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.
DeepNotes is an open source, end-to-end encrypted visual note-taking app with deep page navigation and live collaboration. Create mind maps, diagrams, kanban boards, among others. Infinite nesting of infinite canvases.
Plain text notepad with markdown support and todo list manager for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows, that works together with the notes application of ownCloud.
Tailored for extensive writing, this tool offers flexible structure and organization, integrates project outlines, supports various formats, and allows reorganization through drag and drop, ensuring research materials are within reach for efficient work.
Almost everyone thinks Scrivener is a great Bear alternative.
Scrivener is the most popular commercial alternative to Bear.
Dendron is an open-source, local-first, markdown-based, note-taking tool built on top of VSCode. It supports all the usual features you would expect like tagging, backlinks, a graph view, split panes, and so forth.
Reor is an AI-powered desktop note-taking app: it automatically links related ideas, answers questions on your notes and provides semantic search. Everything is stored locally and you can edit your notes with an Obsidian-like markdown editor.
Open-source note-taking tool offering AI-enhanced retrieval with RAG technology, secure self-hosted data storage, Markdown support, and transparent community collaboration on GitHub for efficient, private, and effortless note management.
Capacities offers a revolutionary note-taking experience by utilizing a network-based structure for knowledge capture and organization. Users create unique entities like ideas and questions in a graph view, fostering personalized and interconnected know-how beyond traditional folders.
Craft offers document creation with stunning visuals, seamless navigation, and effortless sharing. Nest notes, use AI for summaries, and export in multiple formats.
Offline in-device task manager and note app featuring smart creation, advanced organization, calendar and list views, Markdown notes, secure SHA-256 encryption, Material You theming, multiple color themes, no tracking or ads, and import/export for total ownership.
UpNote is an elegant and powerful note app that works seamlessly across platforms: iOS, Android, Mac and Windows.
Secure device-synced notepad using AES-GCM-256 encryption to protect confidential data. Features include a tree-structure for note organization, historical changes tracking, and collaboration options. Supports all major platforms with cloud sync and offline access.
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Bear is for notes, Scrivener for books. Two totally different worlds.