Comparison

TimeTree vs Animal Class

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

TimeTree

Explore a vast public knowledge base of evolutionary timescales and divergence times among organisms. This app uses a hierarchical system to find and present molecular time estimates from scientific literature, allowing users to compare species and view summary statistics.

Highlights
  • Explore evolutionary timescales
  • View organism divergence times
  • Access scientific literature data
  • Hierarchical tree-based system
  • Compute summary statistics
  • Compare species divergence
Features
Read full description

TimeTree 4 is a public knowledge-base for information on the evolutionary timescale of life. This application allows easy exploration of the thousands of divergence times among organisms in the scientific literature. A tree-based (hierarchical) system is used to identify all published molecular time estimates bearing on the divergence of two chosen organisms, such as species, compute summary statistics, and present the results. Names of two taxa to be compared are entered in the search window and the results are presented on a set of self-explanatory tabs. TimeTree 4 contains data from 2,274 studies including 50,632 species. We will be adding more data in the future as it comes in from researchers. TimeTree 4 requires iOS 8.0 or newer. The TimeTree project is jointly directed by Blair Hedges (Center for Biodiversity, Temple University) and Sudhir Kumar (Institute for Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine, Temple University). This project has been supported, in part, by grants from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, NASA Astrobiology Institute, and Science Foundation of Arizona.

About

Animal Class

Explore animal classification with engaging trivia and stunning photography. Features nine categories, including mammals, reptiles, and birds, plus warm-up and bonus rounds.

Highlights
  • Animal classification information
  • Engaging trivia questions
  • Global animal photography
  • Nine distinct categories
  • Warm-up and bonus rounds
Features
Read full description

Animal class includes information on how animals are classified, engaging trivia questions, and photography from around the world. There are nine categories to choose from including: mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish, arthropods, plus a warm-up session and a bonus round.

Screenshots

TimeTree4 screens
Animal Class4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Animal Class at 4.6 against TimeTree's 4.0. Animal Class also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 8 months) and review sentiment (75% vs 65%). TimeTree's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 12.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Animal Class sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. TimeTree asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Animal Class holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 22 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of TimeTree's written reviews are positive against 75% of Animal Class's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TimeTree ships an update every 8 months, Animal Class every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
TimeTree versus Animal Class: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTimeTreeAnimal Class
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (10 ratings)4.6 (22 ratings) — better
Positive reviews65.1% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1022 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS8.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size66 MB246 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperArizona and Penn State UniversitiesDarren McNally

Customer experience

TimeTree

All ratings10 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews43 reviews
Positive65.1%
Neutral2.3%
Negative32.6%

Animal Class

All ratings22 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral16.7%
Negative8.3%

In-app purchases

None

TimeTree

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Animal Class

One-time1
  • Unlock Pro$9.99

Questions

Is TimeTree free?
TimeTree is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Animal Class free?
Animal Class is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, TimeTree or Animal Class?
Animal Class is rated higher. TimeTree averages 4.0 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Animal Class averages 4.6 from 22 ratings.
Do TimeTree or Animal Class have ads?
Neither TimeTree nor Animal Class shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TimeTree or Animal Class?
TimeTree ships an update every 8 months, and Animal Class every 6 days. Most recently, TimeTree was updated on October 16, 2026 and Animal Class on October 9, 2026.

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