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Software · head to head

Bear Notes vs Tana

Bear Notes logo

Bear Notes

Software

Beautiful note-taking app for Apple devices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tana logo

Tana

Software

The everything app for your personal workspace

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; Tana the free plan hosts only 5 meetings a month with AI transcripts and summaries
  • They diverge on capability: Bear Notes covers Markdown-based notes, Tana covers Outliner interface.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Bear Notes and Tana differ
AttributeBear NotesTana
PlatformsMacOS, IOS, IPadOSWeb, Desktop
Founded20152020

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

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 Tana

  • Outliner interface
  • Supertags
  • Live queries
  • AI integration
  • Graph views
  • Email capture
  • API
  • Zapier

What people use each for

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

Bear Notes

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

Tana

  • Structured note taking with a graph based supertag data modelnot Bear Notes
  • Automatic meeting capture with AI transcripts and summariesnot Bear Notes
  • Turning notes into queryable structured databasesnot 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

Tana

  • The free plan hosts only 5 meetings a month with AI transcripts and summaries
  • The free plan connects only 1 calendar and allows 50 AI queries
  • Pro is $30 per user per month at standard price, with $20 shown as an early bird rate
  • Max is $120 per user per month at standard price, with $80 shown as an early bird rate
  • Integrations and full MCP require the Pro plan
  • Dedicated support and onboarding, and unlimited agents, skills and types, require the Max plan
  • The Business plan is custom priced, billed yearly and has no published rate
  • The free trial runs 30 days

Pricing, plan by plan

Bear Notes

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

Tana

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Core features
    • Supertags
    • Searches
  • Pro$10/month
    • Advanced AI
    • Priority support
    • Extended history

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 Tana if

  • You need outliner interface.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Desktop.
  • You also want supertags.
Tana review

Questions people ask

Is Bear Notes or Tana better?
Neither clearly leads. Bear Notes starts at Free and Tana at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bear Notes or Tana?
Bear Notes starts at Free and Tana at Free.
Does Bear Notes or Tana run on more platforms?
Bear Notes runs on MacOS, IOS, IPadOS. Tana runs on Web, Desktop.
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 Tana is typically brought in for.
What can Bear Notes do that Tana cannot?
Bear Notes covers Markdown-based notes, Powerful tag system, Rich text formatting, Image support. Tana covers Outliner interface, Supertags, Live queries, AI integration.
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