Obsidian is the better app overall, scoring 9.3 to 9.1. Obsidian wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Bear on 1.
Writers, students and researchers building a long-term personal knowledge base
Writers and Apple users who want fast, good-looking Markdown notes
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Obsidian | Bear |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Productivity & Notes | Productivity & Notes |
| Category rank | #2 of 13 | #3 of 13 |
| Developer | Dynalist Inc. | Shiny Frog |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | — |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | — |
| Linux | ✓ | — |
| Web | — | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Obsidian better than Bear?
Obsidian is the better app overall, scoring 9.3 to 9.1. Obsidian wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Bear on 1.
Which is cheaper, Obsidian or Bear?
Obsidian: Free app; Sync from $4/month and Publish from $8/month, billed yearly. Bear: Free without sync; Bear Pro is $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year. On value for money, Obsidian scores higher.
Do Obsidian and Bear work on the same devices?
Only Obsidian runs on Android, Windows, Linux. Only Bear runs on Web.
Which is more private, Obsidian or Bear?
Obsidian scores higher on privacy (9.7/10). The App Store label says no data is collected, and there are no ads or tracking. Notes are local files on your device, and the optional Sync service is end-to-end encrypted by default.
Strengths and weaknesses
Obsidian
- Notes are local files that stay yours forever
- Fast and fully usable offline, with no account needed
- Free for personal and commercial use
- Steep learning curve with many setup choices
- Official sync and publishing are paid add-ons
Obsidian keeps your notes as plain Markdown files on your own device, so you own them outright and they work offline. Backlinks, graph view, Canvas and Bases, which now includes table, list and kanban views, turn a folder of notes into a connected knowledge base, and community plugins cover almost anything else. The app is free for any use. The catch is the learning curve, and official sync costs extra.
Full Obsidian review
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
