How we compared
Every fact in the table, ours included, comes from each app’s Google Play listing on the date above, nothing else. Where a listing does not say something, the table says “not stated” instead of guessing. The only exception is the Pulse card below: as its makers we add that it needs no account and works offline, which its listing does not state.
- Price: free, free with in-app purchases, or subscription, as Play shows it.
- Ads: Play’s “Contains ads” label.
- Reaction modes: the kinds of test the description lists.
- Account and offline use: only if the listing states it.
Comparison table
| App | Price | Ads | Reaction modes | Account | Offline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PulseGurrulabs · our app | Free | Yes | 4 listed on Play: Reaction Time Test, Batak, Stop the Timer, Time Perception | Not stated | Not stated |
| Reaction trainingnixGames | Free + in-app purchases | Yes | 55+ puzzle and reflex challenges, incl. a colour-change test and a start-lights test; two-player mode | Not stated | Not stated |
| Reaction TimeBanensoft | Free + in-app purchases | Yes | 1 reaction test (tap when the screen turns green) + a minigame | Not stated | Not stated |
| LumosityLumos Labs | Free + subscription | No | 40+ brain games; speed is one area, no reaction test named | Not stated | Not stated |
| PeakSynaptic Labs | Free + in-app purchases | Yes | 45+ brain games; no reaction test named | Not stated | Yes (offline mode) |
Which one fits you
One test: tap when the screen turns green. Free with in-app purchases and ads, plus an online leaderboard.
55+ challenges, including a start-lights test, and a two-player mode on one phone.
A reaction test and Batak plus two timing modes. Our app; it needs no account and works offline.
Brain games across memory, attention and more; Lumosity lists speed as one area. Lumosity offers Premium subscriptions; Peak lists an offline mode.
What an app cannot tell you
Phones add their own touch and screen delay: screens, mice and software can add up to 100 ms to the measured time (Woods et al., 2015). So a time in one app is not comparable to the millisecond with another app or with lab figures. Compare yourself with yourself, on the same phone. See average reaction time by age for what labs measure.
This page is educational: no app here diagnoses anything.
FAQ
Is there a free reaction time app with no ads?
Of the five we compared, only Lumosity has no “Contains ads” label on Google Play, and it offers Premium subscriptions. The other four, Pulse included, show the label.
Can a reflex app make me faster?
Practice makes your own average more stable. On fast choice tasks, action video game players responded 11% faster than non-players with the same accuracy, and some training studies indicate that playing can speed up responses (Dye et al., 2009). No app can promise a specific gain.
Why did you include your own app?
Because it is a reaction time app for Android. We compare it on the same criteria as the others.
