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. Antinote icon
     3 likes
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    Antinote provides beautiful temporary notes, calculations, and custom calculators with lifetime updates. Features swipe navigation, plain text support, instant conversions including crypto, and one-click export functionality. Includes screenshot-to-text conversion, global hotkey access, and more.

    34 Antinote alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  2. Hyperdraft icon
     10 likes
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    Turn your notes into a website.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Online
    • RemoteStorage
     
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    1
    Comments about Hyperdraft as an Alternative to Bear
    rosano
    Positive
    0

    Title and body are combined visually in the same field

    Bear Icon
    Hyperdraft icon
    • Hyperdraft is Free and Open SourceBear is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Hyperdraft is Privacy focusedBear is not according to our users
  3. Quillpad icon
     16 likes
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    Quillpad is a fork of an original app called Quillnote. The development stopped on the original app and PR backlogs were not cleared up. The community showed much interest in the app for continued development and so this fork was created.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Android
    • F-Droid
     
  4. scrutch icon
     8 likes
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    End-to-encrypted, laser-focussed yet elegant editor. No registration, no login, no ads, no tracking, no hassle. Just write. In private or together with others.

    290 scrutch alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
     
  5. Notedrafts icon
     5 likes
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    Notedrafts is a powerful note-taking app that lets you write, draw, and organize your thoughts across different types of documents. Whether you're marking up a PDF, writing on a large canvas, or taking notes in a long vertical layout, Notedrafts adapts to your workflow.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  6. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Noto is a modern writing app. With delightful interactions, powerful editing tools, and a beautiful design, Noto helps you capture the best of your everyday life.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once or Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
     
  7. Reflect Notes icon
     7 likes
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    Give your brain superpowers. Mirror the way your mind works by associating notes through backlinks. Reflect builds you a second brain that you can reference anytime. Frictionless thought capture, instant sync, end-to-end encryption and seamless recall make using Reflect natural.

    Cost / License

    • Subscription
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Online
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Google Chrome
     
  8. Rocketnotes icon
     3 likes
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    Rocketnotes is a web-based Markdown note taking app with AI-powered text completion. You can sign up for free or deploy it with low effort to your personal AWS account. Check out the installation guides for deploying Rocketnotes at AWS or running it on your local machine with...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
    • Mac
    • Online
     
  9. Passfindr icon
     13 likes
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    Passfindr is a web based premium Personal knowledge base, Password manager and Bookmark manager application to securely store passwords and other sensitive information in a virtual vault locked with individual master passwords.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
     
  10. Kortex icon
     5 likes
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    Consolidates ideas, notes, and content into one unified platform, featuring a text editor, document connections, knowledge management, and advanced search, with elements for template creation and future web clipper and audio highlight enhancements.

    35 Kortex alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
     
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