Comparison

Breakthrough Path vs Cairn

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

Head to head
About

Breakthrough Path

Features
Read full description

Feeling stuck or overwhelmed? BreakthroughPath is your personal guide to navigate life's hurdles and unlock your true potential.Our app combines powerful self-coaching tools with intuitive task management to help you: * Bust Triggers & Conquer Fears: Neutralize negative thought patterns and anxieties that hold you back with dedicated tools. * Clarify Your Deepest Desires: Connect with what truly motivates you and align your actions. * Master Your Tasks: Organize your to-dos, prioritize with urgency/importance, and break down big goals into actionable tiny steps. * Balance Your Life: Keep track of and nurture all key areas of your life for holistic growth. * Reach Your Milestones: Set meaningful goals and track your progress towards them. Inspired by effective coaching techniques, BreakthroughPath empowers you to understand your mind, take focused action, and create a more fulfilling life. Start using BreakthroughPath today and start forging your path to personal breakthroughs!

About

Cairn

Manage tasks and notes directly within your existing Markdown files. This app offers focused views, quick capture, and robust task management features, all while keeping your data private and locally stored. It integrates seamlessly with Obsidian and other file sync services.

Highlights
  • Native Markdown task and note management
  • Works with Obsidian vaults or any folder
  • Quick capture with date, tag, and priority parsing
  • Multiple task views (Today, Upcoming, Inbox, Pool)
  • Full support for sub-tasks and recurring tasks
  • Local reminders and Live Activity integration
  • Data stays local, no cloud sync required
Read full description

Cairn is a fast, native task and note companion that lives on top of the Markdown files you already own. Point it at your Obsidian vault — or any folder of Markdown notes — and your tasks and notes appear in clean, focused views. Everything you do in Cairn is written straight back to your files as plain text, in the Obsidian Tasks format. YOUR NOTES STAY YOURS • No account, no sign-up, no Cairn cloud database — your tasks live in your own files • Cairn does not send your notes or tasks to the developer • Careful, patch-based edits change only the content you touched, preserving the rest of your note • Works alongside Obsidian, iCloud Drive, Git, or any sync you already use CAPTURE, BROWSE, AND PLAN • Browse and edit Markdown notes directly in your vault • Quick capture into your daily note, with date, tag, and priority tokens parsed as you type • Choose where longer captures are saved • Today, Upcoming, Inbox, and Pool views, plus a global filter for folders, tags, dates, priority, and status • Full support for sub-tasks and task hierarchies • Recurring tasks in Obsidian Tasks format, with safe completion handling • Convert upcoming calendar events into tasks, or mirror your dated tasks into a calendar you choose (optional) STAY ON TRACK • Local reminders for due tasks — including sunrise-relative reminders computed entirely on your device • A Live Activity keeps today's progress on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island • Home Screen widgets and a Control Center quick-capture control • Search across every task in your vault MADE FOR OBSIDIAN — NOT ONLY OBSIDIAN Cairn reads and writes the Obsidian Tasks plugin format (due, scheduled, start, and done dates, priorities, recurrence, tags), so your vault stays fully compatible with your desktop setup. Don't use Obsidian? Create a plain task folder in the Files app and Cairn works as a stand-alone Markdown to-do app. Cairn asks for access only to the folder you pick. Calendar access and location (used to compute local sunrise times) are optional and processed on your device. If you choose iCloud Drive or another Files or calendar provider, that provider's own sync and privacy terms apply.

Screenshots

Breakthrough Path4 screens
Cairn4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Breakthrough Path at 15.3 against Cairn's 17.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Breakthrough Path ships an update weekly, Cairn every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Breakthrough Path versus Cairn: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBreakthrough PathCairn
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.3 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEric PabstYoung Hun JEONG

In-app purchases

None

Breakthrough Path

No in-app purchases

None

Cairn

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Breakthrough Path free?
Breakthrough Path is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cairn free?
Cairn is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Breakthrough Path or Cairn have ads?
Neither Breakthrough Path nor Cairn shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Breakthrough Path or Cairn?
Breakthrough Path ships an update weekly, and Cairn every 6 days. Most recently, Breakthrough Path was updated on October 9, 2026 and Cairn on October 17, 2026.

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