# Bear

> Markdown notes app with tags, linked notes and to-dos, synced across Mac, iPhone and iPad

Source: https://optioncmd.com/bear
Website: https://bear.app/?utm_source=optioncmd
Pricing: Freemium
Categories: [Writing & notes](https://optioncmd.com/categories/writing.md), [iPhone & iPad](https://optioncmd.com/categories/ios-ipados.md)
Listed: 2026-10-27
Updated: 2026-10-27

Bear is a Markdown note-taking app for Mac, iPhone and iPad. Use it for quick notes, journals, to-do lists, long-form writing or a personal wiki, with no account needed to get started.

**Key features:**

- Write in plain-text Markdown that hides itself for clean reading.
- Organize notes with #tags, multi-word tags and nested tags, and pin important tags to the sidebar.
- Link notes together with WikiLinks and see backlinks and a table of contents in the Info Panel.
- Add tasks, tables, photos and sketches inside a note, and fold sections you aren't working on.
- Encrypt individual notes for an extra layer of protection.
- Search notes from Spotlight, and with Pro, search text inside photos and PDFs.
- Export to plain text, Markdown, TextBundle and RTF, or to PDF, HTML, DOCX, JPG and ePub with Pro.

Bear is on the Mac App Store and requires macOS 12.4 or later. The free version keeps notes on your device; Bear Pro adds iCloud sync, OCR search, more export formats and 28+ themes for $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year, after a seven-day free trial.

## More writing & notes

- [Obsidian](https://optioncmd.com/obsidian.md): Private Markdown notes app with links, graph view, canvas and thousands of plugins
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- [Craft](https://optioncmd.com/craft.md): Notes, docs, tasks and daily planning in one app, with an AI assistant and sync across devices
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- [Drafts](https://optioncmd.com/drafts.md): Quick-capture notes app that opens to a blank page and sends text to other apps with actions
- [Day One](https://optioncmd.com/day-one.md): Private journaling app with photos, audio, prompts and end-to-end encrypted sync
- [Scrivener](https://optioncmd.com/scrivener.md): Writing app for novels, scripts and theses that splits long manuscripts into manageable sections
- [Typora](https://optioncmd.com/typora.md): Markdown editor with seamless live preview, so you write and read in the same view