# Cairn vs markdown notes

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cairn at none against markdown notes's 3. markdown notes's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. markdown notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Cairn asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Cairn against 5.0 for markdown notes. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

Cairn ships an update every 5 days, markdown notes every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Cairn | markdown notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cairn-markdown-tasks/id6786663000/reviews) | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/markdown-notes-smolpad/id6792438749/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Every 10 days |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 9 MB | 71 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Young Hun JEONG](https://appshunter.io/developer/6786662344) | [BaconWorks, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/6783126115) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### markdown notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/markdown-notes-smolpad/id6792438749)

A minimalist Markdown editor that stores all your notes as plain text files, accessible across your devices. It offers beautiful writing tools, seamless cloud sync, and powerful organization features without any bloat.

**Highlights:** Plain .md file storage, iCloud Drive sync, Markdown syntax highlighting, Task list checkboxes, Folder and instant search organization, Menu bar app on Mac, Export to PDF, HTML, RTF (Pro)

**Features:** Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Smolpad Pro | $1.49 | per month |
| Smolpad Pro | $14.99 | per year |
| Smolpad Pro Lifetime | $29.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Cairn free?

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

### Is markdown notes free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Cairn or markdown notes?

Cairn and markdown notes are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.

### Do Cairn or markdown notes have ads?

Neither Cairn nor markdown notes shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Cairn or markdown notes?

Cairn ships an update every 5 days, and markdown notes every 10 days. Most recently, Cairn was updated on October 1, 2026 and markdown notes on October 10, 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.*