Distraction-free writing application for creative professionals
From $5.99/mo7 researched notes
Bear Notes
Beautiful note-taking app for Apple devices
As of 13 November 2026, Bear Notes has a free plan and paid plans start at $1.99/month. Bear is an elegant and fast note-taking application designed exclusively for Apple devices. Softwr lists it under Productivity. Bear Notes is made by Shiny Frog, launched in 2015, available on macOS, iOS.
Overview
What Bear Notes does
Bear is an elegant and fast note-taking application designed exclusively for Apple devices. With focused writing experience, powerful organization with tags, and beautiful design, Bear combines simplicity with powerful features for notes, journaling, and documentation.
What people use it for
- Markdown note taking on Apple devices
- Organising notes with nested hashtags rather than folders
- Exporting notes to PDF, DOCX, HTML or ePub
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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
What Bear Notes costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Free
Free
- Note creation and organization
- Tags
- Local sync
Premium
$1.99 /mo
- iCloud sync
- Themes
- Markdown export
- Advanced features
Capabilities
Features
Markdown-based notes
Powerful tag system
Rich text formatting
Image support
iCloud sync
Dark and light themes
Encryption support
Backup and restore
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
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.
SourceDoes Bear offer a free trial before committing to a subscription?
Yes, Bear Pro includes a 7-day free trial with no credit card required.
SourceWhat 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.
SourceCan 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.
SourceWhat 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.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Bear Notes
- Company
- Shiny Frog
- Based in
- Italy
Keep looking
Where to go from Bear Notes
- Bear Notes alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Bear Notes pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Bear Notes badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Productivity softwareThe full category
- Best Productivity softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Productivity software for
Compare Bear Notes with
- Ulysses
- iA Writer
- Things 3
- Capacities
- Bluedot
- Microsoft OneNote
- Supernormal
- Reflect
- Notion
- OmniFocus 3
- RemNote
- Todoist
- Paprika Recipe Manager
- Raycast
- Remember The Milk
- Streaks
- Structured
- Tana
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Bear Notes, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Bear Notes
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