Comparison

graynotes vs Cairn

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

Head to head
About

graynotes

Features
Read full description

graynotes: Note-taking, simplified. Finally, a notes app that gets out of your way. graynotes strips away the complexity and gives you exactly what you need: a fast, beautiful place to capture your thoughts. Why graynotes? • Smart voice notes - record a quick note with your voice, AI will schedule it for you • Instant capture – Open and start typing immediately • Automatic sync – Your notes appear on all your devices instantly via iCloud • Beautiful design – Clean interface that adapts perfectly to light and dark mode • Action Button - wire up voice notes to your Action Button and never forget a thought or reminder again! Perfect for: • Quick thoughts and ideas • Shopping lists • Meeting notes • Daily journaling • Reminders for later graynotes works seamlessly across iPhone & iPad. Whether you're capturing a quick idea on your phone or reviewing notes on your computer, everything stays perfectly in sync. Download graynotes today for simple, fast note-taking.

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

graynotes4 screens
Cairn4 screens

Verdict

The call

graynotes and Cairn are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
graynotes versus Cairn: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametergraynotesCairn
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.517.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdam Van LenteYoung Hun JEONG

In-app purchases

None

graynotes

No in-app purchases

None

Cairn

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is graynotes free?
graynotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cairn free?
Cairn is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do graynotes or Cairn have ads?
Neither graynotes nor Cairn shows ads.
Which is updated more often, graynotes or Cairn?
graynotes ships an update every 5 days, and Cairn every 5 days. Most recently, graynotes was updated on October 2, 2026 and Cairn on October 1, 2026.

Other comparisons