Comparison

BrickNote vs Cairn

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

Head to head
About

BrickNote

This app offers a simple and intuitive way to create and manage notes using a chat-like interface. Easily add images, set reminders, create checklists, and organize with tags. It supports iCloud sync, widgets, and Face ID protection for your important information.

Highlights
  • Chat-style note input
  • Image attachment
  • Schedule reminders
  • Checklist creation
  • Tagging for organization
  • iCloud synchronization
  • Home screen widgets
  • Face ID memo lock
Features
Read full description

Jot down a thought or what you just did, one line at a time, as if texting yourself. BrickNote stacks short memos like bricks and lets you look back on them by date. โ–  QUICK MEMOS Open a notebook and start typing. Save a line to your quick memo notebook, or share text, links and photos from other apps. โ–  NOTEBOOKS Group memos by topic, from daily life to books and plans, with colors and tags. โ–  TIMELINE Every day you write adds a brick to your wall. See your streak and memos by date, and export them as Markdown. โ–  TO-DOS AND REMINDERS Turn any memo into a to-do, check it off, and get a reminder when you need it. โ–  TEXT STYLE AND HIGHLIGHTER Titles, bold, italic, strikethrough and five highlighter colors. โ–  SEARCH Find memos by text, notebook or tag, and open them right from Spotlight. โ–  KEEP IT SAFE - Lock notebooks with Face ID - iCloud sync across iPhone and iPad - Full backup and restore, Recently Deleted โ–  WIDGETS AND SHORTCUTS See recent memos on your Home Screen, and add memos with Shortcuts and Siri. BrickNote Pro (one-time purchase, no subscription) - Unlimited notebooks (3 free, not counting the quick memo notebook) - Daily, weekly and monthly repeating reminders - Check off memos in widgets, large and Lock Screen widgets - Get text from photos - 4 app icons Notebook lock, iCloud sync, backup, export and the highlighter stay free. If you bought BrickNote before version 1.2.0, Pro is already included.

About

Cairn

Features
Read full description

Cairn (์ฐจ๊ณก์ฐจ๊ณก) is a calm, anonymous-first todo app โ€” every core feature works without an account. Like the small stones stacked into a cairn on a quiet trail, line up today's tasks one by one with clarity. โ–  Core features - Anonymous by default: no sign-up, no transmission. All data stays on your device. - Inline markers: type @, #, !, * to set date, time, importance, and repeat in one line. e.g. "@tomorrow #3pm meeting", "*every-monday run". - Two-way swipe: left for reschedule / favorite / repeat. Right for duplicate / move group / delete. - Groups and color labels: organize by work, personal, fitness โ€” at a glance. - Notifications with quiet hours: push reminders that auto-defer to the next morning during quiet hours. - Stats dashboard: weekly / monthly / yearly completion, 14-day sparkline, average completion time. - Backup & restore: JSON / CSV / Markdown export and import. Move devices safely. - Dark mode and three themes (Tica, Tally, Nudge). - English / Korean auto-detected. โ–  Tracks - Anonymous (default): full core, on-device only. - Pro: ad-free โ€” one-time purchase, yours forever. โ–  What we don't collect No location, contacts, photos, microphone, camera, or health data. In anonymous mode, not a single byte leaves your device. โ–  About Sobok โ€” building small tools that add quiet order to daily life. Contact: admin@sobok.kr Privacy / Terms: https://sobok.kr/carin/legal/terms

Screenshots

BrickNote4 screens
Cairn4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: BrickNote at none against Cairn's 3. BrickNote also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs every 5 days). Cairn's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.4). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Cairn sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. BrickNote asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BrickNote ships an update daily, Cairn every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences ยท 4 level
BrickNote versus Cairn: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrickNoteCairn
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviewsโ€”
Update frequencyDaily โ€” betterEvery 5 days
AdsNo โ€” betterYes
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
MonetizationPaidโ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch โ€” better
Requires iOS17.415.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size8 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYoungbae YooHeajung Yoo

In-app purchases

None

BrickNote

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Cairn

Subscriptions2
  • Cairn Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Cairn Pro yearly$12.991 Year
One-time1
  • Cairn Pro - Ad-free forever$0.99

Questions

Is BrickNote free?
BrickNote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cairn free?
Cairn is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do BrickNote or Cairn have ads?
Cairn shows ads; BrickNote does not.
Which is updated more often, BrickNote or Cairn?
BrickNote ships an update daily, and Cairn every 5 days. Most recently, BrickNote was updated on October 16, 2026 and Cairn on October 12, 2026.

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