Comparison

Cairn vs PDF

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

Head to head
About

Cairn

Features
Read full description

Stack before you scroll. Cairn helps you stop scrolling by adding one small pause before distracting apps open. Choose the apps you want to protect. When you reach for one, iOS shows a Screen Time shield. Open Cairn, build the requested stone structure, and earn a short window to continue. It is enough to break the reflex. Often, that is all you needed. What's in Cairn - Stack: balance stones into target structures before the app opens. - Short unlock windows: earn a few intentional minutes, then the shield returns. - Multiple rituals: Stack, Breath, Trace, Walk, and Untie. - Stone styles: granite, basalt, riverstone, obsidian, marble, moss, and moonstone. - Sunday reflection: save a private weekly reflection about the pauses you kept. - Lock Screen widget: see minutes reclaimed today at a glance. Built for focus - Uses Apple's Screen Time controls for app blocking. - No account. - No cloud. - No ads. - Your watched-app list stays on your device. - Haptics, sound, and calm visual design built around one idea: interrupt the reach before it becomes a scroll. Free Cairn includes core blocking and daily stack rituals. Cairn Pro unlocks deeper rituals, stone styles, custom unlock windows, weekly reflection, and more ways to hold the trail. Cairn is not a dashboard for judging your phone use. It is a small threshold between impulse and action. Privacy Policy: https://cairnfocus.github.io/privacy/ Terms of Service: https://cairnfocus.github.io/terms/

About

PDF

Features
Read full description

PDF-Scanner & Tools is a simple, private PDF toolkit for everyday documents. Scan pages with your camera, merge files, shrink large PDFs, convert between formats, organize pages, and lock sensitive files with a password โ€” all processed on your device. WHY PDF-Scanner & Tools โ€ข Private by design โ€” your PDFs and photos are not uploaded to our servers for processing โ€ข Fast tools for daily work, school, and personal paperwork โ€ข Clean, easy interface in English and Arabic (full RTL) โ€ข Free to use, with optional ads SCAN & CREATE โ€ข Scan to PDF โ€” capture multiple photos and build one clean document โ€ข JPG to PDF โ€” turn photos into a shareable PDF ORGANIZE โ€ข Merge PDF โ€” combine files in the order you want โ€ข Split, extract, delete, rotate, and reorder pages โ€ข Add page numbers or a text watermark OPTIMIZE & CONVERT โ€ข Compress PDF โ€” smaller files while keeping text sharp โ€ข PDF to JPG, Word to PDF, PDF to Word, Excel to PDF SECURE โ€ข Protect PDF โ€” add a password so only you can open it

Screenshots

Cairn4 screens
PDF4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDF at none against Cairn's 3. PDF also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Cairn's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 4 days). On price there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Cairn sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. PDF asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cairn ships an update every 2 days, PDF every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences ยท 1 level
Cairn versus PDF: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCairnPDF
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 days โ€” betterEvery 4 days
AdsNo โ€” betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS17.015.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size5 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerabiodun oyetomiAbdulrazaq Alonazi

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Cairn

Subscriptions2
  • Cairn Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Cairn Pro Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Cairn Lifetime$99.99
None

PDF

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cairn free?
Cairn is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF free?
PDF is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Cairn or PDF have ads?
PDF shows ads; Cairn does not.
Which is updated more often, Cairn or PDF?
Cairn ships an update every 2 days, and PDF every 4 days. Most recently, Cairn was updated on October 8, 2026 and PDF on October 14, 2026.

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