Bear vs Apple Notes
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
It's close: Bear edges it 9.1 to 9.0, so the right pick depends on what you need. Bear wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Apple Notes on 1, with 1 tied.
Writers and Apple users who want fast, good-looking Markdown notes
iPhone, iPad and Mac owners who want a fast, free place for everyday notes
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Bear | Apple Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Productivity & Notes | Productivity & Notes |
| Category rank | #4 of 17 | #5 of 17 |
| Developer | Shiny Frog | Apple |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Free |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Bear better than Apple Notes?
It's close: Bear edges it 9.1 to 9.0, so the right pick depends on what you need. Bear wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Apple Notes on 1, with 1 tied.
Which is cheaper, Bear or Apple Notes?
Bear: Free without sync; Bear Pro is $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year. Apple Notes: Free; syncs with 5 GB of free iCloud storage, and iCloud+ starts at $0.99 a month. On value for money, Apple Notes scores higher.
Do Bear and Apple Notes work on the same devices?
Yes, both run on Mac, iPhone & iPad, Web.
Which is more private, Bear or Apple Notes?
Bear scores higher on privacy (9.4/10). App Store label: no tracking and no data linked to you, only crash data. Notes sync through your own iCloud, Shiny Frog says it can't access them, and Pro adds per-note encryption.
Strengths and weaknesses
Bear
- Polished, distraction-free writing
- Notes stay in your iCloud, not on Bear's servers
- Pro costs just $29.99 a year
- No Android or Windows app
- Sync and encryption require Pro
- Tags only, no traditional folders
Bear is a Markdown notes app with a calm, polished editor that makes jotting things down a pleasure. Organize with nested tags instead of folders, add tables, callouts, math and Mermaid diagrams, and search text inside images and PDFs with Pro. Notes sync privately through your iCloud, and the price is gentle. It's Apple-only apart from a web version, and sync needs Pro.
Full Bear review
Apple Notes
- Free and built into every iPhone, iPad and Mac
- Handwriting, scans, tables and transcripts in one app
- No tracking, according to the App Store label
- No Android or Windows app, only iCloud.com in a browser
- Free iCloud storage is just 5 GB
- Not end-to-end encrypted unless you turn on Advanced Data Protection
Apple Notes is free, already on your iPhone, iPad and Mac, and a lot better than most people think. You get checklists, tables, document scanning, handwriting, Math Notes and audio recordings with written transcripts. Share notes with family, lock private ones and export to Markdown. Everything syncs through iCloud. The catch is that it lives in Apple's world, with only a web version for Windows and Android.
Full Apple Notes review
