Comparison

Today vs Cairn

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

Head to head
About

Today

Features
Read full description

Today helps you stay organized with a simple daily timeline that shows your events, reminders, and tasks. Keep track of your day, set goals, and easily check off what you’ve done. All in one app. Key features: - Daily Timeline: See your entire day at a glance. Stay clear, stay focused. - Full Calendar & Reminders integration: View, add and respond to your Calendar events and Reminders. - Google Calendar integration with multiple accounts. - Complete Your Day: Check off tasks and events to stay motivated and track your progress. - Reflect & Set Goals: Capture daily reflections, review your accomplishments, and set future goals. - Plan & Reflect: Track what you’ve achieved and make plans for the days ahead. - Countdowns: Set countdowns for anticipated events. - Highlights: Circle events that need that special touch. - Customizable Day Labels: Change a day's name to something meaningful. - Day Photos: Add photos to specific days for a visual diary of your life. Join Premium to: - Exclusive Features: Get a first look at innovations shaping the future of planning. - Personalized Support: Your feedback shapes Today. Connect directly with our team to co-create the app you love. Premium is available for purchase as a monthly or annual subscription, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Terms & Privacy Policy: https://www.goodmorninglabs.com/terms https://www.goodmorninglabs.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Cairn

Features
Read full description

Cairn is a second brain for every random thought. The idea in the shower. The thing you promised to do. The name of that book. Dump it into Cairn in seconds and let your head go quiet. Cairn keeps it, understands it, and brings it back when it matters. No account. No cloud AI. Your thoughts never leave your iPhone. Use it however your brain works: ideas, plans, reminders, to-dos, things to remember, or the occasional 2am thought. No folders, no formatting, no rules. DUMP IT • Type, dictate or take a photo. Voice is transcribed on your device • Add a reminder that rings like an alarm, or pin the place you were • Home Screen widget, Siri Shortcuts and the Share sheet, so nothing slips away • Your own filters for ideas, plans, a morning to-do, anything FIND IT BY MEANING, NOT EXACT WORDS • Type "trouble sleeping" and find "can't sleep again" • Search by date: "last March", "June 2024", "this week" • Photos are searchable too. Cairn reads the text in them and knows what they show • Search with your voice • Optional: find your thoughts from iPhone Search CAIRN REMEMBERS, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO • Echoes: write something you thought months ago, and Cairn shows you the first time • Open loops: plans you wrote down and never closed, brought back gently • On this day: what was on your mind a year ago today • One card a day, never more. Tap "Not useful" and you'll see less of it SEE YOUR MIND • List or Sky: every thought is a star, and related thoughts connect on their own • Today: build a cairn, a stone for every day you dump a thought • Your thinking archetype and the themes that keep coming back • A calendar of your days. Go back to any date in one tap • With Apple Intelligence, themes get names and answers read naturally, always from your own words, never made up PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Everything runs on your device: understanding, search, transcription, photo reading • No account, no sign-in, no ads, no tracking. Your thoughts stay on your device, and backups go only to your own iCloud • Face ID app lock • Free encrypted backup to your own iCloud Drive, and an encrypted export you keep • Nothing is ever deleted on a timer FREE, AND CAIRN+ ONCE Capture, search, the Sky, photos, voice, reminders, On this day and backup are free forever. Cairn+ adds Echoes, Open loops, insights and your archetype, your own filters and extra themes. Every new user gets all of Cairn+ free for 14 days, no card, nothing to cancel. After that, Cairn+ is one payment, yours for good. No subscription. Works on iPhone and iPad. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy: https://shreypinnada.github.io/cairn-legal/privacy-policy-ios.html

Screenshots

Today4 screens
Cairn4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Cairn at every 3 days against Today's weekly. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Today sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Cairn sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Today ships an update weekly, Cairn every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
Today versus Cairn: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTodayCairn
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWouter BronShrey Pinnada

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Today

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Yearly3 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$49.99
1 purchases

Cairn

One-time1
  • Cairn+ Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is Today free?
Today is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cairn free?
Cairn is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Today or Cairn have ads?
Neither Today nor Cairn shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Today or Cairn?
Today ships an update weekly, and Cairn every 3 days. Most recently, Today was updated on November 8, 2026 and Cairn on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons