Elevate practices real, useful skills — writing, reading, mental math — instead of abstract puzzles, though evidence that the gains carry over outside the app is limited. Excellent design, a generous free tier, and a fair price. Just know its scope is deliberately narrow.
Most brain training apps ask you to match tiles and memorize grids — abstract exercises hoping to improve your mind in general. Elevate takes a different approach: it practices everyday skills like reading, writing, and math. We spent real time with it to see how well that works.
The approach, and its limits
There is a well-known problem in brain training research called the transfer problem: getting better at a brain game often does not make you better at anything else. Our guide on whether brain training works covers it in depth.
Elevate’s design takes a different route. Instead of abstract puzzles, it practices skills you already use: concise writing, careful reading, quick estimation. That makes the practice feel relevant, but it does not settle the transfer question. A major 2016 review of brain training research found that training reliably improves the trained tasks but shows little benefit for everyday performance. The only peer-reviewed Elevate study we found, a 2025 survey of Elevate users, measured how much users felt they had improved rather than testing their skills, had no control group, and was written largely by people who work for or consult for Elevate’s maker. So expect to get better at Elevate’s exercises; evidence that those gains carry over outside the app is limited.
What works, what to know
- Trains real, workplace-relevant skills
- Polished, App-of-the-Year-quality design
- Genuinely generous free tier
- Well-calibrated difficulty progression
- Narrow scope — little visual or spatial work
- Leans heavily on English proficiency
- Feedback can be thin on some games
- Advanced users may hit a low ceiling
How it scores
On our five-criterion framework, Elevate scores very well on engagement and price-to-value. On scientific basis, practicing real skills keeps the training relevant, though evidence that the gains carry over outside the app is limited. It scores lower on breadth. The weighted result is 8.4 out of 10, placing it second in our roundup.
The bottom line
Elevate is the brain training app for people who want to practice skills they use every day. If you write for work, present, or want sharper reading and faster mental math, it targets exactly those skills at a fair price. Just know its scope is deliberately narrow — for broad cognitive variety, pair it with another app or see our full roundup. Start with the free version; for many users it is genuinely enough.