Comparison

Meanwhile vs The Alice App

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

Head to head
About

Meanwhile

Explore a mad scientist's wonderland and make choices that shape your adventure. This interactive comic offers thousands of branching paths, leading to various outcomes, from doom to success. Experience a unique story with full audio accessibility.

Highlights
  • Branching narrative paths
  • User-driven story choices
  • Thousands of adventure outcomes
  • Infinite scrollable canvas
  • Full audio accessibility (VoiceOver)
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

MEANWHILE: an interactive comic by Jason Shiga On the way home from the ice cream store, little Jimmy discovers a mad scientist’s wonderland: an experimental mind-reading helmet, a time machine, and a doomsday device that can annihilate the human race. Which one would you like to test out first? MEANWHILE is not an ordinary comic. YOU make the choices that determine how the story unfolds. MEANWHILE splits off into thousands of different adventures. Most will end in DOOM and DISASTER. Only one path will lead you to happiness and success. - A thrilling adventure of quantum physics, self-discovery, and kids getting into trouble. (We mentioned the doomsday device, right?) - Completely redesigned by the author for an infinite scrollable canvas. - Full audio accessibility with VoiceOver; every panel and choice can be spoken.

About

The Alice App

An interactive book app that brings "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" to life with stunning, touch-sensitive illustrations and engaging narration. It aims to encourage literacy, spark imagination, and educate users about art history.

Highlights
  • Interactive illustrations
  • Engaging narration
  • Art history education
  • Literacy skill encouragement
  • Finger touch animations
  • Riddles and puzzles
Features
Read full description

Description – The Alice App is in English ** The New York Times – “Alice” is also a sly trip through Western art history that makes one almost forget the book’s original illustrations by Sir John Tenniel." ** Wired – “With Art of the Renaissance style and children's story the app Alice become a surprise hit.” ** Venture Beat – “It features beautiful illustrations you can interact with by touching the tablet screen, as well as an engaging narrator reading each page.” ** Kirkus Reviews– “Alice apps offers audio and visual pleasures of its own.” ** Member at Moms With Apps®- The app is safe for children ** 10 Top app in iTunes - Apple prompted The Alice app to be in the top 10 apps in iTunes under the category of kids gams and apps Learn art and encourage literacy in this fun interactive book app based on the classic novel. Explore interactive illustrations, learn and excite about art, and engage with your kids in a fun activity. The Alice App delivers a gorgeous interactive journey through the classic fairy tale “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” This is the truly immersive experience that rich tales such as this are perfect for. Stunning visuals, rollicking sound effects, and interactive gems capture the whimsical fantasy fun of Lewis Carroll’s iconic children’s tale. EXPLORE THE ALICE APP: · ENCOURAGE literacy skills by following along with the narration. · LEARN and EDUCATE about art. · IGNITE imaginations. · INTERACT in the story. Playful, interactive illustrations and games. · STIMULATE creativity. · NAVIGATE effortlessly to any location. · ENGAGE with your child in a fun activity that can be enjoyed by adults and children alike. · ENJOY the energetic narration and hilarious sound effects. · INSPIRE children to read, create, and engage more. ** TIP: DON’T JUST SIT AND LISTEN TO THE ALICE APP ** Alice is a book filled with riddles, puzzles, brainteasers, and new surprises on every page! So JUMP IN and become a part of the experience. This inspiring merging of children’s literature and classic art was designed for mobile and tablet. Global artist Emmanuel Paletz spent four years crafting beautifully detailed paintings inspired by the Renaissance to tell the tale of Alice’s Adventures. The result is an App that opens the door to the world of Wonderland like nothing ever has before. You’ll dig deeper beyond the words and beyond the pages into the vibrant heart and soul of this timeless classic. All the characters you love are there in their silly splendor and waiting to jump off the page. Jaw-dropping illustrations and finger touch animations bring the story to new life and pull you in to where fantasy lives. It’s the story we all remember, but our interactive landscape will create new warmer and more vibrant memories than ever before! Welcome again and for the first time to the wonderful world of Alice! --------------------------------------- Emmanuel Paletz’s work is featured in: - The New York Times magazine - Washington Post - LA time - Red Dot design award - IF design award - Many other publications around the world --------------------------------------- We’d Love To Hear From You! We’re always listening to your suggestions to improve The Alice App! If you have any issues with the app, just contact us and we will help you! - Need tech support? Contact us at: Emmanuel.paletz@gmail.com - Say hello to us on FB! facebook.com/Thealiceapp The Alice App™ & © 2014 Emmanuel Paletz Corp, All rights reserved. All of us on Emmanuel Paletz Corp team appreciate your support. Visit us at www.thealiceapp.com

Screenshots

Meanwhile4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: The Alice App at 5.0 against Meanwhile's 4.1. The Alice App also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 79%) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 12 months). Meanwhile's advantage is chart position (#27 vs unranked) and ratings volume (10 vs 2). On ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Meanwhile costs $4.99 and The Alice App $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Alice App holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Meanwhile has 10 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Meanwhile's written reviews are positive against 100% of The Alice App's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Meanwhile ships an update every 12 months, The Alice App every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Meanwhile versus The Alice App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMeanwhileThe Alice App
Price$4.99$0.99 — better
Rating4.1 (10 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings10 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#27 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPad
Requires iOS15.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB277 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperZarfhome Software ConsultingEmmanuel Paletz Corp.

Customer experience

Meanwhile

All ratings10 ratings
Positive70.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive79.2%
Neutral12.5%
Negative8.3%

The Alice App

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Meanwhile

No in-app purchases

None

The Alice App

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Meanwhile free?
Meanwhile costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Alice App free?
The Alice App costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Meanwhile or The Alice App?
The Alice App is rated higher. Meanwhile averages 4.1 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while The Alice App averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Meanwhile or The Alice App have ads?
Neither Meanwhile nor The Alice App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Meanwhile or The Alice App?
Meanwhile ships an update every 12 months, and The Alice App every 3 months. Most recently, Meanwhile was updated on September 18, 2026 and The Alice App on September 10, 2026.

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