Bear Alternatives

Bear provides flexible writing and note-taking with markdown support and cross-note linking, popular among Mac users for its clean interface. Users seek alternatives primarily due to privacy concerns over its reliance on Apple's ecosystem, cost complaints for plain text functionality, and the availability of better options on Mac.

For users wanting stronger privacy protection, Standard Notes encrypts notes end-to-end across all devices while maintaining markdown support and seamless syncing. Those frustrated by Bear's Apple-only limitations can turn to Obsidian, which offers similar markdown editing and internal linking but works across Windows, Mac, and Linux with a powerful graph view to visualize note connections. Users seeking more advanced knowledge management find Roam Research's graph-based approach superior for linking and visualizing complex note relationships. Trillium Notes handles hierarchical note organization with rich text formatting, making it ideal for complex projects that outgrow Bear's simpler structure.

filter to find the best alternatives

Bear alternatives are mainly Note-taking Tools, but if you're looking for Todo List Managers or Task Management Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Windows, Android, Linux, Mac and Open Source. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Bear.
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Alternatives list

  1. Calmly Writer icon
     14 likes
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    Calmly Writer is a professional text editor designed to focus on what you want to tell, with a simple, unobtrusive and distraction-free user interface.

    46 Calmly Writer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Online
    • Chrome OS
     
  2. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    This is a free online tool, developed by Gemoo, that allows YouTube creators and learners to take notes while watching videos, making it easier to learn and utilize video materials more efficiently.

    19 YouTube Video Note Taking alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
     
  3. Desk icon
     4 likes
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    An award-winning & beloved desktop publishing client, exclusively for OS X.

    You are a storyteller, passionate about crafting narratives that capture, express, and delight in what it means to be human.

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  4. MindNote icon
     1 like
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    MindNote, the smartest, simplest, most customizable note-taking app designed to keep your ideas, thoughts, and memories organized and accessible wherever you go.

    Cost / License

    • Subscription
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • Kindle Fire
     
  5. Justnote icon
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    Your privacy-focused note-taking app. Justnote helps you take notes easily anytime on any device. Powered by Stacks technology, all your saved notes are encrypted, and only you can decrypt them and see the content inside.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
     
  6. Auteureist icon
     1 like
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    Auteureist is a "novel" writing application for the Apple iPhone. Can export to some desktop software, like Scrivener . The website does a great job at documenting every feature, and there are a lot.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • iPad
     
  7. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    SmartEdit Writer (formerly Atomic Scribbler) is a project management and writing environment for novelists and short story writers working on Windows PCs. Writers use the software to plan their novels, prepare and maintain research material, and then write that novel chapter by...

    41 SmartEdit Writer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  8. The Guide icon
     26 likes
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    The Guide is a two-pane outliner - a program that allows you to arrange text notes in a tree-like structure. It supports formatted text, exporting to RTF and hyperlinks (both internal and external).

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
     
  9. Draftify icon
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    Draftify is a minimal note and journal app (Mac only). It's a place to quickly write ideas and to think.

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  10. Rough Draft icon
     2 likes
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    Writing on paper, you let go and just get your idea out. You don't get caught up perfecting the words too early. Rough Draft is like writing with pen and paper, so you can't delete words, only cross them out.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  11. Paragraphs icon
     3 likes
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    Paragraphs is an app just for writers. It was built for one thing and one thing only: writing. It gives you everything you need to create brilliant prose and does away with the rest.

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
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