Back in Time vs OldMapsOnline
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Back in Time
Explore the history of the Universe, Earth, Life, and Civilization through an immersive, interactive journey. This app uses custom animations, timelines, and interesting facts to bring historical events to life. It's designed to help users understand the connections between events and see the bigger picture.
- Interactive timeline of events
- Custom animations and videos
- Over 350 remarkable images
- Little-known interesting facts
- Offline access
- Multilingual support
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• "The coolest history textbook you’ll find on the iPad" - The New York Times • Winner of the WSA Mobile Award • Top1 iPad Book in US, UK, FR, ES, China… and 34 more Countries • Featured by The New York Times (Top10 iPad Apps of the year) • Featured by the American Photo Magazine (Top 10 Photo eBooks of the year) For iPhone/iPod touch download - Back in Time for iPhone Back in Time will take you on a stunning exploration of the history of our Universe, Earth, Life and Civilization. A journey through time where each event is documented with social and historical context, several images, an illustrative timeline and little-known interesting facts. Custom made animations bring those events to life, creating an interesting, immersive learning experience. An imaginary clock will guide you through this quest, proposing a simple analogy: the entire Universe started 24 hours ago. The Big Bang, the source of time and space, is the first event in our journey – the clock reads 0:00 hours. Today, 13.7 billion years later, the clock reads midnight. In between is a sequence of key events that has brought us to where we are today. Explore them, place them in perspective, see how they relate and understand the connections. We invite you to take a step back and see the whole picture. :::: REVIEWS :::: “...a beautifully executed lesson on the history of the universe and the evolution of life on earth. Great for high school students or parents who’d like to tutor younger children and enjoy a first-rate experience of their own...” - Bob Tedeschi, The New York Times “The iPad could use more apps like this one.” - The Daily “...the best iPad apps are those that combine coffee table-styled books with the fluid nature of the iPad’s interface. Back in Time is just that, it’s the story of the entire history of our universe made interactive on the iPad.” - Casey Chan, Gizmodo (App of the Day) “Back in Time is utterly gorgeous in its presentation. (...) The app is so easy to navigate that it is a delight to explore. Landka could scarcely have done a better job in putting everything together.” - Gwen Phua, Appmodo :::: FEATURES :::: Designed for iPad; 47 chapters; Over 350 remarkable images; 60+ amazing animations and videos; 40+ illustrated timelines; More than 200 little-known interesting facts; Music by the composer Rodrigo Leão; Developed in 7 different languages (English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese); No internet connection required.
OldMapsOnline
Explore a vast collection of historical maps to visualize how the world has changed. Overlay old maps with modern views, use an interactive timeline, and access integrated historical information. Contribute to a growing community database of cartographic history.
- Vast collection of historical maps
- Interactive map with timeline
- Overlay and compare maps
- Community-driven collection
- Wikipedia integration
- Search by location and year
- Browser extension for map collection
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Step into the past with OldMapsOnline, the ultimate iOS app for history enthusiasts and curious minds. Discover a treasure trove of historical maps that reveal the stories of our world like never before. Key Features: Vast Collection of Historical Maps: Access over 500,000 high-resolution scanned maps from prestigious cultural institutions. Explore detailed maps from various eras and see how geographical and political landscapes have changed over time. Interactive Map with Timeline: Dive deep into history with an interactive map that features a dynamic timeline. Select any year and watch the map transform to reflect historical data, showcasing the evolution of political boundaries and significant events. Overlay and Compare Maps: Gain a unique perspective by overlaying historical maps onto modern maps. Use our compare tool to see the transformation of cities, regions, and landscapes across centuries. Community-Driven Collection: Join a growing community of history enthusiasts who contribute to the largest online collection of old maps. Share your discoveries and help uncover the hidden stories within these maps. Seamless Wikipedia Integration: For those eager to learn more, our app offers integrated information from Wikipedia, providing a gateway to extensive historical content and deeper research. Intuitive Search by Location: Effortlessly find old maps by zooming and panning on a world map, or simply type in a place name. Utilize the timeline to explore different years and watch the map update with historical boundaries. Convenient Browser Extension: Easily add historical maps found on the web to the OldMapsOnline collection with our browser extension, expanding the richness of our database. Embark on a Journey Through Time OldMapsOnline offers powerful tools to visualize history, including a 3D terrain view, augmented reality features, and advanced catalog search. Whether you're a historian, student, or an explorer of the past, our app makes it easy to delve into the rich history of any location. About OldMapsOnline Created by a dedicated team of cartographers, historians, and volunteers, OldMapsOnline is a collaborative project that harnesses the latest technology to make historical maps accessible to everyone. Our partners include renowned institutions like the British Library, ETH Zurich, and the David Rumsey Collection at Stanford. Download OldMapsOnline today and start your journey through the world's history, one map at a time!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Back in Time at 84% against OldMapsOnline's 26%. Back in Time also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.2) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). OldMapsOnline's advantage is price (Free vs $7.99). On ratings volume, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement 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
OldMapsOnline is free to download; Back in Time costs $7.99 up front. OldMapsOnline sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Back in Time asks for nothing beyond the download.
Back in Time holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 27 and 27 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Back in Time's written reviews are positive against 26% of OldMapsOnline's.
Back in Time ships an update every 7 months, OldMapsOnline every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Back in Time | OldMapsOnline |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $7.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (27 ratings) — better | 3.2 (27 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 83.7% of reviews — better | 25.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 27 | 27 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 836 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Landka | Klokan Technologies |
Customer experience
Back in Time
OldMapsOnline
Bugs and requests
Back in Time
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
OldMapsOnline
Reported bugs
3 issues- Maps not loading properly
- Constant crashes and freezes
- Inaccurate GPS and location data
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to overlay maps and see current location
- Option to download maps for offline use
- Improved search and filtering capabilities
- Easier map sharing and exporting
In-app purchases
Back in Time
No in-app purchases
OldMapsOnline
- Ad free version$1.99
Questions
Is Back in Time free?
Is OldMapsOnline free?
Which has better reviews, Back in Time or OldMapsOnline?
Do Back in Time or OldMapsOnline have ads?
Which is updated more often, Back in Time or OldMapsOnline?
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