Readeck vs Cairn
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Readeck
Organize your web links with categories, tags, and offline reading capabilities. This app offers a native iOS design with customizable layouts and annotation tools for an enhanced reading experience. It prioritizes user privacy with a self-hosted backend option.
- Organize links by categories and tags
- Offline reading with background sync
- Share extension for easy saving
- Customizable card layout styles
- Highlight and annotate text
- Self-hosted backend for privacy
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Organize all your links with categories, offline support, and native iOS design. The native iOS client for readeck.org brings professional bookmark management to your iPhone and iPad. iOS 26 ready – Optimized for the latest iOS version Smart Organization • Organize bookmarks in categories: All, Unread, Favorites, Archive, Articles, Videos, Pictures • Dynamic tag system with search functionality • Swipe actions for quick management Share Extension • Add URLs directly from Safari and other apps • Works with any app that supports sharing • Automatic metadata extraction Three Card Layout Styles • Compact layout for quick browsing • Magazine style for visual appeal • Natural layout for optimal readability Universal App • Native iOS design with Dark Mode support • iPad support with multi-column split view and sidebar menu • Also available for Mac • Responsive design for all devices Offline Reading • Read articles without internet connection • Automatic background sync keeps unread articles cached • Choose how many articles to cache (5–100) • Pre-download images for offline viewing • Save bookmarks offline via share extension Enhanced Reading Experience • Highlight and annotate text passages with multiple colors • 10+ fonts including Literata, Merriweather, SF Pro and New York • Article view with reading time and word count • Reading progress tracking • Undo delete system with visual progress Privacy & Control • Self-hosted backend - your data stays on your server • Secure OAuth 2.0 login via browser • VPN and private network support (e.g. Tailscale) • HTTP and self-signed certificate support • No tracking or analytics Important Note: This app requires your own Readeck server instance. You must run your own Readeck server or have access to one to use this app.
Cairn
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You make the promise. Cairn helps you keep it. Cairn blocks the apps that pull you away, and you decide in advance how hard it is to get back in. Not a dashboard, not a report on how bad last week was. A commitment device. THE UNLOCK LADDER Every block has a price you set when you're clear-headed, and pay when you're not: • Confirm: one tap to say you mean it. • Cooldown: wait it out, then a short window. • Effort: a puzzle, a long passphrase, or ten pushups. • In stone: no way through. It opens when it was always going to open. The top rung is only offered where a block ends on its own: a schedule that closes, a daily limit that resets, a place you can walk out of. A hard block that never lifts isn't a commitment, it's a trap with app deletion as the only key, so Cairn won't offer it. The same price applies to every way out. Turning a block off, deleting it, and editing it all cost what opening it costs. A lock you can undo by flipping a switch isn't a lock. FOUR WAYS TO BLOCK • Hard block: on until you turn it off. • Scheduled: a window on the days you choose. • Daily limit: after 30, 60, or 120 minutes, it closes for the day. • At a place: holds while you're at the gym, the office, or any set location. Plus Focus sessions and a Vacation mode that stands everything down. THE TRAIL One stone for each day you keep every block. Seven stones make a week. Cairn counts the day you resisted, not just the day you slipped, and a day it can't be sure about stays blank rather than being awarded to you. A quiet day under your limit earns its stone like any other. WE CAN'T SEE A THING Cairn has no account, no servers, and no analytics. Not "we don't sell your data"; there is no data. You pick apps in Apple's own Screen Time picker, and Cairn only ever receives an anonymous token. It can't read which apps you chose. Neither can we. If you set a daily limit, iOS counts the minutes on your device and tells Cairn only that a limit was crossed. Never how long, never which app. PAY ONCE One payment. No subscription, no ads, no upsell. Free for a month first, and when the month ends nothing is held hostage: every block you made is still there, and nothing on your phone stays blocked because you didn't pay. WHAT CAIRN WON'T DO It won't stop you deleting it. That's deliberate. iOS lets you remove any app, and a blocker that pretended otherwise would be lying. Cairn is a commitment device, not a cage. Pair it with iOS Screen Time restrictions if you want that door closed too. Be where you are.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Readeck at none against Cairn's 1. Cairn's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Cairn sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Readeck asks for nothing beyond the download.
Readeck ships an update every 5 weeks, Cairn every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Readeck | Cairn |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (13 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 13 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.1 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ilyas Hallak | Dennis Hodgson |
In-app purchases
Readeck
No in-app purchases
Cairn
- Cairn Unlock$19.99









