Comparison

Commonplace vs BrainSober

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Commonplace

This app helps you retain information from books and audiobooks by prompting you to write down your thoughts after each chapter. It then asks you questions to reinforce learning and provides a summary of your notes when you finish.

Highlights
  • Chapter-based note-taking
  • Active recall prompts
  • Customizable questions
  • End-of-book summaries
  • Export notes (text/JSON)
  • Ad-free experience
Features
Read full description

Commonplace is for people who finish a book and cannot remember what was in it. It is not a highlighter and not a summary service. You write, in your own words, what stayed with you after a chapter. That is the whole ask — a few sentences, typed or dictated, while it is still fresh. It works the same for audiobooks. Listening is where things slip away fastest, because there is no page to flip back to — so pause after a chapter and say what you heard. THE EVENING AFTER Reading a summary changes nothing. Reaching for something you half-remember is what makes it stick. So the next evening, Commonplace asks you three questions about what you wrote — one to bring it back, one to argue with it, one to connect it to your own life. A day is the point: answers you can still see in front of you are not memories yet. QUESTIONS THAT FIT THE BOOK A business book makes claims you can test. A novel does not. Commonplace asks different questions of each — where an idea might break down, or where you did not believe a character's choice. WHEN YOU FINISH Mark a book done and Commonplace reads back through everything you wrote and hands you an account of what you made of it: what you kept returning to, where you contradicted yourself, what you raised once and never mentioned again. Built entirely from your notes, quoting your own sentences. It adds nothing about the book you did not write down yourself. YOUR WORDS STAY YOURS Your recaps are never rewritten. Everything you write can be exported as readable text or as JSON, any time, in two taps — and that keeps working whether or not you subscribe. Delete your account from inside the app and it is really deleted, not hidden. No ads. No analytics SDK. No tracking. Nothing sold to anyone. SUBSCRIPTION Your first book is on us — twenty recaps and one end-of-book account, enough to see the whole thing before deciding. After that Commonplace is a yearly or monthly subscription, priced in the App Store. Reading and exporting what you have already written stays free forever. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

BrainSober

Read full description

Less scrolling. More living. BrainSober Pro requires a paid, auto-renewing subscription. App protection, Focus Credits, intentional unlocks, and progress tracking require an active plan. Choose a weekly or annual plan in the app. Pricing and billing terms are shown before you confirm payment with Apple. No free trial is currently offered. MAKE REAL LIFE COUNT Walk, read, exercise, tidy, or focus. Complete offline activities to restore Brain Energy and earn Focus Credits. Spend 3 credits for a temporary 15-minute unlock when you choose to use your protected apps. SET YOUR OWN LIMITS Choose distracting apps privately using Apple Screen Time. Set a daily allowance, protected windows, and a protection style that fits your day. SEE YOUR PROGRESS Watch Brain Energy respond to selected-app use. Review your weekly attention score and completed offline resets with Brio, your brain companion. PRIVATE SCREEN TIME DATA No BrainSober account is required. Your selected-app tokens, protection plan, Brain Energy, Focus Credits, and detailed activity history stay on your device or in Apple's private App Group storage. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple account settings. Payment is charged to your Apple account when you confirm the purchase. Privacy policy: https://brainsober.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Commonplace4 screens
BrainSober4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Commonplace at none against BrainSober's shown. Commonplace also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Commonplace sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and BrainSober sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Commonplace ships an update daily, BrainSober every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 7, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Commonplace versus BrainSober: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCommonplaceBrainSober
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 2 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscription—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.4 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDK Data ScienceFritz doebel

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Commonplace

Subscriptions2
  • Commonplace Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Commonplace Yearly$29.991 Year
3 purchases

BrainSober

Subscriptions3
  • BrainSober Pro Weekly$8.997 Days
  • BrainSober Rescue Annual$29.991 Year
  • BrainSober Pro Annual$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Commonplace free?
Commonplace is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BrainSober free?
BrainSober is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Commonplace or BrainSober have ads?
BrainSober shows ads; Commonplace does not.
Which is updated more often, Commonplace or BrainSober?
Commonplace ships an update daily, and BrainSober every 2 days. Most recently, Commonplace was updated on October 7, 2026 and BrainSober on October 7, 2026.

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