Comparison

Paint Tubes vs Cairn

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

Head to head
About

Paint Tubes

Engage in a satisfying puzzle experience by shooting balls to color tubes and advance through over 100 levels. Enjoy simple one-tap controls, vibrant visuals, and addictive gameplay designed for quick fun.

Highlights
  • Ball shooting mechanics
  • Tube coloring gameplay
  • Over 100 levels
  • One-tap controls
  • Rich visual effects
  • Addictive gameplay
Features
Read full description

Cool off, shoot the balls, and color tubes to reach the goal in over 100+ levels! One-tap easy-to-learn controls, rich visual effects, and addictive gameplay mechanics.

About

Cairn

Features
Read full description

One tap. One slab. How high can you build? Cairn is a premium stone-stacking arcade game where you drop sliding stone slabs to build the tallest swaying cairn you can. Every perfect drop widens your tower. Every overhang gets sliced away. The higher you climb, the narrower the margin for error. What makes Cairn different The sky changes as you build. Dawn bleeds into afternoon. Afternoon softens into dusk. Dusk fades into night. The higher your cairn grows, the further the world falls away below you. It is a game you can feel. No countdown timers. No energy bars. No banner ads. Ever. How to play A stone slab slides across the screen. Tap to drop it. Land it perfectly on the slab below and your tower holds its full width. Miss the edge and the overhang is cut off. Keep going until the remaining slab is too thin to continue. That score is yours to beat. Simple to learn. Genuinely hard to master. Genuinely calming to try. Features - One-touch controls, zero learning curve - Infinite play: no levels, no end, just height - Perfect drops reward you with a wider platform - Sky palette shifts from dawn through dusk to deep night as you climb - Swaying stone physics that feel satisfying on every tap - Daily Challenge: the same seed for every player, one attempt per day, global leaderboard - Game Center leaderboards and achievements - No banner ads, no interstitials, no countdown timers - Opt-in rewarded continue only: no forced interruptions Premium, not free-to-play Cairn keeps it calm. No subscriptions, no energy systems, no aggressive upsells. An optional coffee tip supports development and unlocks a warm cosmetic glow. The game respects your time and attention. Who plays Cairn If you love classic arcade score-chasers like stacking and tower games but want something with more soul, a calmer pace, and a visual atmosphere you can sink into, Cairn is for you. It fits a two-minute break or a twenty-minute session equally well. Privacy No account required. No personal data collected beyond Game Center scores. No tracking for ad targeting. Download Cairn. Build something that sways. Cairn requires iOS 16 or later. Game Center required for leaderboards. Rewarded continue is optional and free.

Screenshots

Paint Tubes4 screens
Cairn4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Paint Tubes at none against Cairn's 1. Paint Tubes also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 16.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Cairn sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Paint Tubes asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Paint Tubes ships an update every 8 days, Cairn every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Paint Tubes versus Cairn: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPaint TubesCairn
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (32 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews46.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings32 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 11 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS8.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAppToutBranko Borota

In-app purchases

None

Paint Tubes

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Cairn

One-time1
  • Coffee$1.99

Questions

Is Paint Tubes free?
Paint Tubes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cairn free?
Cairn is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Paint Tubes or Cairn have ads?
Neither Paint Tubes nor Cairn shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Paint Tubes or Cairn?
Paint Tubes ships an update every 8 days, and Cairn every 11 days. Most recently, Paint Tubes was updated on October 24, 2026 and Cairn on October 25, 2026.

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