"BCI software" covers very different things. A real-time BCI framework acquires the signal, runs a decoder and drives feedback with tight timing. A decoding library gives you algorithms to call from your own code. A research application organises a whole offline study (preprocessing, training, evaluation, reporting) around those algorithms.
Picking the wrong category is the usual mistake: trying to run a closed-loop experiment in an analysis tool, or writing a full study pipeline from scratch around a library. The table below sorts the well-known options by category.
The landscape
| Tool | Category | Strongest at |
|---|---|---|
| OpenViBE | Real-time framework | Designing and running online BCI scenarios graphically, with an acquisition server for many amplifiers. |
| BCI2000 | Real-time framework | A long-established general-purpose system for running BCI experiments, widely used in clinical research. |
| MNE-Python | Library | Scriptable EEG/MEG/fNIRS analysis with excellent source-space support. |
| pyRiemann | Library | Riemannian geometry classifiers for covariance matrices. |
| MOABB | Library | Standard public BCI datasets and reproducible benchmark protocols. |
| Braindecode | Library | Deep learning for EEG in PyTorch: ShallowFBCSPNet, Deep4Net, EEGNet and training utilities. |
| BCILattice | Research application | The offline study end to end without code: import, analysis, model training, evaluation guardrails, reports and publication. |
How to choose
You need a live closed-loop experiment today
Use OpenViBE or BCI2000. BCILattice's live streaming is in beta and not yet validated against physical acquisition hardware.
You write Python and want full control
MNE-Python with scikit-learn, pyRiemann and Braindecode. You will build the evaluation yourself.
You want to benchmark against public datasets
MOABB defines the protocols. BCINexus hosts benchmarks and a dataset library as well.
You want the offline study done properly, without code
BCILattice. Grouped splits, nested search and a results validation tab are part of the pipeline.
They fit together
BCILattice is built on the same Python scientific stack (MNE, NumPy, SciPy, scikit-learn, PyTorch), pyRiemann ships with it, and Braindecode and MOABB are on its free curated extension shelf, so a lab can use the libraries directly and run the same methods inside a project. Recordings from a real-time framework import as files (EDF, BDF, GDF, FIF, VHDR, SET, CNT and tabular formats).
Questions
What software is used for brain-computer interfaces?
Real-time frameworks such as OpenViBE and BCI2000 run live BCIs. Python libraries such as MNE-Python, pyRiemann, MOABB and Braindecode provide analysis and decoding algorithms. Research applications such as BCILattice organise complete offline studies without code.
What is the difference between OpenViBE and BCI2000?
Both are real-time BCI frameworks. OpenViBE emphasises graphical scenario design, and BCI2000 is a modular general-purpose system with a long history in clinical BCI research. The better fit depends on your amplifier support and lab experience.
Is there free BCI software?
Yes. OpenViBE, BCI2000 (for research and education), MNE-Python, pyRiemann, MOABB and Braindecode are free. BCILattice has a free plan with the full analysis suite, though it is not open source.
Can BCILattice run a real-time BCI?
Not as a validated closed-loop system yet. Live streaming via Lab Streaming Layer is in beta. What it does today is the offline half, plus a Pseudo-Online Evaluator that estimates live behaviour (false alarms per minute, delay and bit rate) from recorded data.
Read the reference
Related
EEG Analysis Tools Compared
The honest answer to "which EEG tool should I use" is that they solve different problems. Here is what each is strongest at, and where BCILattice fits.
Real-Time BCI: From Offline Decoder to Online Use
An offline decoder classifies neatly cut trials with known onsets. A live BCI gets a continuous stream, has no idea when the user starts, and pays for every false alarm.
BCI Research Platform
BCILattice runs on your machine and covers import through model training. BCINexus is where the finished study is published, reviewed, cited and reused.
Free EEG Analysis Software
There is excellent free EEG software. The real cost is in what you have to set up, learn or write before you get a result, and that varies a lot.