Comparison

Random vs Parallel

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

Head to head
About

Random

Features
Read full description

"This App is a unique learning app that helps you discover new knowledge through random Wiki articles. Main Features - Random Article Discovery: Find a new article with a single tap - Swipe Navigation: Browse articles with intuitive gestures - Supports 59 Languages: Access Wikipedia content from around the world - History Management: Automatically records visited articles in chronological order - Bookmarking: Save articles that interest you - Search Function: Explore specific topics - Trending Articles: Check out what's popular now Recommended For - People who love learning new things - Anyone looking for fresh discoveries - Language learners - Users who want to learn in their spare time - People who enjoy content in multiple languages Highlights - Simple and easy-to-use UI - Offline-ready history and bookmarks - Minimal ads (can be completely removed with purchase) - Designed with privacy in mind A new encounter with knowledge awaits you every day. Start your journey into the world of Wiki exploration! "

About

Parallel

Explore historical connections by viewing multiple timelines simultaneously. Discover who lived at the same time as historical figures and events. Create custom collections or use curated ones to delve into specific eras and topics.

Highlights
  • View multiple historical timelines
  • Discover contemporaries at a glance
  • Access concise biographies with Wikipedia links
  • Create custom history collections
  • Offline functionality
  • Private and no tracking
Features
Read full description

Who lived at the same time as Mozart, Van Gogh, or Napoleon? Parallel lays out several timelines at once, and the connections that usually stay hidden appear at a glance. It's your tool for assembling history around what interests you. Ten curated collections come built in, from earth history and the arts to sciences, rulers, empires, buildings, and the events that shaped history. They make it easy to start and give you a taste of what Parallel can do. The rest is yours to shape. For the curious, for the classroom, for everyone who loves history. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Swipe and zoom through the millennia, from antiquity to today. • Line up exactly the collections that fascinate you. • Highlight a person and see their contemporaries at a glance, while everything else fades into the background. • Open any entry for a clear, concise biography or summary, with a link to Wikipedia. • Bring dates and the Wikipedia link straight from Wikidata into your own entry. • Follow a single thread through time, filtered by topic, place, era, and more. • Create your own collections and fill them with what matters to you. • Zoom out from a single year all the way to 13.8 billion years. Every built-in entry is carefully researched, historically grounded, and fact-checked. Try it for free Ancient Rome is included as a ready-made sample collection, no Pro needed. In a few seconds you see how a collection comes together, and it stays with you afterwards. Buy once, no subscription. You buy Parallel just once. The Pro upgrade lifts every limit: unlimited collections and entries, creating and filling your own collections from a spreadsheet or from copied text, your own copies of the built-in collections, and exporting the whole timeline as a PDF. No hidden costs. If you want to go deeper into specific topics, optional premium collections are available. Private and offline Your entries stay on your iPhone. No account, no sign-up, no tracking. The app works offline. Only the Wikidata look-up needs an internet connection. History belongs to everyone, but your data belongs to you.

Screenshots

Random4 screens
Parallel4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Parallel at none against Random's shown. Parallel also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 8 months). Random's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price 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. Random sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Parallel sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Random ships an update every 8 months, Parallel every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Random versus Parallel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRandomParallel
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB5 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperTATSUO NAKANOAnatol Knotek

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Random

One-time1
  • Ad_off$2.99
4 purchases

Parallel

One-time4
  • Painters & Sculptors XL$1.99
  • Buildings XL$1.99
  • Science & Technology XL$1.99
Show 1 more
  • Parallel Pro$3.99

Questions

Is Random free?
Random is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Parallel free?
Parallel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Random or Parallel have ads?
Random shows ads; Parallel does not.
Which is updated more often, Random or Parallel?
Random ships an update every 8 months, and Parallel every 3 weeks. Most recently, Random was updated on October 2, 2026 and Parallel on October 12, 2026.

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