Read our full FOCUSfactor review here.

What We Thought of FOCUSfactor

Overall, our testers found FOCUSfactor to be pretty mild, and if anything, it’s a beginner-facing nootropic formula that probably won’t change your day-to-day productivity all that much. It pairs okay with coffee if you take it in the morning, but there’s an additional downside: FOCUSfactor has a large serving size at 4+ pills, meaning it can cause upset stomach in some people, especially when you take it without food.

For these and several other reasons, FOCUSfactor is currently rated toward the bottom half of all the nootropics our reviewers have tested in our Ultimate Guide to Nootropic Stacks.

FOCUSfactor Alternatives

If you’re looking for something beginner friendly that our testers found to have a positive effect on mental energy and cognition (that’s also caffeine-free, like FOCUSfactor), consider one of the following. We found each to be very beginner friendly and relatively easy to assess tolerance with. They were also fairly easy to time and take with or without food, though with food normally enhances absorption; this is especially true if the supplement contains a fat-soluble ingredient like bacopa:

• RISE by Nootrobox (caffeine-free, though rhodiola can have a mild stimulatory effect for some)
• Alpha BRAIN by Onnit (one of the world’s most popular nootropic formulas, it now comes in an Instant drink version as well)
• Dopamine Brain Food by Natural Stacks

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Our testers weighed in below. For in-depth discussions of each stack, read our full FOCUSfactor and Focus Fast reviews.

FOCUSfactor versus Focus Fast

One important thing to note is that with the “proprietary” blends and lengthy ingredient lists on each of these broad stacks, user experience can vary significantly, as there are many, many ingredients that will seem different in potency to different users. However, our testers generally — and we emphasize generally — preferred FOCUSfactor to Focus Fast. They found FOCUSfactor to be the more consistent of the two caffeine-free nootropics, and it paired fairly well with breakfast for a mild clarity and focus boost.

However, one downside of FOCUSfactor is the relatively large serving size (4 pills). If you’re prone to upset stomach from ingesting capsules or pills, this is definitely not one to take without food in order to ease absorption.

Our testers felt next to no cognitive boost when taking Focus Fast, perhaps because the supplement’s proprietary blend (i.e. you don’t know how much of particular ingredients are in it) may not have contained enough of the active ingredients to actually impart a benefit.

Are There Better Nootropic Stacks?

After years of testing nootropic supplements, our testers tend to feel the combo multivitamin/nootropic supps aren’t that effective. They’re simply trying to cram too many ingredients into one supplement, and that means they often have antagonistic ingredients or too little of some active ingredients to make any difference.

And while both FOCUSfactor and Focus Fast seem to be marketed toward beginners in the nootropic space — they contain relatively straightforward ingredients, though just many in extremely small quantities — we think there are better options. Our ultimate guide to nootropic stacks for beginners lists every nootropic we’ve ever tested, along with our general experience and rankings from best to worst (most effective to least effective, although there’s some variability on criteria).

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For us, at least, these combo nootropics + multivitamins don’t work all that well. 

FOCUSfactor isn’t actually our least favorite of the multivitamin nootropics we’ve tried, but if anything, the brain boost it provides is mild and short-lived (read our full review of FOCUSfactor). After trying it, we doubt the amount of nootropics in its “synergistic and proprietary formulation” is enough to really provide much of a boost, and there doesn’t appear to be a lot of method to their madness; they’ve thrown a bunch at the wall and seem to hoping something sticks. Some of our testers thought FOCUSfactor stacked well enough with coffee and/or caffeine, but taking 4 to 8 capsules/day ultimately wasn’t worth the effort.

In contrast, Alpha BRAIN is a broad-spectrum nootropic stack many of our testers really like. [Read our review of Alpha BRAIN and the new, faster-acting Alpha BRAIN Instant.] It has a broad ingredient list, but every inclusion is accounted for and seems to have a logical place in the stack. Our testers have tried Alpha BRAIN in both its consumer-facing forms, regular pills and the newer Alpha BRAIN Instant drinks, and have reported a lot of positives with few negatives. It’s also backed by two clinical studies that speak to its effectiveness, although it’s important to note these were both funded by its manufacturer, Onnit.

Alpha BRAIN is a caffeine-free stack that affects everyone a bit differently, so our testers use it in different ways from each other, and that includes variability on dosage and timing, definitely one we’ve played around with to see what works best for us individually. (For example, of our testers tends to be a bit sensitive to bacopa, which can cause his mind “to race” a bit if taken too close to bedtime; however, cutting to a half dose and taking Alpha BRAIN in the morning seems to reduce this while still providing noticeable nootropic benefits.)

Overall, FOCUSfactor has failed to stay in our rotation as far as favorite nootropics, while Alpha BRAIN, in both its forms, has stayed very close to the top of our testers’ lists. When it comes to combining nootropics with multivitamins, maybe there is only so much that can fit into one stack.

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But what stands out about FOCUSfactor is that the 40-ingredient supplement reads a lot like a multivitamin up until the “Synergistic and Proprietary Formulation,” which blends a number of common nootropic ingredients. This supplement is produced by Synergy CHC Corp, a company in the process of rapidly expanding their portfolio of consumer supplements, of which FOCUSfactor appears to be a flagship.

Our testers tried FOCUSfactor to see if the supplement delivered on the promises of feeling sharp and more alert. This is the first combo multivitamin/brain supplement we’ve tested for this site, though we expect to see more pop up on the market in the coming months. Read on to see if the lengthy ingredient list gave our testers the focus and concentration Synergy CHC claims it would.

FOCUSfactor ingredients

The Ingredients

• Vitamin A – 4,000 IU
• Vitamin C – 250 mg
• Vitamin D – 100 IU
• Vitamin E – 30 IU
• Thiamin – 3 mg
• Riboflavin – 1.7 mg
• Niacin – 25 mg
• Vitamin B6 – 15 mg
• Folate – 400 mcg
• Vitamin B12 – 20 mcg
• Biotin – 300 mcg
• Pantothenic Acid – 12 mg
• Calcium – 50 mg
• Iron – 5 mg
• Iodine – 15 mcg
• Magnesium – 100 mg
• Zinc – 10 mg
• Selenium – 50 mcg
• Copper – .04 mg
• Manganese – 2 mg
• Chromium – 100 mcg
• Molybdenum – 10 mcg
• Potassium – 50 mg
• Synergistic and Proprietary Formulation – 692 mg
• Dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE)
• L-Glutamine
• Bacopin
• L-Pyroglutamic acid
• Phosphatidylserine
• Docosahexaenoic Acid Concentrate (15% DHA from fish)
• Choline
• Inositol
• N-Acetylcarnosine
• Bilberry Fruit Extract (25% anthocyanosides)
• Gamma Aminobutyric Acid
• Grape Skin Extract and Activin
• Vinpocetine
• Trace-Lyte electrolyte concentrate
• Huperzine A
• Boron
• Vanadium
• Other Ingredients: Dicalcium phosphate, microcrystalline cellulose, croscamellose sodium, stearic acid, silica, magnesium stearate, and pharmaceutical glaze.

Usage Guidelines

• Take 4 tablets per day with food. To accommodate body weight, activity level, stress level and/or inadequate diet, take additional tablets up to a maximum of 8 tablets per day.
• Accidental overdose of iron-containing products is a leading cause of fatal poisoning in children under 6. Keep this product out of reach of children. In case of accidental overdose, call a physician or poison control center.
• We had our BrainWiz testers take 4 to 8  capsules per day with food.

What Our Testers Say

“FOCUSfactor gave me mild, but noticeable, energy. I felt a mild increase in focus and sharpness throughout my work day. There wasn’t a crash, but there were diminished results the more days in a row I took it. I did stop taking other multivitamins while testing this supplement; doing so seemed really redundant given the vitamin blend.”

“I don’t think this supplement worked for me.  I took it with caffeine, and worked up to 8 tablets with breakfast, but besides maybe a mild wave of energy, I did not feel an improvement in focus or concentration.”

“I took these tablets after breakfast with my second cup of coffee. I did feel a bit sharper in the morning, but the feeling was quick to diminish. I worked up to 6 tablets with no increased results. I would prefer to take fewer tablets that gave a bit more punch.”

“I felt a small increase in energy and focus for the first couple of days that I took this supplement. I paired it with caffeine and went up to 8 tablets. I took a few days off of the supplement and noticed the increase once I started taking it again. But definitely not close to the most noticeable boost I’ve gotten from nootropics.”

BrainWiz Tips

• Our testers all experienced mild or no effects with no jitters. This is a good start if you’re new to the world of nootropics and want to explore brain enhancers gradually. You also get the added benefit of a multivitamin with this supplement.
• Most of our testers liked pairing this supplement with caffeine in some form, usually coffee.
• Testers already taking a multivitamin chose to skip their regular multivitamins when testing FOCUSfactor, as it already contains a fairly robust vitamin blend.
• The testers who felt cognitive effects from FOCUSfactor noticed they diminished after roughly a week of taking the supplement. After a few days off from the supplement, taking four or more tablets  of  FOCUSfactor once again produced a mild cognitive boost.
• As with any supplement or nutritional regimen, you should talk to your doctor or medical professional before use.

Supplement Summary

FOCUSfactor is a very mild caffeine-free nootropic stack and multivitamin. It’s a good entry-level supplement for those new to nootropics, and its vitamin list makes it a nice two-for-one. Though its perceived effects seem to diminish over time, taking a break from the supplement for a few days seems to be enough time for its effectiveness to return. If you’re looking for a broad-ranging nootropic with a more significant energy boost, you might be better off looking at stacks like Neuro Elite, Neurofuse, and Lumonol.

This supplement pairs fairly well with coffee for those who drink caffeine regularly.

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