Education · head to head
Lumosity vs Weka
Lumosity
Education
Brain training game app from Lumos Labs, which paid an FTC settlement in 2016 over unsupported cognitive improvement claims
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Lumosity lumos Labs settled with the US FTC in 2016 for 2 million dollars over deceptive claims that its games improved real-world cognitive performance and could delay age-related decline, and the company was barred from making such claims without solid supporting evidence, a fact any buyer evaluating cognitive benefit claims should weigh.; Weka the package management system needs an internet connection to download and install packages, so an air-gapped install gets only the core distribution
- They diverge on capability: Lumosity covers Daily training set, Weka covers Classification.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Lumosity and Weka actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Lumosity
- Daily training set
- Brain Performance Index
- Game library by domain
- Fit Test assessment
- Progress tracking
- Insights and tips
Only in Weka
- Classification
- Regression
- Clustering
- Association rules
- Feature selection
- Java
- R
- Python
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Lumosity
- An adult wanting a short daily game habit with a cognitive theme, treated as entertainment rather than medical interventionnot Weka
- Someone comparing Lumosity against Elevate to decide between abstract cognitive games and practical skills practicenot Weka
- A user who wants a long historical performance trend across many game sessionsnot Weka
- A buyer evaluating whether the current marketing claims about cognitive benefit are consistent with the 2016 FTC settlement findings before subscribingnot Weka
Weka
- Teaching and exploring classic machine learning algorithms through a GUInot Lumosity
- Running data mining experiments and preprocessing without writing codenot Lumosity
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Lumosity
- Lumos Labs settled with the US FTC in 2016 for 2 million dollars over deceptive claims that its games improved real-world cognitive performance and could delay age-related decline, and the company was barred from making such claims without solid supporting evidence, a fact any buyer evaluating cognitive benefit claims should weigh.
- The free tier is limited to a small daily set of games, and the personalised training programme the product is built around is a paid-only feature.
- As with the brain training category broadly, evidence that improved performance on the specific games transfers to real-world cognitive ability remains contested, independent of the marketing claims addressed by the settlement.
- The subscription auto-renews and, like most mobile subscriptions, requires cancelling through app store account settings rather than within the app.
- The game library has not changed dramatically in years, and long-term subscribers report the exercises becoming repetitive well before a years subscription is up.
Weka
- The package management system needs an internet connection to download and install packages, so an air-gapped install gets only the core distribution
- Weka is split into a stable 3.8 branch that receives only bug fixes and compatibility-safe upgrades and a 3.9 development branch that may receive features that break compatibility
- Weka requires a 64-bit Java VM; the bundled installers ship Bellsoft OpenJDK 25 per platform and architecture
Pricing, plan by plan
Lumosity
Free- Lumosity$11.99/month
- Free tier gives a small daily set of games
- Full subscription unlocks the complete game library and personalised programme
- Annual plans typically run $59.99 to $79.99, cheaper per month than monthly billing
Weka
Free- Open SourceFree
- All ML algorithms
- GUI and CLI
- Java API
Which should you pick?
Choose Lumosity if
- You need daily training set.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on iOS, Android, Web.
- You also want brain performance index.
Choose Weka if
- You need classification.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Mac, Windows.
- You also want regression.
Questions people ask
- Is Lumosity or Weka better?
- Neither clearly leads. Lumosity starts at Free and Weka at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Lumosity or Weka?
- Lumosity starts at Free and Weka at Free.
- Does Lumosity or Weka run on more platforms?
- Lumosity runs on iOS, Android, Web. Weka runs on Linux, Mac, Windows.
- Can I use Lumosity for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Lumosity best used for?
- Lumosity is most often used for an adult wanting a short daily game habit with a cognitive theme, treated as entertainment rather than medical intervention, someone comparing lumosity against elevate to decide between abstract cognitive games and practical skills practice, a user who wants a long historical performance trend across many game sessions, a buyer evaluating whether the current marketing claims about cognitive benefit are consistent with the 2016 ftc settlement findings before subscribing. Of those, an adult wanting a short daily game habit with a cognitive theme, treated as entertainment rather than medical intervention and someone comparing lumosity against elevate to decide between abstract cognitive games and practical skills practice are not what Weka is typically brought in for.
- What can Lumosity do that Weka cannot?
- Lumosity covers Daily training set, Brain Performance Index, Game library by domain, Fit Test assessment. Weka covers Classification, Regression, Clustering, Association rules.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Lumosity: What was the FTC settlement about?
In 2016 the FTC found Lumos Labs advertising made unsupported claims that Lumosity games could delay cognitive decline, protect against conditions like Alzheimers, and improve real-world performance. The company paid 2 million dollars and was barred from such claims without solid evidence.
Weka: What is the cost of Weka software?
Weka is provided at no cost as open-source software released under the GNU General Public License, making it freely available for download and use.
SourceLumosity: Is Lumosity still available and does it still make cognitive claims?
Yes, the app and games remain available, but the company is legally restricted from the specific unsupported claims covered by the settlement.
Weka: Are there commercial licensing options available?
Yes, the project offers information about commercial licenses for organizations requiring non-GPL terms, which can be found in their commercial applications documentation.
SourceLumosity: Is Lumosity free?
A small daily set of games is free. The full library and personalised training programme require a paid subscription.
Weka: What support resources are available to users?
Multiple support avenues exist including comprehensive documentation, frequently asked questions, dedicated help resources, and access to courses for learning the platform.
SourceWeka: Is source code access provided?
Yes, developers have full access to source code through the Git repository, along with development documentation and code credits for contributors.
SourceRelated pages
Other head to heads
- Lumosity vs Elevate
- Lumosity vs Busuu
- Lumosity vs Memrise
- Lumosity vs Anki
- Lumosity vs PictureThis
- Lumosity vs Replit AI Agent
- Lumosity vs Photomath
- Lumosity vs Miro Education
- Lumosity vs Blackboard
- Lumosity vs Skoolur
- Lumosity vs Wooclap
- Lumosity vs MasterClass
- Lumosity vs Rosetta Stone
- Lumosity vs Skyward
- Lumosity vs Udemy
- Lumosity vs UltraCamp
- Lumosity vs Aeries Student Information System
- Lumosity vs Articulate 360
- Lumosity vs AWS SageMaker
- Lumosity vs Google Vertex AI
- Lumosity vs Azure Machine Learning
- Lumosity vs DataRobot
- Lumosity vs Orange
- Lumosity vs scikit-learn
- Lumosity vs Databricks
- Lumosity vs MATLAB
- Lumosity vs SAS
- Lumosity vs Apache Spark MLlib
- Lumosity vs ClearML
- Lumosity vs Minitab
- Lumosity vs Mistral AI
- Lumosity vs Ollama
- Lumosity vs OpenRouter
- Lumosity vs BigQuery ML
- Lumosity vs JMP
- Weka vs Elevate
- Weka vs Busuu
- Weka vs Memrise
- Weka vs Anki
- Weka vs PictureThis
- Weka vs Replit AI Agent
- Weka vs Photomath
- Weka vs Miro Education
- Weka vs Blackboard
- Weka vs Skoolur
- Weka vs Wooclap
- Weka vs MasterClass
- Weka vs Rosetta Stone
- Weka vs Skyward
- Weka vs Udemy
- Weka vs UltraCamp
- Weka vs Aeries Student Information System
- Weka vs Articulate 360
- Weka vs AWS SageMaker
- Weka vs Google Vertex AI
- Weka vs Azure Machine Learning
- Weka vs DataRobot
- Weka vs Orange
- Weka vs scikit-learn
- Weka vs Databricks
- Weka vs MATLAB
- Weka vs SAS
- Weka vs Apache Spark MLlib
- Weka vs ClearML
- Weka vs Minitab
- Weka vs Mistral AI
- Weka vs Ollama
- Weka vs OpenRouter
- Weka vs BigQuery ML
- Weka vs JMP