IQ Masters by Codeway has carved out a corner of the brain training market by mixing cognitive games with personality quizzes, IQ tests, and self-discovery content. The package is broader than most competitors, which is part of the appeal and part of the problem. The actual brain training pool is shallower than Lumosity or Peak, the free version pushes ads between sessions, and the paywall is aggressive. If you bought into the app for the personality content and now want a sharper cognitive workout, these IQ Masters alternatives focus on the training itself.
We compared seven brain training apps that compete with IQ Masters on Android and iOS, ranging from heavyweight programs with 100 million users to lighter, free-leaning options. Each one has measurable strengths and an honest weakness worth knowing before you subscribe.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Game count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lumosity | Best-known science-backed program | Limited daily session | About $11.99/month | 40+ games |
| Peak | Polished UI and Coach guidance | Limited daily access | About $7-8/month | 45+ games |
| Elevate | Verbal and writing skills focus | 3 daily games | 7-day trial then paid | 40+ games |
| NeuroNation | Personalized study-backed plan | Free core exercises | About $14/month | 30+ exercises |
| CogniFit | Clinical-feeling cognitive assessments | Limited free access | Subscription | 60+ games |
| Memorado | Memory and meditation in one | Free with caps | Premium subscription | 24 games + audio |
| Impulse | Daily 10-minute personalized routine | 3-day full trial | Subscription | Memory, focus, math |
Why people leave IQ Masters
The pattern in app store reviews is consistent. The free tier serves a few rounds of games, then asks you to subscribe. The full subscription unlocks the IQ tests, personality assessments, and the advanced game variants, but the underlying training pool is not as deep as Lumosity or Peak once you actually compare. Several reviewers also mention that the app blends entertainment-style content (personality types, archetype quizzes) with the cognitive games in a way that makes it hard to track real progress on attention or memory specifically. If you want a measurable training program with a clear weekly plan, dedicated brain trainers do that better.
Three more recurring complaints. Ads in the free tier interrupt training sessions, breaking flow. The subscription auto-renews and the cancellation flow has been called confusing. And the app spans a wide age range without adapting difficulty as cleanly as competitors that offer cognitive baselines and adapt automatically.
Which IQ Masters alternative should you pick
- Lumosity if you want the original, most-researched brain training program with 100M+ users.
- Peak if you want a polished UI and a daily Coach that actually guides what to play.
- Elevate if you care about verbal and writing skills more than pure pattern recognition.
- NeuroNation if you want personalized plans backed by published studies with Freie Universitat Berlin.
- CogniFit if you want clinical-style assessments of cognitive domains rather than gamified scores.
- Memorado if you want brain training plus meditation in a single subscription.
- Impulse if you want a fast, focused 10-minute daily routine with a recent Apple App of the Day pedigree.
If IQ Masters is mostly entertaining you with the personality and IQ tests, none of the alternatives below replicate that side of the app. They train. That is the trade.
1. Lumosity, the most-researched program
Lumosity is the household name in brain training and has been since 2007. The app has more than 100 million users and a long-running collaboration with university researchers, with results published across cognitive science journals. The training pool covers 40+ games organized by core skills (memory, attention, problem solving, speed, flexibility), and the daily Fit Test sets a baseline so progress is measurable rather than vibes-based.
Lumosity vs IQ Masters comes down to depth versus breadth. IQ Masters bundles tests and quizzes around lighter games. Lumosity goes deeper on cognitive training and shows you progress curves per skill domain.
Where it falls short: the free plan is restrictive (one session a day with limited variety), and the Premium subscription is at the top of the category in price.
Pricing:
- Free: one short daily session, limited games rotated.
- Premium: a monthly or annual subscription that unlocks the full game set and advanced statistics.
Migrating from IQ Masters: start with the Fit Test, then let Lumosity build a daily routine. There is no data import, but you keep your training streak fresh from day one.
Bottom line: the safest pick if you want a credible, well-researched program and are willing to pay for the full version.
2. Peak, the polished daily Coach
Peak is the brain training app most people remember as visually polished. Games are short, clean, and designed in collaboration with neuroscientists from Cambridge and Yale. The Coach feature is the standout: it suggests the next 10 minutes of training based on your weakest cognitive areas instead of leaving you to pick games yourself. The free tier rotates a daily selection of games, which is more useful than IQ Masters’ free experience.
Peak vs IQ Masters: Peak feels like a single-purpose app done well. IQ Masters is a broader entertainment-and-test product that happens to include some training games.
Where it falls short: offline mode is limited compared to Lumosity, and the Pro subscription used to include a tiered family discount that has shifted in recent updates.
Pricing:
- Free: a rotating daily game selection.
- Pro: a monthly or annual subscription unlocking all 45+ games and advanced workouts.
Migrating from IQ Masters: Peak’s onboarding sets a quick baseline. Start with the Coach’s suggestions for the first week before exploring the full game list.
Bottom line: the upgrade if you want the polish of a flagship app and the discipline of a daily Coach.
3. Elevate, for verbal and writing skills
Elevate is the brain trainer with the strongest leaning toward language. Reading comprehension, writing precision, vocabulary, math, and processing speed are the focus, and the games look more like little tests than abstract puzzles. For students, professionals who write a lot, or anyone who feels their reading speed has slipped since spending more time on short-form video, Elevate addresses that directly.
Elevate vs IQ Masters: Elevate is sharper at language and arithmetic. IQ Masters covers more general “fun cognitive challenge” territory but gives you less measurable progress on a specific skill.
Where it falls short: the free tier is thin (3 games per day), and the focus on language means it is less useful for someone who already reads heavily and wants pattern recognition or spatial work.
Pricing:
- Free: three games a day from a rotating set.
- Pro: a 7-day trial then a paid subscription unlocking 40+ games and detailed performance tracking.
Migrating from IQ Masters: install, take the brief assessment, and Elevate builds a personalized program in minutes.
Bottom line: the right pick if you want to feel sharper specifically with words, numbers, and reading.
4. NeuroNation, study-backed personalization
NeuroNation is the European brain trainer that quietly built a reputation on published research. The app collaborates with the Department of General Psychology at Freie Universitat Berlin and references peer-reviewed studies on its training methodology. The plan adapts based on how you perform across 30+ exercises, with a weekly check-in that adjusts difficulty and exercise mix.
NeuroNation vs IQ Masters: NeuroNation is heavier on cognitive depth and lighter on entertainment. The interface is plainer and the tone is closer to a clinical product than a game.
Where it falls short: the visual design is dated next to Peak, and Premium pricing is on the higher end of the category.
Pricing:
- Free: core exercises and a baseline plan.
- Premium: 3-month or 12-month plans, with the longer plan offering a meaningful per-month discount.
Migrating from IQ Masters: complete the initial cognitive baseline (about 10 minutes), then follow the personalized plan. Daily NeuroBoosters keep the routine short.
Bottom line: the pick when you want training that takes itself seriously and has the studies to back the claim.
5. CogniFit, clinical-style assessments
CogniFit goes further toward the clinical side than any other consumer brain training app. The platform is used in research and rehabilitation settings, and the consumer app inherits that DNA. You get a cognitive score across multiple domains (reasoning, memory, perception, attention, coordination), 60+ games tied to those domains, and a more granular score breakdown than the gamified competitors.
CogniFit vs IQ Masters: CogniFit looks like an assessment platform with games attached. IQ Masters looks like a games platform with assessments attached. If you actually want the clinical framing, CogniFit is the only one in this list that feels close to it.
Where it falls short: the UX is the most utilitarian on this list, and the subscription is required for the full assessment data.
Pricing:
- Free: limited free access, sample of games and one cognitive area.
- Premium: subscription that unlocks all games, full assessments, and tracked weekly plans.
Migrating from IQ Masters: the initial cognitive evaluation takes about 30 minutes and is the foundation of the whole experience. Don’t skip it.
Bottom line: the right tool if you want a serious-looking cognitive baseline and structured weekly training across multiple domains.
6. Memorado, brain games plus meditation
Memorado merged with the meditation brand GEIST a few years back, which is why the current app pairs 24 brain games with audio meditation sessions. For someone who treats brain training as part of a wider wellness routine, that combination is genuinely useful. The cognitive game depth is shallower than Lumosity or NeuroNation, but Memorado lands more like a daily “mind care” companion than a pure trainer.
Memorado vs IQ Masters: Memorado is calmer and more wellness-flavored. IQ Masters is more entertainment-flavored.
Where it falls short: the games library is smaller (24 games over 720 levels) and the science-backed claims are less heavily cited than NeuroNation or Lumosity.
Pricing:
- Free: most games available with caps, limited audio sessions.
- Premium: monthly or annual subscription unlocking all games, all audio sessions, and statistics.
Migrating from IQ Masters: install, set a daily reminder, and pick one game and one audio session per day. The routine is the point.
Bottom line: the pick when you want training and meditation in a single subscription rather than two separate apps.
7. Impulse, the focused daily routine
Impulse is the youngest brand on this list and has grown fastest. The app reports 100 million users, was Apple’s App of the Day in 50+ countries, and runs a 4.7 worldwide rating. The hook is simplicity: a personalized 10-minute daily routine across memory, processing speed, attention, mental math, and problem solving, plus a library of self-discovery tests (IQ, personality archetypes, emotional intelligence) that gives some of the same flavor IQ Masters offers, just packaged tighter.
Impulse vs IQ Masters: Impulse is the closest direct competitor in concept (training plus tests) and is widely considered the better-made of the two on Android.
Where it falls short: the free trial is short (3 days) and the app is subscription-only after that, with no permanent free tier worth speaking of.
Pricing:
- Free: 3-day full-access trial, no permanent free tier.
- Premium: subscription, with the longer plan substantially cheaper per month.
Migrating from IQ Masters: start the trial, finish the personality and IQ tests on day one, then settle into the 10-minute daily routine.
Bottom line: the modern equivalent of IQ Masters, with a tighter free trial and a more polished training core.
How to choose
Pick Lumosity if you want the most cited program and don’t mind paying for it. Pick Peak if a clean UI and a daily Coach matter more than the science citations. Pick Elevate if your sense of slipping focus is really about reading and writing, not pattern recognition. Pick NeuroNation if a published research collaboration is the deciding factor. Pick CogniFit if you want the most assessment-heavy product. Pick Memorado if you want one subscription that covers training and meditation. Pick Impulse if you liked IQ Masters’ format and want a sharper version.
Stay on IQ Masters only if the personality and IQ test content is the actual reason you opened the app, and the brain games are a bonus. None of the alternatives lean as hard into the test side.
FAQ
Is there a free brain training app that works? Yes. Lumosity, Peak, Elevate, and Memorado all have free tiers good enough for short daily sessions, though they cap variety. The free side of Impulse is essentially a trial.
Do brain training apps actually work? The honest answer is “for the specific tasks they train.” Multiple studies show transfer to general intelligence is weaker than the marketing implies. The apps with peer-reviewed research backing (NeuroNation, Lumosity, CogniFit) are the most defensible scientifically.
Which brain training app is the cheapest? Memorado and Peak tend to come out lowest on annual plans. Impulse runs frequent introductory promotions. Avoid month-to-month if cost is the deciding factor.
Can I export my IQ Masters progress? No. None of the apps in this category offer cross-app data import. Treat the move as a fresh start.
Are these apps suitable for older adults? NeuroNation, Lumosity, and CogniFit have specific older-adult research and accessibility settings. Peak and Elevate work for any age but lean younger in tone.
Is paying for a brain training app worth it? It is worth it if you actually train. None of these apps deliver value if you forget to open them. Pick the one whose interface you find pleasant to return to daily, and treat the subscription as accountability money.
