# ByWhen vs Cairn

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cairn at none against ByWhen's 2. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. ByWhen sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Cairn asks for nothing beyond the download.

ByWhen ships an update every 3 days, Cairn every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ByWhen | 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 3 days** | Every 6 days |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Size | 8 MB | 9 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [NiONlite LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1891899842) | [Young Hun JEONG](https://appshunter.io/developer/6786662344) |

## What reviewers say

### ByWhen

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bywhen-deadline-planner/id6778767584)

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Premium | $4.99 | per month |
| Annual Premium | $39.99 | per year |


### 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 ByWhen free?

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

### Is Cairn free?

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

### Do ByWhen or Cairn have ads?

Neither ByWhen nor Cairn shows ads.

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

ByWhen ships an update every 3 days, and Cairn every 6 days. Most recently, ByWhen was updated on October 5, 2026 and Cairn on October 17, 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.*