Bear is the better app overall, scoring 9.1 to 8.9. Bear wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Things 3 on 2.
Writers and Apple users who want fast, good-looking Markdown notes
Apple users who want a calm, personal task manager without a subscription
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Bear | Things 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Productivity & Notes | Productivity & Notes |
| Category rank | #3 of 13 | #7 of 13 |
| Developer | Shiny Frog | Cultured Code |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Paid |
| Usable for free | Yes | No |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web | ✓ | — |
Common questions
Is Bear better than Things 3?
Bear is the better app overall, scoring 9.1 to 8.9. Bear wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Things 3 on 2.
Which is cheaper, Bear or Things 3?
Bear: Free without sync; Bear Pro is $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year. Things 3: One-time purchase: $9.99 iPhone, $19.99 iPad, $49.99 Mac. On value for money, Bear scores higher.
Do Bear and Things 3 work on the same devices?
Only Bear runs on Web.
Which is more private, Bear or Things 3?
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
Things 3
- Calm, polished design that makes planning easy
- Fast, reliable sync across Apple devices
- One-time purchase with no subscription
- Apple devices only, with no web access
- No shared lists or team collaboration
- Buying for Mac, iPhone and iPad adds up
Things 3 is the most pleasant task manager on Apple devices. Every screen is calm and clear, and Today, This Evening, Areas and headings make planning feel easy rather than fiddly. This year's updates added Siri to-do creation, Spotlight search and smarter repeating to-dos, and Things Cloud sync is reliable. The catch: there are no Windows, Android or web apps, no shared lists, and you buy each platform separately.
Full Things 3 review
