# Shard vs Cairn

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cairn at none against Shard's 3. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Shard sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Cairn asks for nothing beyond the download.

Shard ships an update every 5 days, Cairn every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Shard | Cairn |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cairn-markdown-tasks/id6786663000/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **1** |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Every 6 days |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Size | 6 MB | 9 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Daiki Yamaguchi](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896478308) | [Young Hun JEONG](https://appshunter.io/developer/6786662344) |

## What reviewers say

### Shard

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shard-notes-for-obsidian/id6777961161)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Shard Plus (Monthly) | $2.99 | per month |
| Shard Plus (Yearly) | $24.99 | per year |
| Shard Plus (Lifetime) | $59.99 | one-time |


### Cairn

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cairn-markdown-tasks/id6786663000)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Shard free?

Shard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Cairn free?

Cairn is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Shard or Cairn have ads?

Neither Shard nor Cairn shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Shard or Cairn?

Shard ships an update every 5 days, and Cairn every 6 days. Most recently, Shard was updated on September 24, 2026 and Cairn on September 13, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*