TimelineJS

6.7easy start · #17 of 22
in Data Storytelling Tools

Free to practise onyes
Free trialnot on record
Well documentedyes
Runs where you worknot on record

Runs on api, self-hosted, Web.

TimelineJS is ranked #17 of 22 in data storytelling tools on The Geeks Club. It runs on API, Self-hosted, Web. There is a free plan.

TimelineJS plans and pricing

All plans

TimelineJS Free Open-source under MPL 2.0 · Google Sheets data must be published to the web for the standard workflow timeline.knightlab.com · 7 Oct 2026

Compared on data storytelling tools

Free plan: Yes
Interactive visualizations: Yes
Narrative annotations: Yes
Presentation flow: Yes
Share mode: both

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The record

Purpose: TimelineJS is an open-source tool for building visually rich, interactive timelines.
Audience: Beginners can build timelines with a Google spreadsheet, while experts can use JSON for custom installations.
Authoring workflow: The standard authoring workflow uses a Google Spreadsheet template, which users publish to the web before generating a timeline.
Media integrations: Built-in media support includes Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, Google Maps, Dropbox, DocumentCloud, Wikipedia, SoundCloud, Storify, iframes, YouTube and Vimeo.
Customization: Users can adjust fonts, navigation position and initial zoom, and technically capable users can override the timeline CSS.
Story structure: Knight Lab recommends keeping a timeline to 20 slides or fewer and choosing stories with a strong chronological narrative.
Privacy: The Google Spreadsheet workflow requires publishing data to the web; for access control, Knight Lab says to use JSON and instantiate the timeline directly with JavaScript.
Licensing: TimelineJS is released under the Mozilla Public License version 2.0, and the FAQ says it is free to use commercially without additional fees or permission.
Support: Knight Lab offers support by email or web form and says it has no dedicated tech support staff.
Browser compatibility: Knight Lab identifies Google Chrome as its primary development and testing browser and says TimelineJS is known not to work with Internet Explorer versions before IE10.
WordPress limitation: TimelineJS does not work with WordPress.com sites; Knight Lab says its plugin supports WordPress installations that allow plugins.
Platform and embedding: TimelineJS works on websites and blogs, can be embedded with an iframe, and can be self-hosted using downloaded JavaScript and CSS files.
Maker: TimelineJS is a project of Northwestern University Knight Lab, which describes itself as a community of designers, developers, students and educators working on journalism experiments.
Headquarters: Evanston, Illinois, United States
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on The Geeks Club

Best Data Storytelling Tools in 2026#17 of 22

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Sources

timeline.knightlab.com/docs/index.html· checked 7 Oct 2026
timeline.knightlab.com· checked 7 Oct 2026
timeline.knightlab.com/docs/using-spreadsheets.html· checked 7 Oct 2026
timeline.knightlab.com/docs/faq.html· checked 7 Oct 2026
timeline.knightlab.com/docs/instantiate-a-timeline.html· checked 7 Oct 2026
knightlab.northwestern.edu/about/· checked 7 Oct 2026