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Productivity · head to head

Bear Notes vs MeetGeek

Bear Notes logo

Bear Notes

Productivity

Beautiful note-taking app for Apple devices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
MeetGeek logo

MeetGeek

Productivity

AI meeting recording, transcription and summaries with published per-seat pricing

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; MeetGeek the free tier is capped at three hours of transcription a month and one month of audio retention, which is a demonstration rather than a working allowance, and the retention limit deletes evidence just as it becomes useful.
  • They diverge on capability: Bear Notes covers Markdown-based notes, MeetGeek covers Automatic meeting join.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Bear Notes and MeetGeek differ
AttributeBear NotesMeetGeek
Pricing modelfreemiumPer user per month
PlatformsMacOS, IOS, IPadOSWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2015Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Productivity).

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 MeetGeek

  • Automatic meeting join
  • Transcription
  • AI summaries and action items
  • Highlight clips
  • Team workspace
  • Published retention tiers
  • CRM and task sync
  • Enterprise controls

What people use each for

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

Bear Notes

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

MeetGeek

  • A sales team that needs every discovery call summarised into the CRM record automatically so a handover does not depend on whoever took notes.not Bear Notes
  • An agency that must be able to show a client exactly what was agreed on a call six months ago, where transcript retention length is the deciding feature.not Bear Notes
  • A recruitment team running many first-stage interviews who want structured summaries and highlight clips to share with a hiring manager instead of a full recording.not Bear Notes
  • A distributed team where people miss calls across time zones and need a searchable record rather than a recording nobody watches.not 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

MeetGeek

  • The free tier is capped at three hours of transcription a month and one month of audio retention, which is a demonstration rather than a working allowance, and the retention limit deletes evidence just as it becomes useful.
  • Pro is capped at 20 hours a month, so anyone in back-to-back meetings hits the ceiling in the first fortnight and is pushed to the Business tier regardless of team size.
  • A visible assistant joins the call, which changes how candidly people speak, and in jurisdictions with two-party consent rules it creates a legal obligation the buyer, not the vendor, has to manage.
  • Summaries are machine-generated and will misattribute statements in overlapping speech, so they should never be treated as an authoritative record of a contentious discussion.
  • It is a smaller company than the dominant players in this category, so the integration catalogue is narrower and there is less enterprise procurement, security review and audit history to lean on.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bear Notes

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

MeetGeek

Free
  • BasicFree
    • 3 hours of transcription per month
    • 3 months transcript storage
    • 1 month audio storage
  • Pro$9.99/month
    • 20 hours of transcription per month
    • 1 year transcript storage
    • 6 months audio storage
  • Business$17/month
    • Unlimited transcription
    • Unlimited transcript storage
    • 12 months video storage
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited transcription and storage
    • Custom video retention
    • Single sign-on and SCIM

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 MeetGeek if

  • You need automatic meeting join.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want transcription.
MeetGeek review

Questions people ask

Is Bear Notes or MeetGeek better?
Neither clearly leads. Bear Notes starts at Free and MeetGeek at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bear Notes or MeetGeek?
Bear Notes starts at Free and MeetGeek at Free.
Does Bear Notes or MeetGeek run on more platforms?
Bear Notes runs on MacOS, IOS, IPadOS. MeetGeek runs on Web, iOS, Android.
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 MeetGeek is typically brought in for.
What can Bear Notes do that MeetGeek cannot?
Bear Notes covers Markdown-based notes, Powerful tag system, Rich text formatting, Image support. MeetGeek covers Automatic meeting join, Transcription, AI summaries and action items, Highlight clips.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bear Notes: How much does Bear Pro cost per month or year?

Bear Pro costs $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year. Annual subscribers receive a 15% discount compared to monthly pricing.

Source
MeetGeek: How long are recordings kept?

It depends on the plan: 1 month of audio on free, 6 months on Pro, 12 months of video on Business, and custom on Enterprise. Transcripts last longer than media on every tier.

Bear Notes: Does Bear offer a free trial before committing to a subscription?

Yes, Bear Pro includes a 7-day free trial with no credit card required.

Source
MeetGeek: Is there a real free plan?

Yes, but only 3 hours of transcription a month with 1 month of audio retention, which is a trial in practice.

Bear Notes: What export formats are available with Bear Pro?

Bear Pro subscribers can export notes in multiple formats including TXT, Markdown, TextBundle, RTF, PDF, JPG, HTML, DOCX, and ePub.

Source
MeetGeek: Which meeting platforms does it join?

Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, from a connected calendar.

Bear Notes: Can I sync my notes across devices with the free Bear plan?

No, iCloud sync is only available with Bear Pro. The free plan allows local note access but does not support cloud synchronization across devices.

Source
MeetGeek: Do participants know it is recording?

Yes, the assistant appears as a participant. Consent handling under local recording law remains the customer's responsibility.

Bear Notes: What features are included in the free Bear plan?

The free plan includes local note access, document scanning, limited export formats, 3 themes, and 1 app icon. PDF and image search requires Bear Pro.

Source
MeetGeek: What is the transcription cap on Pro?

20 hours per month. Unlimited transcription starts on the Business plan at 17 US dollars per user per month.

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