Endel App Review

Best Features, Pricing & Opinion

Endel is one of the most interesting productivity sound apps on the market. But does it live up to the hype of being a better way for you to focus & get more done? We've used it for more than 3 years, so let's work out if it is right for you.

What is Endel?

Endel is an audio app that creates personalized music based on your target needs like focus, sleep, and relaxation based on health, location & time of day.

What does Endel do?

Endel is a strange one, a new type of productivity software and one that has been impressively crafted to try and make you more focused, sleep better & train better.

The idea behind Endel is fairly simple, an app is helps you by playing music (called soundscapes) in the various apps to help for a variety of use cases. The focus mode is popular with work and can be used to stay on task longer, the sleep one can be played at night for better improve deep sleep states and there's even an activity one for sport.

All aren't just thrown together there's a combination of science backing and AI that crafts the algorithm to create the music, which was very strange to get used to when getting started with Endel. The more you use it, the more it learns and adapts to you.

Endel Pros

Here are the things we liked when using Endel in our review:

1. Data Focused

Science-focused, productivity-led research and a combination of machine learning are promising in this application.

The app balances each to create the perfect soundscape for you.

As a user, this looks like what time of day it is, where you are, the weather, your health data like BPM (beats per minute), and more to gather the best insight into you. When we first downloaded it, we thought this might be a bit creepy, but by tying this in with circadian rhythm and knowing your daily energy peaks and troughs the soundscapes they created were different each time and weirdly satisfying to use.

The thing with this is there's no real test to firmly say that the soundscape worked better, because it is all down to the user, if as we were performing the review, we inserted the data on another the soundscape created would be different. But using the scapes in focus mode (focus, deep focus) were both very compelling and we'd say increased focus by maybe an extra 10-15 minutes per session.

2. Artist Collaborations

Collaboration with artists allows for better soundscapes, there have been a few that are pretty notable like Grimes, Miguel, and James Blake all focused on different areas to create smarter soundscapes to listen to, to better immerse yourself.

James Blake's feature is all about sleep and producing a better sleep soundscape for better hygiene with some studies suggesting sleeping with music can increase the deep sleep states. Some studies suggest this increases slow-wave sleep, something Endel speaks a lot when it comes to their science-based approaches.

These artist collaborations make many of the soundscapes unique.

3. Timer Modes

There are simple timer modes within the application for implementing a system of focus.

This is super popular for those who find the Pomodoro technique and process beneficial for their productivity. The timers are simple and can be accessed within the application per mode, so you can have one for one of the soundscapes you start.

Timers end with a nice ending, allowing you to stop for a break.

Endel Cons

1. App Navigation

The use of the application takes some time to get used to.

To be honest, the first few hours inside the Endel app were a strange one. Finding things like science-backing information or switching between soundscapes was quite complicated and wasn't as user-friendly as something like Spotify. The app is also permanently in dark mode meaning that you won't get an optionality to get light mode, normally something people don't ask for.

2. Free Plan Limits

Endel Freemium limits you to the full powers of the focus.

From what we were reading the actual soundscapes aren't as intense in the free, and the packages like spatial focus, study, and many more are not inside the free plan. The free plan is better for those who want a taste of the experience, versus the overall package.

Endel Pricing

What does the pricing look like for Endel app:

How much does Endel cost?

Endel Premium starts from around £4 per month with annual pricing as low as £48.99. There are always discounts running in-app for various events.

Endel: Our Verdict

In short, if you work well with sounds and need fewer distractions, yes.

During our review, we found Endel to be a perfect productivity companion even on the free plan, but the Endel Premium offered so much more to keep focused during the day. For those who want focused music and don't have too many meetings, this is a perfect investment, and from personal experience, Endel cut it as a great focus app.

Endel has evolved a lot since our first review back in 2022 and has scored well over 4M listeners who use it to stay productive, we rate Endel highly as a tool.

Is Endel Worth Paying For?

Endel Premium can cost up to £48 per year.

This for a lot of people is a lot of money, the combination of having sleep, focus, and relaxation modes (and more) is a good offering for the cost. It is rare to use an app all day long, and if you paid for Endel you'd likely be using it in around 3-4 situations per day, which makes the cost not as bad overall.

Endel Alternatives

The one we've found is Brain.FM that most resembles Endel.