Comparison

Past Chicago vs PlusPortals

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

Head to head
About

Past Chicago

Explore Chicago's past through thousands of historic photographs overlaid on an interactive map. Discover street scenes and buildings from different eras, search for specific locations, and view original archive details. This app offers a free, ad-free way to virtually wander through the city's history.

Highlights
  • Historic photos on an interactive map
  • Search by place or address
  • Filter by year
  • View full-screen photos
  • Save favorite places
  • Includes archive source and date information
Features
Read full description

You know the street. You might not recognize the photograph. Past Chicago puts thousands of historic photographs on a map of the city. Start with your neighborhood, follow the lakefront, or wander through the Loop. Tap a place to see its buildings and street scenes from years gone by. Stop by Riverview Park or explore the 1893 World's Fair. Some places are instantly recognizable; others might have you checking the street signs. Find your own way through the collection: - Search for places and addresses, or use Locate Me to see what's nearby. - Filter by year to explore a different era, then browse the available photographs at each location. - Open a photograph full screen, swipe through the gallery, and zoom in for a closer look. - Save places you'd like to revisit. There's a little motion, too: watch a silent 1897 street scene filmed at State and Madison, right on the map where it happened. Every photograph includes its archive source, credit and available date information. Open the original archive record to keep looking. Approximate locations are labeled, with notes to help make sense of streets and addresses that have changed. The entire collection is free. No ads, subscriptions or in-app purchases. Made for iPhone and iPad. Location permission is optional, so you can explore Chicago from anywhere. TERMS OF USE (EULA) https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy https://pastchicago.com/privacy

About

PlusPortals

Access school information securely on your mobile device. View combined feeds, calendars, scores, assignments, and more. Stay connected with your school for enhanced learning and success.

Highlights
  • Secure mobile access
  • Combined Feeds
  • Calendar view
  • Recent Scores
  • Missing Work
  • Assignments
  • Attendance tracking
Features
Read full description

The PlusPortals Mobile App offers parents and students secure mobile access to view information from their school's PlusPortals account. The app showcases Combined Feeds to easily review important information in one location, as well as views for Calendar, Recent Scores, Missing Work, and Assignments. Schools can also choose to share Attendance, Report Card Grades, Schedules, Incidents, Demographics, Classroom Progress, and more! The PlusPortals Mobile App creates a stronger connection between the school, parent, and students by sharing information that is critical for success and learning.

Screenshots

Past Chicago4 screens
PlusPortals4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Past Chicago at 100% against PlusPortals's 9%. Past Chicago also leads on rating (4.5 vs 1.5). PlusPortals's advantage is ratings volume (153 vs 10) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Past Chicago holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PlusPortals has 153 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Past Chicago's written reviews are positive against 9% of PlusPortals's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Past Chicago ships an update monthly, PlusPortals every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Past Chicago versus PlusPortals: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPast ChicagoPlusPortals
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (10 ratings) — better1.5 (153 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better9.0% of reviews
Number of ratings10153 — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB93 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperBoxcue Technologies LLCRediker Software, Inc.

Customer experience

Past Chicago

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

PlusPortals

All ratings149 ratings
Positive10.7%
Neutral0.7%
Negative88.6%
Written reviews78 reviews
Positive9.0%
Neutral1.3%
Negative89.7%

Bugs and requests

Past Chicago

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

PlusPortals

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login screen not working
  • Unexpected errors
  • Can't send messages to support

Requested features

3 requests
  • Bring back lesson plans
  • Allow filtering by student
  • Improve calendar view

In-app purchases

None

Past Chicago

No in-app purchases

None

PlusPortals

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Past Chicago free?
Past Chicago is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PlusPortals free?
PlusPortals is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Past Chicago or PlusPortals?
Past Chicago is rated higher. Past Chicago averages 4.5 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while PlusPortals averages 1.5 from 153 ratings.
Do Past Chicago or PlusPortals have ads?
Neither Past Chicago nor PlusPortals shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Past Chicago or PlusPortals?
Past Chicago ships an update monthly, and PlusPortals every 2 months. Most recently, Past Chicago was updated on November 1, 2026 and PlusPortals on November 7, 2026.

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