Comparison

Back in Time vs Today in History

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Interactive timeline of events
  • Custom animations and videos
  • Over 350 remarkable images
  • Little-known interesting facts
  • Offline access
  • Multilingual support
Features
Read full description

• "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.

About

Today in History

Discover daily historical facts and curated articles about significant events, inventions, and birthdays. Expand your general knowledge with short, well-researched stories designed for quick learning. Integrate a history widget for at-a-glance daily insights.

Highlights
  • Daily historical facts
  • Curated educational articles
  • Short, well-researched stories
  • Historical events and birthdays
  • History widget for glanceable facts
Features
Read full description

Explore history with the Factorium app every day. Get daily educational, curated articles with cool and really interesting facts about historical events which happened today in history — art, scientific discoveries, groundbreaking inventions, famous people’s birthdays, cultural milestones, political turning points, and more. Learn about the history that shaped the world, expand your general knowledge, and build a healthy habit of learning something new every day. Every article in Factorium is carefully selected and written to give you more knowledge in less time. Each story is short, well-researched, and designed to be read in just a few minutes. It’s not just a list of random events or facts — it’s a structured learning experience to help you explore the history that matters. Add the Factorium history widget and see today’s historical event at a glance — no need to open the app. History just becomes part of your daily routine. Download Factorium and make history exploration easy and truly enjoyable. Terms of Use (EULA) https://factorium.io/terms-of-use/

Screenshots

Today in History4 screens

Verdict

The call

Back in Time and Today in History both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 84% of Back in Time's written reviews are positive against 36% of Today in History's. Back in Time also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 7) and ads (none vs shown). Today in History's advantage is price (Free vs $7.99) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 7 months). On rating 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Today in History is free to download; Back in Time costs $7.99 up front. Today in History sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Back in Time asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Back in Time against 4.7 for Today in History. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Today in History has 231 ratings behind it against 25, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 84% of Back in Time's written reviews are positive against 36% of Today in History's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Back in Time ships an update every 7 months, Today in History every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on June 9, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Back in Time versus Today in History: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBack in TimeToday in History
Price$7.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (25 ratings)4.7 (231 ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.7% of reviews — better36.4% of reviews
Number of ratings25231 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size836 MB77 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLandkaNerdish OU

Customer experience

Back in Time

All ratings25 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews43 reviews
Positive83.7%
Neutral7.0%
Negative9.3%

Today in History

All ratings231 ratings
Positive92.6%
Neutral3.5%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive36.4%
Neutral9.1%
Negative54.5%

In-app purchases

None

Back in Time

No in-app purchases

7 purchases

Today in History

Subscriptions7
  • Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
  • Weekly Subscription$1.997 Days
  • Quarterly Subscription$5.493 Months
Show 4 more
  • 3-Month Subscription$9.993 Months
  • 1-Year Subscription Special$9.991 Year
  • 1-Year Subscription$19.991 Year
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Back in Time free?
Back in Time costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Today in History free?
Today in History is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Back in Time or Today in History?
Today in History is rated higher. Back in Time averages 4.6 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while Today in History averages 4.7 from 231 ratings.
Do Back in Time or Today in History have ads?
Today in History shows ads; Back in Time does not.
Which is updated more often, Back in Time or Today in History?
Back in Time ships an update every 7 months, and Today in History every 5 weeks. Most recently, Back in Time was updated on June 9, 2026 and Today in History on September 16, 2026.

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