Disclosure: we make Augur, so it's listed first. Everything else is described as fairly as we can.
What we looked for
A good history app for adults has to do three things. It has to be accurate, with real sources behind it and honesty about what's uncertain. It has to fit into an adult's day, whether that's five minutes on a train or an evening on the sofa. And it has to leave you remembering something a week later, which usually means doing something with what you learn rather than just scrolling past it. We also looked at price, and whether an app is built for adults or adapted from a school product.
Quick picks
| App | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|
 Augur | Learning history by living it, five minutes a day | Subscription, cancel anytime |
 Paladin | A daily history habit with quizzes | Subscription |
 Nibble | Short lessons across many subjects | Free with a paid tier |
 Khan Academy | Structured courses, completely free | Free |
 Google Arts & Culture | Artefacts, museums and images | Free |
 History Hit | Documentaries and podcasts | Subscription |
 HISTORY | Shows from the History channel | Free, some episodes need a TV provider |
The apps
Augur
Short narrated stories of real history, painted in a storybook style. At the end of each one you take the seat of someone who was there and make the calls they faced, then see what really happened. There are What If games where you try to rewrite history, and an era trail that seals each story you finish.
Skip it if you want long-form reading or exam prep.
Five-minute daily history stories from the ancient world to the twentieth century, with quizzes and collectible characters.
Skip it if you want to make decisions inside the history rather than read and quiz.
Bite-sized lessons for adults across the humanities and sciences, history among them.
Skip it if history is the only thing you want.
Full course sequences in world history, US history and art history, with videos, readings and practice questions.
Skip it if you want something for five spare minutes rather than a course.
Museum collections, high-resolution artefacts and virtual tours from institutions around the world.
Skip it if you want the story of what happened rather than the objects.
A streaming service of history documentaries and podcasts across most periods.
Skip it if you only have a few minutes at a time.
Clips and full episodes from the History channel's shows and documentaries, plus live TV with a cable or streaming sign-in.
Skip it if you want to learn on your own schedule in a few minutes a day.
The best history app for...
- Your commute: Augur or Paladin. Both are built around a five-minute daily session. Augur adds narration, so you can listen rather than read.
- Learning by doing: Augur, where every story ends with you making the decisions the real people faced, and What If games where you try to change the outcome.
- A full course: Khan Academy, for structured world history and US history with practice questions, all free.
- Seeing the past: Google Arts & Culture, for paintings, artefacts and museum tours from around the world.
- An evening of viewing: History Hit or the HISTORY app, for documentaries and shows.
- A bit of everything: Nibble, if you want short lessons across many subjects, with history among them.
How to choose
- You want it to stick: pick something that makes you use what you learn. Deciding beats rereading for memory.
- You have five minutes, not an hour: pick a daily-session app over courses and documentaries.
- You want it free: Khan Academy for courses, Google Arts & Culture for objects and images.
Looking for a Duolingo-style daily habit specifically? Here's how Augur works as a history learning app for adults. Or test yourself first with the free history quiz.
Questions
What is the best app to learn history as an adult?
It depends on how you like to learn. For a short daily habit where you actually do something with what you learn, Augur. For free structured courses, Khan Academy. For documentaries, History Hit.
Is there a free history app?
Khan Academy and Google Arts & Culture are free. The HISTORY app is free, though some episodes need a TV provider. Augur, Paladin and History Hit are subscriptions; Nibble has a free tier.
Is there a Duolingo for history?
A few apps borrow Duolingo's short daily sessions and streaks for history. Augur does it with narrated stories you play, five minutes a day, with a streak and an era trail to work along.