrees, cents or per cent, and the formulas are published. The daily practice is free, the targets are the same for everyone on the same day, and your progress is measured only against your own history.
It is on this list because the research behind it — perceptual learning — supports its claim, which is narrow: practise a sensory judgement and that judgement improves. It does not promise a better memory, and its landing page says so in the first FAQ answer. If you left Lumosity because the score never felt like it meant anything, a score with units might.
The limit. It measures perception only, on iPhone only; there are no memory, logic or language games, and there is no Android app yet.
Human Benchmark
- Best for
- Free one-off tests of reaction time, memory span and more
- Platform
- Web
- Price
- Free
Human Benchmark is a set of browser tests — reaction time, sequence memory, number memory, verbal memory, aim, typing — that millions of people have taken, with a results page that shows where you fall against everyone else. It is not a training programme and does not pretend to be one. It is useful precisely for that: a quick, free, repeatable measurement, with no account and no subscription.
Run the same test once a week and you have a series of your own. The best reaction time tests and apps covers it in more detail.
The limit. Tests, not training: no progression, no feedback beyond the number, and a percentile against the internet rather than against yourself.
Something that is not an app
- Best for
- Actually moving general cognition, as far as the evidence goes
- Platform
- Anywhere
- Price
- Varies
If the reason you used Lumosity was to keep your mind sharp, the honest alternative is the one researchers keep arriving at: regular physical exercise, enough sleep, and learning a demanding real-world skill such as a musical instrument or a second language. The evidence for these is better than for any app, though how large the effects are is still argued over, and none of them comes with a daily score.
A perception practice pairs well with this. Learning an instrument is a hearing practice with a purpose; the two-minute app measures whether your ear is moving.
The limit. No score screen, no streak, and considerably more than two minutes a day.
Which one, for which reason
| You left Lumosity because… | Try |
|---|---|
| You want the exercises with the most research behind them | BrainHQ |
| You liked the format and want it cheaper | Peak |
| You want to practise reading, writing and maths specifically | Elevate |
| You want a usable free tier and a sober presentation | NeuroNation |
| You want a big puzzle library and do not mind a paywall | Impulse |
| You want a score that means something you can check | Percore |
| You want a free measurement, once in a while | Human Benchmark |
| You want your mind sharper, not your score higher | Exercise, sleep, a real skill |
Two minutes. Four senses. A score with units.
Download on the App StoreFrequently asked
How much does Lumosity cost in 2026?
On the US App Store, Lumosity Premium is US$11.99 a month or US$59.99 a year, and the free version offers three rotating games a day. Family and lifetime plans exist but their prices were not confirmed on an official page on the date checked.
Is there a free alternative to Lumosity?
Peak and NeuroNation have free tiers with a limited game set; BrainHQ gives one free exercise a day. Human Benchmark is entirely free. Percore's daily practice — all four senses — is free, with Pro for practice beyond it.
Which brain training app has the best scientific evidence?
BrainHQ is the one most cited in published research. Even so, the 2016 review of the field found that brain-training apps improve the trained tasks and closely related ones, without convincing improvement in everyday cognition. The best evidence in the category is still evidence of a narrow effect.
Did Lumosity get in trouble over its claims?
Yes. In January 2016 Lumos Labs agreed to pay US$2 million to settle US Federal Trade Commission charges that it had advertised unsubstantiated benefits, including better performance at work and protection against cognitive decline. The product is still available and its marketing language changed.
Is Percore a brain training app?
No. It is a perception-training app: it measures how accurately you reproduce a colour, a pitch, a duration and a shape, and it claims nothing beyond that. It is on this list as a different kind of alternative, not as a brain-training competitor.
Were these apps tested?
Each was checked against its own listing and site on 21 October 2026, and the descriptions stay within what those say. Prices are the US list prices on that date; most of these apps run frequent discounts and set different prices by country.