# Time Was vs ChessSnap

The clearest difference is price: ChessSnap at Free against Time Was's $1.99. Time Was's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

ChessSnap is free to download; Time Was costs $1.99 up front. ChessSnap sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per year. Time Was asks for nothing beyond the download.

Time Was ships an update every 5 weeks, ChessSnap every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Time Was | ChessSnap |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $1.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[3.8 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/time-was/id6737356991/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **5** | — |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 weeks** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Size | 66 MB | 2 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Hindsight Apps LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1836520838) | [Junqing Zhang](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896440383) |

## What reviewers say

### Time Was

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/time-was/id6737356991)

Create and share interactive history timelines with events, dates, descriptions, and images. View your timelines vertically or horizontally, and search for specific historical information. Share your creations publicly or keep them private.

**Highlights:** Create custom history timelines, Add events with dates, descriptions, and images, View timelines vertically or horizontally, Search events within timelines, Share timelines publicly or privately, Add public timelines from other users

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### ChessSnap

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chesssnap/id6767243424)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ChessSnap Pro | $11.99 | per year |
| ChessSnap Lifetime | $11.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Time Was free?

Time Was costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is ChessSnap free?

ChessSnap is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Time Was or ChessSnap have ads?

Neither Time Was nor ChessSnap shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Time Was or ChessSnap?

Time Was ships an update every 5 weeks, and ChessSnap every 3 months. Most recently, Time Was was updated on October 24, 2026 and ChessSnap on October 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*