Compare · TimelineJS alternative
TimelineJS and TimelineTraveler compared
TimelineJS is a free, open-source tool from Northwestern University’s Knight Lab. You build a timeline in a Google Sheets template, and readers see it one event at a time as a slide, with a track of events below.
TimelineTraveler is an interactive timeline you can zoom from billions of years ago down to a single minute, with parallel lanes for stories that happen at the same time.
Facts about TimelineJS come from its own website, checked on September 24, 2026. Prices are in US dollars and can change.
Side by side
| Topic | TimelineJS | TimelineTraveler |
|---|---|---|
| How readers see it | One event at a time as a slide, with a navigation track below | The whole timeline at once. Readers zoom and pan, and more events appear as they zoom in. |
| Parallel rows | A Group column shows events in separate rows on the track | Lanes, each with its own name and colour. Readers can hide lanes. |
| Where you build it | A Google Sheets template, or JSON for developers | An editor in the browser, a CSV import, or an AI draft you review |
| Date range | Negative years for dates before the common era | From billions of years ago down to the second |
| Price | Free, with no accounts. Open source under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. | Free plan. Creator is $8 a month ($72 a year) and Pro is $20 a month ($192 a year). |
| Embeds | Yes, by iframe | Yes, by iframe. Edits appear in every embed the next time it loads. |
| Media | From YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, Google Maps, Wikipedia, SoundCloud, DocumentCloud and other services | Uploaded pictures, plus images, YouTube videos, maps and links |
What TimelineJS has that we do not
- It is free and open source, so you can host it yourself and change the code.
- It needs no account. The data stays in your own Google Sheet.
- It pulls media from many services, including SoundCloud and DocumentCloud.
- It has a WordPress plugin.
What TimelineTraveler does
- More events appear as you zoom in
- An event opens to show the events inside it when it is wide enough on screen, from billions of years ago down to a single minute.
- Parallel lanes
- Each lane is a row with its own name and colour on one shared time axis, so readers see what happened in each at the same moment.
- Sources on every event
- Each event can list links, titles and quotes. Events from an AI draft are marked unverified until you check them.
- Start without an account
- Open the editor and build a timeline. It is stored in your browser until you sign in.
Moving from TimelineJS
Choose TimelineTraveler if you want readers to see the whole story at once, zoom from years of background into a single day, and see parallel threads in named lanes.
To move a timeline across, download your TimelineJS sheet from Google Sheets as a CSV file and import it in the editor. The Headline, Text, Year, Month, Day and Group columns are matched, and each group becomes a lane.
Sources for TimelineJS
Other comparisons
Try it with your own events
Open the editor and import a CSV, or start a blank timeline. You do not need an account to start.
Open the editor