Comparison

Truly Simple Timeline vs Garland

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

Head to head
About

Truly Simple Timeline

Build and visualize narrative arcs, story beats, and character involvement across novels or any project. Its drag-and-drop interface supports various event types and date spans, with cross-device functionality for easy planning and adjustments.

Highlights
  • Drag-and-drop interface
  • Narrative arc and story beat tracking
  • Single-date and duration events
  • BC/AD date support
  • Vertical and horizontal modes
  • Cross-device functionality
Features
Read full description

Truly Simple Timeline was built by a professional author to keep track of narrative arcs, story beats, and character moments across a novel. It’s a clean, tactile workspace where you can add events individually or in bulk, drag and drop them across centuries or hours, and adjust all your milestones whenever and however you please. Features: • Intuitive interface: Drag and drop events across hours, days, or centuries. • Flexible event types: Mix large-scale narrative arcs, single-date events, and duration periods seamlessly. • Paper-like design: Organize with a curated color palette of warm creams, slate blues, and earthy greens, paired with your own custom hues. • Reliable device sync: Your data flows effortlessly between your Mac, iPad, and iPhone, and your sync status is viewable any time. • Fully accessible: Built natively for Apple devices with full VoiceOver support, Dynamic Type, and high-contrast readability. • Share timelines: Export timelines, which can then be imported into another device running TS Timeline (where it can be viewed, edited, etc) • Pay once, keep forever: All core features are free. Unlock unlimited timelines with a single one-time, lifetime in-app purchase. No subscriptions, no ads, no hidden fees.

About

Garland

Features
Read full description

You meet someone you click with, and a week later the name is gone. You mean to text an old friend, then three months pass. Your phone's contacts hold a number and nothing else: not where you met, not what you talked about, not when you last spoke. Garland keeps them strung together. It is a quiet place to remember people and stay close to the ones who matter. Add someone in seconds, jot a note by voice or by typing, and Garland nudges you when it has been too long. It works fully offline, asks for no account, and keeps every note on your phone. ADD PEOPLE IN SECONDS Save a name with one tap, right when you meet them. Add where you met and a detail or two later, when you have a moment. No account, no sign-up. NOTES BY VOICE OR TEXT Talk instead of type. Your voice becomes a note on that person, and the audio never leaves your phone. Typing works too, whenever you prefer it. GENTLE REMINDERS THAT HELP Set how often you want to keep up with each person. Garland gathers a few people into one calm daily nudge that shows why now and your last note, so you never face a blank page when you reach out. REACH OUT IN ONE TAP Call, text, or email straight from someone's card. Garland opens your usual apps and never sends anything itself. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT No account, no cloud, nothing to log into. Your notes stay on your device and are never written into your phone contacts, so they don't travel with a contact you share. When you add people from your contacts, Garland only reads them. It never changes, edits, or deletes anything in your address book. WHAT YOU GET - Remember names, faces, and the small details about people you meet - Notes by voice or typing on every person - One calm daily reminder to reach out, with the context you need - One-tap call, text, and email - Add a few people from your contacts; Garland only reads them and never changes or deletes them - Works offline, no account, no ads Start free and keep up with your closest 25 people. Pay $19.99 once for voice notes, unlimited people, and backup. No subscription, ever.

Screenshots

Truly Simple Timeline3 screens
Garland4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Truly Simple Timeline at 17.0 against Garland's 26.0. 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. Truly Simple Timeline sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Garland sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Truly Simple Timeline versus Garland: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTruly Simple TimelineGarland
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperColin WrightPrashant Angyan

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Truly Simple Timeline

One-time1
  • Unlock Pro$4.99
1 purchases

Garland

One-time1
  • Tend Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is Truly Simple Timeline free?
Truly Simple Timeline is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Garland free?
Garland is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Truly Simple Timeline or Garland have ads?
Neither Truly Simple Timeline nor Garland shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Truly Simple Timeline or Garland?
Truly Simple Timeline ships an update fortnightly, and Garland fortnightly. Most recently, Truly Simple Timeline was updated on October 30, 2026 and Garland on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons