Is Bear or OmniFocus 3 better?

Neither clearly leads. Bear starts at Free and OmniFocus 3 at $74.99/mo, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Bear or OmniFocus 3?

Bear has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bear and $74.99/mo for OmniFocus 3.

Does Bear or OmniFocus 3 run on more platforms?

Bear runs on Web. OmniFocus 3 runs on MacOS, IOS, IPadOS, Web.

Can I use Bear for free?

Yes. Bear has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. OmniFocus 3 starts at $74.99/mo.

What is Bear best used for?

Bear is most often used for note-taking with document scanning, cross-device note synchronization. Of those, note-taking with document scanning and cross-device note synchronization are not what OmniFocus 3 is typically brought in for.

What can Bear do that OmniFocus 3 cannot?

OmniFocus 3 covers GTD-based task organization, Projects and subprojects, Contexts and tags, Custom perspectives.

Productivity · head to head

Bear vs OmniFocus 3

Bear

Productivity

Markdown notes for Apple devices

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

OmniFocus 3

Productivity

Professional task management for complex workflows

From: $74.99/mo
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Bear has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Bear built for Apple hardware only, with no Windows, Android or web client; OmniFocus 3 apple platforms only apart from the web client: macOS 14, iOS or iPadOS 17, watchOS 10 or visionOS 2 and newer are required, with no Windows or Android app
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bear and OmniFocus 3 actually diverge.

Attributes where Bear and OmniFocus 3 differ
Attribute	Bear	OmniFocus 3
Starting price	Free	$74.99/mo
Pricing model	freemium	one-time
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Web	MacOS, IOS, IPadOS, Web
Founded	Unknown	1993

Identical on both: 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

Nothing recorded that OmniFocus 3 does not also cover.

Only in OmniFocus 3

GTD-based task organization
Projects and subprojects
Contexts and tags
Custom perspectives
Automation
Quick entry
Sync across devices
Deferred and due dates

What people use each for

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

Bear

Note-taking with document scanningnot OmniFocus 3
Cross-device note synchronizationnot OmniFocus 3

OmniFocus 3

Getting Things Done style task and project management on Apple devicesnot Bear
Capturing tasks with contexts, defer dates and review cyclesnot Bear
Syncing a personal task database across Mac, iPhone, iPad and Watchnot Bear

Where each one falls short

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

Bear

Built for Apple hardware only, with no Windows, Android or web client
Free tier is limited to 3 themes, 1 app icon and restricted export formats; iCloud sync requires Bear Pro
Bear Pro is $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year after a 7 day free trial

OmniFocus 3

Apple platforms only apart from the web client: macOS 14, iOS or iPadOS 17, watchOS 10 or visionOS 2 and newer are required, with no Windows or Android app
Web access is not included with a perpetual licence and costs an extra $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year
The Pro perpetual licence costs $149.99 against $74.99 for Standard
Future major upgrades are a paid discount rather than free for perpetual licence holders
The $99.99 per year subscription is the only option that bundles Pro plus web access

Pricing, plan by plan

Bear

Free

FreeFree
- Local note access
- Document scanning
- PDF, image, text, markdown, HTML, DOCX, ePub export
Pro$2.99/month
- All free features plus 28+ themes
- 15 app icons
- PDF and image search across notes
Pro$29.99/year
- All free features plus 28+ themes
- 15 app icons
- PDF and image search across notes

OmniFocus 3

$74.99/mo

Standard License$74.99/mo
- Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro access
- All 4.x updates included
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Pro License$149.99/mo
- Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro access
- All 4.x updates included
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Subscription (all platforms + web)$99.99/year
- Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, web access
- All Pro features
Web-only Subscription$4.99/month
- Web access only

Which should you pick?

Choose Bear if

You want to start without paying.

Bear review

Choose OmniFocus 3 if

You need gtd-based task organization.
You work on MacOS, IOS, IPadOS, Web.
You also want projects and subprojects.

OmniFocus 3 review

Questions people ask

Is Bear or OmniFocus 3 better?: Neither clearly leads. Bear starts at Free and OmniFocus 3 at $74.99/mo, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bear or OmniFocus 3?: Bear has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bear and $74.99/mo for OmniFocus 3.
Does Bear or OmniFocus 3 run on more platforms?: Bear runs on Web. OmniFocus 3 runs on MacOS, IOS, IPadOS, Web.
Can I use Bear for free?: Yes. Bear has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. OmniFocus 3 starts at $74.99/mo.
What is Bear best used for?: Bear is most often used for note-taking with document scanning, cross-device note synchronization. Of those, note-taking with document scanning and cross-device note synchronization are not what OmniFocus 3 is typically brought in for.
What can Bear do that OmniFocus 3 cannot?: OmniFocus 3 covers GTD-based task organization, Projects and subprojects, Contexts and tags, Custom perspectives.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bear: Does Bear offer a free plan?

Yes, Bear has a free plan with local note access, document scanning, and export to multiple formats, but without iCloud sync or PDF/image search.

Source

OmniFocus 3: How much does OmniFocus cost?

OmniFocus offers perpetual licenses at $74.99 (Standard) or $149.99 (Pro) for one-time purchase, or subscriptions at $99.99/year for all platforms plus web, or $4.99/month for web-only access.

Source

Bear: How much does Bear Pro cost?

Bear Pro is $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year. The yearly plan offers approximately 15% savings compared to monthly billing.

Source

OmniFocus 3: Does OmniFocus offer a free trial?

OmniFocus includes a 14-day free trial for download, and a 30-day money-back guarantee applies to perpetual licenses.

Source

Bear: Is there a free trial for Bear Pro?

Yes, Bear Pro includes a 7-day free trial before charging begins.

Source

OmniFocus 3: What platforms does a single OmniFocus license cover?

A single OmniFocus perpetual license includes access across Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro.

Source

Bear vs OmniFocus 3

Bear

OmniFocus 3

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Bear

Only in OmniFocus 3

What people use each for

Bear

OmniFocus 3

Where each one falls short

Bear

OmniFocus 3

Pricing, plan by plan

Bear

OmniFocus 3

Which should you pick?

Choose Bear if

Choose OmniFocus 3 if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Bear

More on OmniFocus 3

Keep looking

Other head to heads