Comparison

Cairn vs TimeUp

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

Head to head
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.

About

TimeUp

Features
Read full description

TimeUp turns your screen time into real rewards. Create your own rules, earn minutes by moving, walking, sleeping, or completing mini-challenges, then use your balance to unlock time on the apps you choose. Every rule is fully customizable: set what earns time, the limits, and track your progress over the days. When your balance is empty, the limit automatically resumes. Protect your sleep, work, or study time with scheduled app blocking. Add multiple schedules and choose the days and hours when selected apps stay blocked, even if you have minutes left. Overlapping schedules work together: apps stay blocked until all active schedules have ended. Outside these hours, access still depends on your available minutes. With TimeUp, you can: • Earn time with your exercise, steps, sleep, or mindfulness minutes, if you allow access to Apple Health. • Launch an express challenge: do 5 push-ups or 5 squats to add 5 minutes. The camera analyzes your movements locally on the iPhone; no images are saved. • Customize rules, time, and limits per activity. • Choose which apps to manage with Apple's Screen Time features. • Schedule app blocking for sleep, work, or study, independently of your minute balance. • View your balance, history, and a summary of the last 7 days. • Use a simple interface, with no account and no ads.

Screenshots

Cairn4 screens
TimeUp4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Cairn at every 6 days against TimeUp's every 5 weeks. Cairn also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cairn ships an update every 6 days, TimeUp every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Cairn versus TimeUp: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCairnTimeUp
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYoung Hun JEONGGabriel Langon Maomy

In-app purchases

None

Cairn

No in-app purchases

None

TimeUp

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cairn free?
Cairn is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is TimeUp free?
TimeUp is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Cairn or TimeUp have ads?
Neither Cairn nor TimeUp shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cairn or TimeUp?
Cairn ships an update every 6 days, and TimeUp every 5 weeks. Most recently, Cairn was updated on October 28, 2026 and TimeUp on October 29, 2026.

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