TimeStory vs Truly Simple Timeline
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TimeStory
Create visual timelines for projects, journals, and histories with intuitive touch gestures. Easily add images, customize appearance, and export your work in various formats. Optimized for iPad with Apple Pencil and multitasking support.
- Create graphical timelines
- Add photos and image files
- Divide timeline into sections
- Import custom icons
- Customize appearance (colors, fonts, shapes)
- Export in PDF or PNG format
- Apple Pencil and keyboard support
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TimeStory for iPad/iPhone is a paid app (one-time purchase or annual subscription) for creating graphical timelines--project plans, roadmaps, personal journals, histories, and more, on scales from days to centuries--quickly and easily, while avoiding the complexity of project management tools. The free download lets you open, view, and share timelines created on TimeStory for Mac. If you want to create and edit timelines on your iPad/iPhone, you can activate the built-in free trial, and then, if you choose, pay once or subscribe annually. The free trial does not auto-renew into a subscription, so there’s no risk. Use natural touchscreen gestures to navigate and scale the timeline. Create an event just by tapping one of the New Event buttons then tapping or dragging on the timeline where you want it. Attach photos or image files. Divide your timeline into sections. Import your own SVG or PNG icons to mark points in time. Apply background colors, fonts, event shapes, text alignment, and more. Share your work in PDF or PNG format, exporting an entire timeline or just a section of it. On iPad, TimeStory has great support for Apple Pencil and external keyboards and pointers, works great in Split View and other multitasking modes, and supports multiple windows so you can open multiple documents at once or keep it open next to your research. Versions: This version of TimeStory was built to natively support iPad and iPhone. **Note: TimeStory for Mac is a separate purchase.** More info at https://timestory.app/get/ Web: Learn more on our website (https://timestory.app/), with example timelines, release history, and documentation. (Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/)
Truly Simple Timeline
Build and visualize narrative arcs, story beats, and character involvement across novels or any project. Its drag-and-drop interface supports various event types and date spans, with cross-device functionality for easy planning and adjustments.
- Drag-and-drop interface
- Narrative arc and story beat tracking
- Single-date and duration events
- BC/AD date support
- Vertical and horizontal modes
- Cross-device functionality
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Truly Simple Timeline was built by a professional author to keep track of narrative arcs, story beats, and character moments across a novel. It’s a clean, tactile workspace where you can add events individually or in bulk, drag and drop them across centuries or hours, and adjust all your milestones whenever and however you please. Features: • Intuitive interface: Drag and drop events across hours, days, or centuries. • Flexible event types: Mix large-scale narrative arcs, single-date events, and duration periods seamlessly. • Paper-like design: Organize with a curated color palette of warm creams, slate blues, and earthy greens, paired with your own custom hues. • Reliable device sync: Your data flows effortlessly between your Mac, iPad, and iPhone, and your sync status is viewable any time. • Fully accessible: Built natively for Apple devices with full VoiceOver support, Dynamic Type, and high-contrast readability. • Share timelines: Export timelines, which can then be imported into another device running TS Timeline (where it can be viewed, edited, etc) • Pay once, keep forever: All core features are free. Unlock unlimited timelines with a single one-time, lifetime in-app purchase. No subscriptions, no ads, no hidden fees.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: TimeStory at 100% against Truly Simple Timeline's 50%. Truly Simple Timeline's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.7) and update cadence (every 11 days vs every 6 weeks). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. TimeStory sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year and Truly Simple Timeline sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Truly Simple Timeline holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 4 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of TimeStory's written reviews are positive against 50% of Truly Simple Timeline's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
TimeStory ships an update every 6 weeks, Truly Simple Timeline every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TimeStory | Truly Simple Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (3 ratings) | 4.3 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 11 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Casual Programmer, LLC | Colin Wright |
Customer experience
TimeStory
Truly Simple Timeline
In-app purchases
TimeStory
- Annual Subscription$14.991 Year
- Two-Week TrialFree
- One-Time Purchase$39.99
Truly Simple Timeline
- Unlock Pro$4.99
Questions
Is TimeStory free?
Is Truly Simple Timeline free?
Which has better reviews, TimeStory or Truly Simple Timeline?
Do TimeStory or Truly Simple Timeline have ads?
Which is updated more often, TimeStory or Truly Simple Timeline?
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