Comparison

Lazyflow vs Cairn

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

Head to head
About

Lazyflow

This app uses on-device AI to help you manage tasks, schedule your day, and stay focused. It offers features like quick task capture, personalized daily plans, and an immersive focus timer. All your data is stored locally for enhanced privacy.

Highlights
  • On-device AI for task extraction
  • Personalized daily plans
  • Immersive focus timer with Pomodoro
  • Calendar integration with two-way sync
  • Task lists with custom colors
  • Siri Shortcuts and widgets
  • Apple Watch and iPad optimization
Features
Read full description

Your tasks, your calendar, one app — powered by on-device AI that keeps your data private. Lazyflow is free, open source, and built for people who want to get things done without subscriptions or cloud lock-in. AI-POWERED PRODUCTIVITY - Quick Capture: jot down rough notes and let AI extract structured tasks with due dates, priorities, and subtasks - Next Up: a single focused task suggestion that learns what you skip, snooze, and complete - Morning Briefing: start each day with a personalized plan based on your schedule and priorities - Daily Summary with automatic carryover from yesterday - Automatic categorization powered by Apple Intelligence - Connect Ollama or custom AI providers for advanced workflows - AI runs on-device by default — your data stays on your phone FOCUS MODE - Immersive full-screen timer with animated progress ring - Pomodoro mode with configurable work and break intervals - Subtasks and notes panel — see everything without leaving focus - Lock in on one task at a time with no distractions - Sessions persist across app restarts — pick up where you left off - Track focus streaks and build consistent habits CALENDAR INTEGRATION - Dedicated Lazyflow calendar with two-way task-event sync - Day view (default on iPhone) and week view with persistent preference - Set scheduled start and end times for event-like task planning - Long-press any event to instantly create a task - Supported recurring tasks sync as recurring calendar events TASK MANAGEMENT - Task lists for projects and categories with custom colors and icons - Due dates, smart reminders, and recurring tasks - Priority levels with color coding - Subtasks with automatic completion tracking - Swipe actions for quick edits - Full task history with search and filters SIRI SHORTCUTS - "Add a task in Lazyflow" - "Complete my next task" - "What's on my agenda today" - Hands-free task management WIDGETS & LIVE ACTIVITIES - Home Screen widgets (Small, Medium, Large) - Lock Screen Live Activity with Dynamic Island support - Real-time progress updates throughout your day APPLE WATCH - Today's tasks on your wrist - Tap to complete tasks - Real-time sync with iPhone - Watch complications for at-a-glance progress iPAD OPTIMIZED - Sidebar navigation with adaptive layouts - Full keyboard shortcuts - Split View multitasking PRIVACY FIRST - All data stored locally on your device - Optional iCloud sync across your devices - No tracking, no analytics, no ads - AI runs on-device by default with Apple Intelligence OPEN SOURCE Lazyflow is free and open source under the MIT License. View the code, report issues, and contribute on GitHub.

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

Lazyflow4 screens
Cairn4 screens

Verdict

The call

Lazyflow and Cairn are too close to call on the numbers: across 9 compared parameters — price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Lazyflow against 5.0 for Cairn. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lazyflow ships an update every 11 days, Cairn every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Lazyflow versus Cairn: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLazyflowCairn
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPrakash ChaudharyYoung Hun JEONG

Customer experience

Lazyflow

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Cairn

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Lazyflow

No in-app purchases

None

Cairn

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lazyflow free?
Lazyflow is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cairn free?
Cairn is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Lazyflow or Cairn?
Lazyflow and Cairn are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Lazyflow or Cairn have ads?
Neither Lazyflow nor Cairn shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lazyflow or Cairn?
Lazyflow ships an update every 11 days, and Cairn every 6 days. Most recently, Lazyflow was updated on October 14, 2026 and Cairn on October 17, 2026.

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