Comparison

Labyrinth vs Cairn

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

Head to head
About

Labyrinth

Read full description

Your tasks, notes, and calendar — all on your device. No account. No cloud. Labyrinth is a local-first productivity app that works on any connection, behind any firewall, in any country. WHAT IS LABYRINTH? Labyrinth combines task management, a markdown notes vault, and calendar sync in one app — built for people who want their data to stay on their device. No account required. No server. Your work is yours. ONE APP, NOT TWO Most apps sell tasks and calendar separately. Labyrinth does both — tasks with due dates sit alongside your calendar events in a single view. No context switching. THREE WAYS TO SEE YOUR WORK Switch between list, board, and calendar views. Filter by status (To Do · In Progress · Done) or by tag. Every view stays in sync. KANBAN BOARD Move tasks through stages at a glance. Drag to reorder, swipe to complete. Built for personal projects and solo workflows. CALENDAR SYNC Connects to Apple Calendar, Google, Outlook — any account already synced to your iPhone. Tap any day to see tasks due and events side by side. MARKDOWN NOTES VAULT Every task links to a plain .md file in a folder you choose. Your notes work offline, live on your device, and open in Obsidian, iA Writer, or any text editor — no lock-in, no proprietary format, readable forever. TAGS FOR YOUR WHOLE LIFE Colour-coded tags across life domains: Health · Personal · Learning · Social · Finance · Work. Add your own. Filter any view instantly. LOCAL-FIRST No server. No network required. No account. Works on any connection, behind any firewall, in any country. Your data never leaves your device unless you choose to move it. Free to start. Pro unlocks unlimited tasks, notes vault, macOS and more.

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

Labyrinth4 screens
Cairn4 screens

Verdict

The call

Labyrinth and Cairn are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Labyrinth versus Cairn: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLabyrinthCairn
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequency—Every 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, MaciPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYingna XuYoung Hun JEONG

In-app purchases

None

Labyrinth

No in-app purchases

None

Cairn

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Labyrinth free?
Labyrinth is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cairn free?
Cairn is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Labyrinth or Cairn have ads?
Neither Labyrinth nor Cairn shows ads.

Other comparisons