# Etched vs Cairn

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cairn at none against Etched's 1. Etched's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 days). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Etched sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Cairn asks for nothing beyond the download.

Etched ships an update every 2 days, Cairn every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Etched | 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 2 days** | Every 5 days |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Size | 87 MB | 9 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Soyeon Noh](https://appshunter.io/developer/1201270238) | [Young Hun JEONG](https://appshunter.io/developer/6786662344) |

## What reviewers say

### Etched

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/etched-markdown-notes/id6780505987)

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Etched Pro | $14.99 | 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 Etched free?

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

### Is Cairn free?

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

### Do Etched or Cairn have ads?

Neither Etched nor Cairn shows ads.

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

Etched ships an update every 2 days, and Cairn every 5 days. Most recently, Etched was updated on September 23, 2026 and Cairn on October 1, 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.*