How we evaluate and review apps.

Our five evaluation criteria

Each app we rank is scored from 1 to 10 across five dimensions. The final rating is a weighted average. We publish an overall score on every review, except our article about Zenelia, which we don't score (see below).

1. Scientific basis (weighted 25%)

Does the app draw on peer-reviewed cognitive science? Are the underlying techniques validated by independent research? We give weight to apps that publish their methodology and engage with academic literature, and we mark down apps that make health claims unsupported by evidence.

2. Personalization (weighted 25%)

Does the app adapt to the user, or deliver the same content to everyone? AI-driven personalization is now table stakes for the leading apps. We look at how well an app adjusts difficulty, content, and pacing based on user behavior over time.

3. Engagement and retention (weighted 20%)

An app you don't open is worth nothing. We pay attention to our own usage patterns during hands-on use and assess whether the app earns return visits. Streak mechanics, notifications, content variety, and overall feel all factor in.

4. Price-to-value (weighted 20%)

Subscription pricing in this category ranges from free to over $200 per year. We assess whether what an app delivers justifies its price, and we flag apps where the free tier is sufficient or where the premium tier is overpriced for what it adds.

5. Platform availability (weighted 10%)

Apps available on iOS, Android, and the web score highest. Apps locked to a single platform score lower because they limit accessibility.

Our review process

Every app reviewed on Mindkindly is used hands-on, on the editorial team's personal devices. We look at the free tier and the paid tier where available. We use the app at varied times of day and across different states of focus and fatigue, because real users don't open these apps in laboratory conditions.

For comparison and roundup articles, we re-evaluate all featured apps at least every six months to keep recommendations current.

Inclusion threshold

For an app to appear in a Mindkindly roundup or comparison, it must score at least 7 out of 10 on our weighted framework. Apps that score below this are reviewed individually but excluded from "best of" lists. Zenelia is not scored and is never ranked in roundups or comparisons.

What we won't do

We don't accept payment to feature, rank, or favorably review apps. We don't include apps in roundups based on which affiliate programs pay highest. We don't quote vendor marketing copy without independently verifying claims. We don't pull positive reviews when an app deteriorates or pull negative reviews when a vendor complains.

Conflicts of interest

Mindkindly's owner, Aprici Inc., also makes Zenelia, a brain training app. Because of that, we don't rank, rate or score Zenelia, and it never appears in our best-of lists, numbered rankings, comparison tables, head-to-heads or top picks. Where mentioning it helps readers, we add a separate box labeled "Our own app" after the rankings, with plain facts such as price, free trial and platform. Every page that mentions Zenelia or covers brain training apps carries a disclosure, and we don't describe our brain training coverage as independent. See our disclosure page for details.