BrainHQ does not currently advertise a standard free trial for individuals. What is always free is the Daily Spark, one exercise a day in a different training category each day, plus four exercises on BrainHQ’s homepage. For full access at no cost, check your public library and your Medicare Advantage plan: BrainHQ’s 2026 list names three plans that include it. Organizations can trial 10 group licenses free for a month. Otherwise, it costs $14 a month or $96 a year.
BrainHQ has the deepest research record in brain training, and it costs more than most rivals. So it is natural to want to try it before paying. Here is what you can actually use for free, and the smartest ways to evaluate the full program.
BrainHQ’s free options at a glance
What is free forever: the Daily Spark
BrainHQ’s App Store listing describes the app as a free download that “includes a free exercise every day.” That free exercise is the Daily Spark. It rotates through a different category of training each day of the week: People Skills on Sunday, Memory on Monday, Intelligence on Tuesday, Attention on Wednesday, Brain Speed on Thursday, Navigation on Friday, and a wildcard on Saturday. Over a week, you get a feel for BrainHQ’s full range. BrainHQ’s FAQ says you can train on it until you earn five stars that day.
You need a free BrainHQ account. Log in at brainhq.com and choose the Daily Spark, or open it in the app. It is genuinely useful for judging whether BrainHQ’s style, pace, and interface suit you, though it does not include the personalized training plan or the full exercise library.
Four free exercises on the homepage
BrainHQ’s support center points to a second free option: the “Try a few exercises” section of the BrainHQ homepage, with four exercises you can train on without a subscription. Each one adapts as you play, getting a little harder when you do well and a little easier when you struggle, and a level takes less than five minutes. Trying all four alongside a week of Daily Sparks gives you a fair sample before you spend anything.
Is there a free trial of the full program?
Not as a standard offer for individuals. BrainHQ’s App Store terms mention free trials only “if offered,” and its subscription help page lists monthly, yearly, family, and gift plans without a trial. If a promotion does appear when you sign up, note the end date and set a reminder, because it will convert to a paid plan unless you cancel.
The one trial BrainHQ publishes is for organizations: its Pro group plan comes with a free trial of 10 licenses for one month. More on that below.
How to get BrainHQ for free
Check your Medicare Advantage plan. Some Medicare Advantage plans include BrainHQ at no cost to members. The next section lists the plans BrainHQ currently names.
Check your public library. Participating libraries let patrons use the full version of BrainHQ, with every feature subscribers get, at no cost. BrainHQ publishes a list of participating libraries, or you can search your library’s website for “BrainHQ” or ask at the desk.
Ask your employer, clinic, or community. BrainHQ sells group licenses to clinics, senior living communities, schools, employers, and other organizations, so some people get access through one of them.
Which Medicare Advantage plans include BrainHQ?
BrainHQ is not part of Original Medicare. Medicare.gov says Original Medicare doesn’t cover fitness programs, though Medicare Advantage plans may include them as extra coverage, and that is how BrainHQ is offered. BrainHQ’s support center keeps an official list, updated in September 2026, and for 2026 it names three Medicare Advantage plans: Elderplan, Kaiser Permanente (Mid-Atlantic), and SummaCare, where it covers all members except those in the Garnet, Topaz, or Quartz HMO plans.
Each plan has its own BrainHQ registration page, linked from BrainHQ’s 2026 list. BrainHQ notes that a plan missing from the list may no longer include BrainHQ, even if it did in the past. If your plan isn’t listed, call the member services number on your card and ask what brain health or fitness benefits you have now.
Group and organization trials
If you run a clinic, senior community, class, team, or workplace program, BrainHQ for Groups lets you give people their own BrainHQ accounts and track their usage and progress from an admin portal. BrainHQ publishes three group tiers, priced per license per month: Consumer at $14, Pro at $19, and Enterprise at $25, which is billed annually with a minimum of 10 licenses. The Pro tier comes with a free trial of 10 licenses for one month, the closest thing BrainHQ offers to a standard free trial. See our BrainHQ cost guide for the full group pricing.
How to try the full program without much risk
If none of those free routes apply, these are the lowest-risk ways in:
Start with one month. At $14, a single month is effectively a paid trial. Cancel before it renews if BrainHQ isn’t for you.
Buy on the website rather than in the app. BrainHQ offers a 30-day refund guarantee on subscriptions bought through its website. The guarantee does not cover purchases made in the iOS or Android apps, which follow Apple’s or Google’s refund rules.
How to evaluate BrainHQ, free or paid
Set a goal early. BrainHQ asks you to pick a training goal. Do this thoughtfully, since it shapes the personalized plan.
Train most days for a week or two. One session will not tell you whether the pace and approach work for you.
Try it on both your phone and a computer. Some exercises feel very different on each.
Note the friction points. The two most common frustrations are that some exercises work best in landscape mode on a phone, and that the pace is deliberately slow. If either bothers you in the first week, it will likely bother you later too.
Weigh the science. BrainHQ’s differentiator is its research, including its connection to the ACTIVE Trial. See our guide on whether brain training works if that matters to you.
How to decide whether to pay
Are you actually opening it? If the Daily Spark became a habit, the full program is likely worth it to you. If you kept forgetting, paying won’t change that.
Does the slow pace suit you? Some people find BrainHQ’s unhurried style calming; others find it tedious.
Is the premium worth it? At $96 a year, BrainHQ costs more than double Elevate at $39.99. BrainHQ’s advantage is Double Decision, the speed training exercise used in the ACTIVE study, and the deepest research record in brain training. You have to genuinely value that.
For the full pricing breakdown, see our BrainHQ cost guide.
How to cancel
If you subscribed on the website: log in at brainhq.com, open your account or profile settings, and cancel your subscription.
If you subscribed in the app: cancel through your Apple ID subscriptions on iPhone or iPad, or through Google Play subscriptions on Android.
Cancel at least 24 hours before your renewal date to avoid the next charge.
Alternatives with standard free trials
Elevate, $39.99/year. A 7-day free trial and a free version with a new daily workout every day.
Lumosity. A free account with three games a day, which you can replay as often as you like.
Peak, about $34.99/year. A basic free version; its Android listing notes that it contains ads.
For the full comparison, see our best brain training apps roundup.
Zenelia is a brain training app made by Mindkindly’s owner, so we don’t rank or score it here. It costs $6.99 a month or $44.99 a year, has a 7-day free trial and a free tier of 4 games and 2 sessions a week, and is iPhone only for now; read more about Zenelia or see it on the App Store.
Common questions
Does BrainHQ have a free trial? Not as a standard offer for individuals. The Daily Spark gives you one free exercise a day, four more exercises are free on the homepage, and organizations can trial 10 group licenses free for a month.
Is BrainHQ free with Medicare? Original Medicare doesn’t include it. Some Medicare Advantage plans do: BrainHQ’s 2026 list names Elderplan, Kaiser Permanente (Mid-Atlantic), and SummaCare. Check with your plan.
Is BrainHQ free at the library? At participating libraries, yes, with full access. BrainHQ publishes a list of them on its website.
Can I get a refund? Yes, within 30 days on website purchases. App store purchases follow Apple’s or Google’s rules.
Is BrainHQ on Android? Yes. It is available on iOS, Android, and the web.
Can I add family members? Yes, on an annual subscription bought on the website, at $59 per person per year. Family members can’t be added to a subscription bought through the App Store or Google Play.
The bottom line
BrainHQ doesn’t offer a standard free trial, but you can still try it properly. Use the free Daily Spark and the homepage exercises to judge the style, check whether your library or Medicare Advantage plan gives you full access for free, and if not, try a single month or buy on the website, where the 30-day refund guarantee applies. If the pace suits you and the research matters to you, BrainHQ is worth it. If not, the alternatives above let you try a different style of training for free.
For the full picture, see our BrainHQ review.
Sources
- What is the Daily Spark? (BrainHQ Support)
- Exercises to try before you buy (BrainHQ Support)
- BrainHQ and Medicare offerings, full list for 2026 (BrainHQ Support)
- BrainHQ for libraries
- BrainHQ group pricing
- BrainHQ subscription plans (BrainHQ Support)
- BrainHQ refund policy (BrainHQ Support)
- Gym memberships and fitness programs (Medicare.gov)