Reviewing food supplements, and especially nootropics, completely objectively is challenging because the effects can vary heavily from individual to individual. What works perfectly for one can be a completely useless product for another, but there is some concrete data on which we can base such comparisons.
This review comparison between Noocube and Brainpill does exactly that and uses both my personal experience with the two products and the scientific data available to make your choice easier.
Quick Verdict
Noocube is an affordable and well-formulated non-stimulant nootropic. While it’s not the strongest on the market, it is better than much of the competition, including BrainPill.
BrainPill did not deliver the expected results in my test, and the obscure clinical research and lack of user reviews did not strengthen its case in my eyes. Still, individual experiences with nootropics greatly vary, and with a 67-day money-back guarantee, it’s safe to try BrainPill for yourself.
| Feature | Winner |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | Noocube |
| Dosage | NooCube |
| Short-Term Effects | Draw |
| Long Term Effects | NooCube |
| Third-Party Testing | Draw |
| Clinical Research | BrainPill |
| Side Effects | Draw |
| User Reviews | Draw |
| Price | Noocube |
Winner
NooCube is my #1 non-stimulant nootropic choice because of the range of ingredients in the formulation and the mental sharpness I’ve felt using at an affordable price.
BrainPill did not meet my expectations and the underdosed ingredients cannot be overlooked. But the product has a 67 money-back guarantee, so you can safely test it and possibly deliver better results for you.
What Is Noocube?
Wolfson Brands, which also owns Crazy Nutrition, Biotics 8, and Testoprime, owns and produces Noocube.
NooCube enhances overall brain health by reducing brain fog and tiredness while also improving focus, memory, and alertness.
The twelve-component, caffeine-free, all-natural formula is designed for working professionals in all industries, professional and recreational athletes, students, gamers, and older people who want to delay cognitive decline.
Noocube contains only tested and scientifically proven substances with almost no side effects, and its benefits gradually and securely increase over time.
If you want to learn more read my full NooCube review.
What Is BrainPill?
BrainPill is marketed as a cognitive enhancer intended to boost mental performance. BrainPill promises to help people counteract cognitive decline, which often begins around 30, but it is also aimed at younger people looking to improve their focus and productivity.
The product is created by Leading Edge Health, a company that produces various supplements for men’s and women’s health, such as anti-aging and skin care. It has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, indicating it is a legitimate company.
If you are interested in an even deeper look, you can read my BrainPill review.
BrainPill vs. Noocube Differences
Benefits
BrainPill mainly aims to eliminate brain fog and prevent your brain from slowing down regardless of the demand. The supplement seeks to dial down the stress and anxiety caused by our hyperproductive age in a sustainable way.
The powerful combination of popular nootropics at the center of the formulation can improve memory, learning, focus, and overall cognition.
Noocube provides various potential advantages and covers the complete range of cognitive performance. The supplement can improve concentration, problem-solving skills, memory, and mental alertness.
A notable benefit of Noocube, deriving from the Lutemax ingredient, is eye protection against screen-related fatigue and brain fog, protecting against the dire effects of too much blue light exposure.
Ingredients
Both products have transparent ingredient lists and disclose precisely how much of each component is inside. This allows us to determine how effective the product is, at least from this standpoint, as we cannot fully determine the synergistic effects.
Nooocube is currently at version three of the formulation, which contains nine active ingredients and three vitamins to deliver the promised results.
BrainPill also has nine active components, and I start the list with the overlapping ingredients, which are a few.
L-theanine is an amino acid found in most nootropics. It is a powerful antioxidant with a proven positive effect on stress reduction, verbal fluency, and executive function [1][2].
L-theanine also works well with caffeine, increasing its positive effects while decreasing the negative ones.
Although Noocube and BrainPill do not include caffeine, it is good to understand L-theanine’s synergistic effects with the popular stimulant if you consume caffeine beverages.
Both products have 100 mg. which is lower than the recommended dose of 200 mg, but I have found that any ratio works well with caffeine.
The two products also include L-tyrosine. The substance has been shown to promote task switching and mental performance, particularly under stressful circumstances [3][4]. Noocube has 250 mg of L-tyrosine, while BrainPill contains 150 mg.
The Bacopa monnieri content of BrainPill is higher at 320 mg compared to the 250 mg in Noocube.
Bacopa Monnieri, an ayurvedic herb, is commonly used in many nootropics due to its beneficial impact on verbal learning, memory enhancement, focus, and cognitive processing speed. [7][8].
Huperzine A, a substance found in the two products, is linked with assisting recovery from brain injuries and enhancing brain function in patients with Alzheimer’s disease [15,16]. Noocube contains 20 mg, which is a low dose, but it’s still four times more than Brain Pill’s 5 mg.
Noocube includes Cat’s Claw extract. Despite being a highly popular inclusion in nootropics, Cat’s Claw lacks sufficient scientific studies backing its effectiveness for cognition.
The supposed effects include reducing “brain plaque,” which causes memory loss and can help reduce brain fog symptoms.
Another Noocube ingredient is Pterostilbene, which combats cognitive decline in relation to aging [5].
Alpha-GPC, a choline-containing phospholipid, improves cognitive function in neurological conditions like dementia. Studies also show that it enhances focus and could benefit brain health [9].
The Noocube website extensively promotes Lutemax 2020, devoting significant marketing space to it. Lutemax enhances cognitive function by fortifying the brain regions associated with memory, audio understanding, and visual sharpness through a combination of three carotenoids.
A study published in the Journal of Aging Research found that older individuals who maintained normal cognitive function in their later years had higher levels of these three carotenoids in their brains’ information-processing areas.
Panax ginseng, a well-studied ingredient in Noocube, has long been used to reduce stress. Recent research shows several cognitive benefits, such as improved working memory and faster recall. [12,13,14]
BrainPill has Citicoline branded as Cognizin. Citicoline has been suggested to aid episodic memory and cognitive performance in both healthy individuals and older people with cognitive decline at doses of 500 mg per day [6]. The dose here is half of that.
Another popular nootropic ingredient found in BrainPill is Ginko Biloba, which may help slow down cognitive decline in people with dementia. The effects on healthy individuals are not yet entirely clear [10]. The ingredient is again underdosed with 100 mg. while the recommendation is 240 mg.
100-300 mg daily of phosphatidylserine positively affects memory in older adults with cognitive decline. It may also benefit people with neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases [16].
Stimulant vs. Non-Stimulant
Both Noocube and BrainPill are non-stimulant nootropics that do not employ caffeine to deliver instant brain-boosting effects.
Short vs. Long-Term Effects
Both products provide short—and long-term benefits, but without stimulants, the immediate effects are much more subtle if the product is good and non-existent if it’s poorly formulated or underdosed.
Natural component non-stimulant nootropics work best when taken daily for several months. If you need a quick boost, look for a nootropic that contains caffeine.
Clinical Research
The best possible proof that a supplement works is a double-blind placebo-controlled study, and Brain Pill is one of the few products that has one. The study, which was conducted over 12 weeks with 74 healthy participants, found that everyone had an increase in cognitive functions.
As impressive as this sounds, it’s important to note that the study was not peer-reviewed or published in a serious scientific journal, so it’s very hard for me to believe the results are unbiased.
Noocube does not have a complete formulation study, but all of the ingredients have been well studied separately and have proven effects on various health cognitive areas.
Side Effects
Certain ingredients in both products may lead to light adverse effects on some people. At the same time, tests have shown that the components are safe and well tolerated at significantly higher levels than Noocube or BrainPill.
While it’s rare, and I haven’t had any issues with either of the two products, possible side effects include stomach problems, headaches, or dizziness.
User Reviews
Both products are severely lacking in user reviews. Noocube’s website has a handful of reviews, which may even be marketing messages and not genuine reviews, while BrainPill doesn’t have any.
I strongly disagree with this practice, but it is one commonly employed by companies. If you want to read user reviews for the two supplements, you will have to do your own online search.
Price
| Product | 1 Bottle | 3 Bottles | 5 / 6 Bottles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noocube | $64.99 / 30 servings ($1.95/ serving) | $129.99 / 90 servings ($1.44/ serving) | $194.99 / 150 servings ($1.29/ serving) |
| BrainPill | $69.95 / 30 servings ($2.33/ serving) | $192.95 / 90 servings ($2.14/ serving) | $354.95 / 180 servings ($1.97/ serving) |
My Experience With Noocube and BrainPill
Noocube has frequently been my go-to non-stimulant nootropic when I require more focus and energy without the use of caffeine. After a few weeks of use, the results become more palpable, and you can count on it to provide you with a consistent boost in mental capacity.
The benefits are hardly revolutionary, but they can make a significant impact when you consider how much more work you will be able to perform over time.
I had reasonably high hopes at the start of my 30-day BrainPill test, but sadly, the results did not meet my expectations or the company’s big promises.
I had hoped the product would help me with my tendency to procrastinate or give me some increased clarity, but the effects were not there.
Individual experiences with nootropics can vary significantly, and some people claim they have improved memory and focus, but for me, the product was not effective, and given the underdosed ingredients, I suspect many will share my experience.
Should You Choose Noocube or BrainPill?
Noocube’s formulation works for me, and I often recommend it over the competition and will do so again here. The effects, especially early on, are not groundbreaking but are compounding, and you can feel your mind work better week after week.
Another important factor making Noocube my go-to non-stim nootropic is its super affordable price. There are more potent products on the market, but they usually cost two or three times more.
BrainPill underdelivers in my experience. I see it as just one of many underdosed nootropics that fail to deliver on their big promises. Some people have found it effective, but this was not the case with me, so I recommend you choose Noocube.
Still, BrainPill’s 67-day money-back guarantee gives you room to test the product and see how it works for you with no risk of throwing away your cash.
Winner
NooCube Brain Productivity
A non-stimulant nootropic with a comprehensive formulation for smooth energy and long-term brain health.
CHECK CURRENT DEALSSecond Option
BrainPill
A nootropic with a full formula clinical study, but with underdosed ingredients, I haven’t felt the effects of.
CHECK CURRENT DEALSReferences
- Hidese, S., Ogawa, S., Ota, M., Ishida, I., Yasukawa, Z., Ozeki, M., & Kunugi, H. (2019). Effects of L-theanine administration on stress-related symptoms and cognitive functions in healthy adults: a randomized controlled trial. Nutrients, 11(10), 2362.
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- Steenbergen, L., Sellaro, R., Hommel, B., & Colzato, L. S. (2015). Tyrosine promotes cognitive flexibility: evidence from proactive vs. reactive control during task switching performance. Neuropsychologia, 69, 50-55.
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- Morgan, A., & Stevens, J. (2010). Does Bacopa monnieri improve memory performance in older persons? Results of a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. The journal of alternative and complementary medicine, 16(7), 753-759.
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