Bear vs Evernote
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bear
Markdown notes app for Mac, iPhone and iPad with tags and links
Evernote
Note-taking app with web clipping, tasks, calendar and AI search
Where they differ
- Bear starts at $2.99 per month, or $29.99 per year. Evernote starts at $99 per year (about $8.25 a month), or $14.99 billed monthly.
- Only Evernote lists a web app.
- Only Evernote lists Windows and Android apps.
- Bear also covers Markdown and linked notes.
- Evernote also covers templates, tasks and calendar.
At a glance
| Bear | Evernote | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $2.99 per month, or $29.99 per year | $99 per year (about $8.25 a month), or $14.99 billed monthly |
| Free plan | The free version covers writing and organizing notes with 3 themes. iCloud sync, note encryption, OCR search and export to PDF, HTML, DOCX and JPG need Bear Pro. | 50 notes, 1 notebook, 5 spaces, 20 tags, 200 attachments, 1 GB of storage, 1 connected external calendar and sync on 1 device. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial on both the monthly and yearly Bear Pro subscriptions. | 7-day free trial of paid plans; Evernote Enterprise can be tried free for 14 days. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Shiny Frog | Bending Spoons |
| Price read from | bear.app | frontdeskreview.com (not the vendor's own page) |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Bear
- Writers who want a focused Markdown editor on Mac, iPhone and iPad
- People who prefer organizing notes with tags rather than folders
- Apple users who want notes synced through their own iCloud account
Evernote
- People who save web pages, scans and documents and need to search across them
- Keeping notes, tasks and calendar events in a single app
- Teams that want shared notes with central administration and single sign-on
Worth knowing
Bear
- Bear is offered only for Apple devices: Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
- Syncing notes between devices requires a Bear Pro subscription.
- Note encryption, OCR search and export to PDF, HTML, DOCX and JPG are Pro features.
- Subscriptions are billed through Apple's App Store, and prices vary by country.
Evernote
- The Free plan is limited to 50 notes, 1 notebook and sync on a single device.
- Starter is capped at 1,000 notes, 20 notebooks, 5 GB of storage and 3 synced devices.
- There is no Linux app; the desktop apps are for Mac and Windows only.
- In-note encryption is offered only in the Mac and Windows apps, and AI Cleanup only on mobile.
Key features
Bear
- Markdown editor
- Notes mix text, photos, tables and to-do lists in one place, with sketches inserted inline next to text and attachments.
- Tags and nested tags
- Notes are organized with tags, including nested tags, and more than 250 icons help individual tags stand out.
- Wiki links and backlinks
- Notes link to each other with wiki links, and an info panel shows each note's backlinks and table of contents.
- Web Clipper
- Extensions for Safari, Chrome and Firefox save a full page or a highlighted selection as a note, with the clipping done on your device.
- Sync, encryption and OCR search (Pro)
- Bear Pro syncs notes through iCloud, encrypts individual notes, locks the app and searches for text inside photos and PDFs.
- Export and import
- Exports to TXT, Markdown, TextBundle, RTF, PDF, JPG, HTML, DOCX and ePub, with migration guides for Evernote, Apple Notes and Obsidian.
Evernote
- Web Clipper and document scanning
- A browser extension for Chrome, Firefox and Safari saves web pages into notes, and paper documents can be scanned in alongside them.
- Advanced and semantic search
- Search supports Boolean, geographic and filtered queries, and semantic search surfaces related notes based on their content.
- Tasks and calendar
- Tasks take due dates, reminders and assignees. Google and Microsoft calendars can be connected: 1 on the Free plan and 5 on paid plans.
- AI Assistant
- A chat assistant searches, organizes and enriches notes, with monthly and per-chat usage limits. AI Edit writes, summarizes, tidies and translates notes.
- AI Transcribe
- Records meetings and conversations, then produces a transcript and summary inside a note.
- Collaboration and MCP
- Shared notes support real-time editing, comments and task assignment. An MCP connector lets Claude, ChatGPT and other compatible AI tools use your notes.
Plans
Bear
Free$0
Markdown notes with tags, links, tables and sketches, and 3 themes. No sync between devices.
Bear Pro$2.99
per month, or $29.99 per year
Adds iCloud sync across devices, note encryption and app lock, OCR search in PDFs and images, 28+ themes and export to PDF, HTML, DOCX and JPG.
Evernote
Free$0
50 notes, 1 notebook, 1 GB of storage and sync on 1 device.
Starter$99
per year ($14.99 if billed monthly)
1,000 notes, 20 notebooks, 10 spaces, 5 GB of storage, 5 external calendars and sync across 3 devices.
Advanced$249.99
per year ($24.99 if billed monthly)
Unlimited notes, notebooks, spaces, storage and synced devices, subject to safeguard limits against abuse.
Enterprise (Flexible, Unlimited)Custom
Team plans with centralized account administration, user activity logs and single sign-on. Pricing is by quote.
Ways to pay less
Bear
- Annual discount
About 15% lower price with the yearly subscription
Bear's site marks the $29.99 yearly subscription as 15% cheaper than paying $2.99 each month.
- Education
30% off the first year for students and academics
Students and people working in academia can ask support for a code giving 30% off the first year of the Bear Pro yearly subscription. It renews at the regular price.
Evernote
- Education
40% off Evernote Advanced for students
Eligible college students who are not already paying subscribers get 40% off a one-year Evernote Advanced subscription, with student status verified through UNiDAYS.
