Bear vs MiaoYan
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
MiaoYan
Native Mac Markdown notes app with a split editor and preview
Where they differ
- Bear starts at $2.99 per month, or $29.99 per year. MiaoYan starts at $14.99 one-time purchase (App Store edition).
- Only Bear lists a browser extension.
- MiaoYan is open source, according to its own site.
- MiaoYan can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Bear also covers web clipper.
- MiaoYan also covers presentations.
At a glance
| Bear | MiaoYan | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $2.99 per month, or $29.99 per year | $14.99 one-time purchase (App Store edition) |
| 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. | The open-source Mac edition is free under the MIT license through Homebrew or GitHub Releases. The README says it now receives fixes only, with new features going to the App Store edition. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial on both the monthly and yearly Bear Pro subscriptions. | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Shiny Frog | Tw93 (Tang Wei) |
| Price read from | bear.app | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Oct 9, 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
MiaoYan
- Mac users who want to write Markdown source with a live preview beside it
- People who keep notes as plain files in iCloud Drive or another synced folder
- Presenting slides straight from a Markdown note
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.
MiaoYan
- No Windows, Linux, Android or web version: the Mac app needs macOS 12.0 or later and the iPhone and iPad app needs iOS 18.0 or later.
- The free open-source build receives fixes only. New features and the iPhone and iPad app come with the $14.99 App Store edition.
- There is no WYSIWYG editing and no plugin system: you write Markdown source and read the result in a separate preview.
- The app has no sync service or account of its own, so a cloud-drive client has to keep the notes folder in step across devices.
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.
MiaoYan
- Split editor and preview
- Markdown source and its rendered preview sit side by side, updating in real time with scrolling kept in step in both directions. The editor is deliberately not WYSIWYG.
- Wikilinks, backlinks, LaTeX and Mermaid
- Notes link to one another with wikilinks and show their backlinks. LaTeX formulas and Mermaid diagrams are supported alongside standard Markdown.
- Plain files in a folder you choose
- Notes are ordinary Markdown files in a local folder. The app does not collect note data or sign in to cloud accounts; iCloud Drive, Nutstore or Dropbox can sync the folder.
- Presentation mode
- A note can be presented as slides in PPT mode, with --- lines separating one slide from the next.
- Command-line tool
- The miao command opens, creates, searches, lists and prints notes from the terminal, and is installed separately with a script from the repository.
- iPhone and iPad app
- The App Store edition includes an iPhone and iPad app that reads and edits the same Markdown folder through iCloud Drive, with folders, note previews and search.
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.
MiaoYan
Open-source edition$0
The MIT-licensed Mac app from Homebrew or GitHub Releases, for macOS 12.0 or later. It now receives fixes only.
App Store edition$14.99
one-time purchase (US App Store)
One purchase covers the Mac, iPhone and iPad apps, with automatic updates and Family Sharing. New features land in this edition.
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.
MiaoYan
No public discounts listed.
