Softwr

Accounting & Finance · head to head

ADP vs Bear Notes

ADP logo

ADP

Accounting & Finance

Always Designing for People

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Bear Notes logo

Bear Notes

Productivity

Beautiful note-taking app for Apple devices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Bear Notes has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: ADP no pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken; Bear Notes apple only: Bear runs on Mac, iPhone and iPad with no Windows, Android or web app
  • They diverge on capability: ADP covers Payroll, Bear Notes covers Markdown-based notes.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADP and Bear Notes actually diverge.

Attributes where ADP and Bear Notes differ
AttributeADPBear Notes
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidMacOS, IOS, IPadOS
CategoryAccounting & FinanceProductivity
Founded19492015

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ADP

  • Payroll
  • Tax services
  • HR management
  • Time & attendance
  • Benefits administration
  • QuickBooks
  • Sage
  • Oracle

Only in Bear Notes

  • Markdown-based notes
  • Powerful tag system
  • Rich text formatting
  • Image support
  • iCloud sync
  • Dark and light themes
  • Encryption support
  • Backup and restore

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ADP

  • Payroll processing and tax filingnot Bear Notes
  • HR administration and employee recordsnot Bear Notes
  • Time and attendance trackingnot Bear Notes
  • Benefits administrationnot Bear Notes
  • Talent management on the mid-market and enterprise productsnot Bear Notes

Bear Notes

  • Markdown note taking on Apple devicesnot ADP
  • Organising notes with nested hashtags rather than foldersnot ADP
  • Exporting notes to PDF, DOCX, HTML or ePubnot ADP

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ADP

  • No pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken
  • Split into three separate products by company size, RUN for 1 to 49 employees, Workforce Now for 50 and above, and Lyric HCM for enterprise, so growing across a threshold means changing product rather than plan

Bear Notes

  • Apple only: Bear runs on Mac, iPhone and iPad with no Windows, Android or web app
  • Sync across devices requires Bear Pro and works through iCloud only
  • The free version is limited to 3 export formats, 3 themes and 1 app icon
  • OCR search inside images and PDFs is Pro only
  • Note encryption is Pro only
  • The Pro trial lasts 7 days

Pricing, plan by plan

ADP

$29/month
  • Essential$79/month
    • Payroll
    • Tax filing
    • Direct deposit
  • Enhanced$139/month
    • HR tools
    • Background checks
    • Job posting

Bear Notes

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Note creation and organization
    • Tags
    • Local sync
  • Premium$1.99/month
    • iCloud sync
    • Themes
    • Markdown export

Which should you pick?

Choose ADP if

  • You need payroll.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want tax services.
ADP review

Choose Bear Notes if

  • You need markdown-based notes.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on MacOS, IOS, IPadOS.
  • You also want powerful tag system.
Bear Notes review

Questions people ask

Is ADP or Bear Notes better?
Neither clearly leads. ADP starts at $29/month and Bear Notes at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADP or Bear Notes?
Bear Notes has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for ADP and Free for Bear Notes.
Does ADP or Bear Notes run on more platforms?
ADP runs on Web, Ios, Android. Bear Notes runs on MacOS, IOS, IPadOS.
Can I use Bear Notes for free?
Yes. Bear Notes has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ADP starts at $29/month.
What is ADP best used for?
ADP is most often used for payroll processing and tax filing, hr administration and employee records, time and attendance tracking, benefits administration. Of those, payroll processing and tax filing and hr administration and employee records are not what Bear Notes is typically brought in for.
What can ADP do that Bear Notes cannot?
ADP covers Payroll, Tax services, HR management, Time & attendance. Bear Notes covers Markdown-based notes, Powerful tag system, Rich text formatting, Image support.
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