Highlights helps readers annotate PDFs and extract notes, images, tables, and citations on Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
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16 alternativesBear
Bear provides a Markdown editor for writing and organizing notes on Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
About Bear
Bear is a Markdown note-taking app for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Notes can mix text, photos, tables, and todo lists, and are organized with flexible tags. Notes sync through iCloud, and the app supports sketching inline with an Apple Pencil or finger. Export is available in TXT, Markdown, TextBundle, RTF, PDF, JPG, HTML, DOCX, and ePub. A free tier covers local note access, document scanning, search inside PDFs and images, iCloud sync, three themes, and one app icon. Bear Pro adds 28+ themes, 15 app icons, and features such as OCR search, image resize and crop, and rich media previews. Bear states that notes are held between the user and iCloud and that it cannot see them; note encryption is offered, and Apple's Advanced Data Protection is supported. Bear Pro costs $2.99/month or $29.99/year after a 7-day free trial, with the 15% yearly saving varying by country currency and taxes.
Key features
- Markdown editor with text, photos, tables and todo lists in one note
- Flexible tags with over 250 icons and tag pinning
- Export to TXT, Markdown, TextBundle, RTF, PDF, JPG, HTML, DOCX, ePub
- iCloud sync across Mac, iPhone and iPad
- Inline sketching with Apple Pencil or finger, editable later
- Outline headings with folding to focus on a section
Best for: People who use Mac, iPhone, or iPad and want a Markdown-based app for writing and organizing notes.
Good for
- Native apps for Mac, iPhone and iPad that work online and off
- Free tier includes local access, document scanning, iCloud sync and many export formats
- Note encryption is offered and Apple's Advanced Data Protection is supported
Watch out for
- Platform support is limited to Mac, iPhone and iPad
- Sync relies on iCloud
- OCR search, image resize and crop, rich link and PDF previews, and extra themes and icons require Bear Pro
Bear at a glance
- Website
- bear.app
- Category
- Mobile Apps › iPhone & iPad Apps
- Type
- Website
- Pricing
- Not confirmed. Check the site
- Platforms
- iOS, Web
- Open source
- Not stated
- Last checked
- Oct 6, 2026 · Online when checked
- Listed
- Oct 5, 2026
Bear alternatives
Tools and sites you could use instead, ranked by how closely they match.
Untold records voice journal entries and includes tools for organizing personal notes.
NFC Tools reads and writes NFC tags using an iPhone app designed for near-field communication.
Twodos provides a simple iPhone app for organizing personal to-do lists.
Noteful combines note-taking and PDF markup in an iPad app for highlighting, writing, and studying.
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Bear FAQ
Is there a free version of Bear?
Yes. The free tier includes local access to notes, document scanning, export to TXT, Markdown, TextBundle, RTF, PDF, JPG, HTML, DOCX and ePub, three themes, one app icon, search inside PDFs and images, and iCloud sync.
How much does Bear Pro cost?
Bear Pro has a 7-day free trial, then costs $2.99/month or $29.99/year. The stated 15% saving on the yearly subscription may vary by country currency and taxes.
Can notes be encrypted?
Yes. Bear says notes can be encrypted for an extra layer of protection, and Apple's Advanced Data Protection is supported.
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