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Productivity · head to head

Bear Notes vs Cockroach Labs

Bear Notes logo

Bear Notes

Productivity

Beautiful note-taking app for Apple devices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cockroach Labs logo

Cockroach Labs

Database & Data Management

The cloud-native distributed SQL database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Bear Notes apple only: Bear runs on Mac, iPhone and iPad with no Windows, Android or web app; Cockroach Labs basic and Standard tiers limited to AWS and GCP (select regions only)
  • They diverge on capability: Bear Notes covers Markdown-based notes, Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bear Notes and Cockroach Labs actually diverge.

Attributes where Bear Notes and Cockroach Labs differ
AttributeBear NotesCockroach Labs
PlatformsMacOS, IOS, IPadOSAWS, GCP, Azure
CategoryProductivityDatabase & Data Management

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), founded (2015).

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 Bear Notes

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

Only in Cockroach Labs

  • Distributed SQL
  • Automatic Sharding
  • Multi-region Replication
  • Geo-partitioning
  • ACID Transactions
  • Horizontal Scaling
  • Survivability
  • PostgreSQL Compatibility

What people use each for

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

Bear Notes

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

Cockroach Labs

  • Distributed SQL database for scalable applicationsnot Bear Notes
  • Multi-region deployment and failovernot Bear Notes

Where each one falls short

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

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

Cockroach Labs

  • Basic and Standard tiers limited to AWS and GCP (select regions only)
  • Azure support restricted to Advanced tier only
  • Basic tier limited to 50 million RUs and 10 GiB storage per month
  • Advanced tier starts at $0.60/hour for 4 vCPUs minimum
  • 3 TiB maximum storage on Basic and Standard tiers, 10 TiB per node on Advanced

Pricing, plan by plan

Bear Notes

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

Cockroach Labs

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cockroach Labs review.

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Cockroach Labs if

  • You need distributed sql.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS, GCP, Azure.
  • You also want automatic sharding.
Cockroach Labs review

Questions people ask

Is Bear Notes or Cockroach Labs better?
Neither clearly leads. Bear Notes starts at Free and Cockroach Labs at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bear Notes or Cockroach Labs?
Bear Notes starts at Free and Cockroach Labs at Free.
Does Bear Notes or Cockroach Labs run on more platforms?
Bear Notes runs on MacOS, IOS, IPadOS. Cockroach Labs runs on AWS, GCP, Azure.
Can I use Bear Notes for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Bear Notes best used for?
Bear Notes is most often used for markdown note taking on apple devices, organising notes with nested hashtags rather than folders, exporting notes to pdf, docx, html or epub. Of those, markdown note taking on apple devices and organising notes with nested hashtags rather than folders are not what Cockroach Labs is typically brought in for.
What can Bear Notes do that Cockroach Labs cannot?
Bear Notes covers Markdown-based notes, Powerful tag system, Rich text formatting, Image support. Cockroach Labs covers Distributed SQL, Automatic Sharding, Multi-region Replication, Geo-partitioning.
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Related pages

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