Bear vs Minimal
We give Bear a 3.4 GPA and Minimal a 2.6, out of 4.0. Bear grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
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
Minimal
Meditation-inspired writing and notes app for Apple devices
How we grade them
| 3.4GPABearVery good | 2.6GPAMinimalGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | ABear Pro is $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year, half of the $5.99 a month this category typically charges. One subscription covers every device on your Apple ID. Students and academics can ask for 30% off the first year. | B$4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, which is about typical for a category where paid plans usually start at $5.99 a month. The Family Plan is the better deal if you'll share it: $79.99 a year for up to 6 people. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree covers writing and organising notes, with tags, links, tables, sketches and 3 themes. But there's no sync between devices, and encryption, OCR search and export to PDF, HTML or DOCX are Pro. Pro has a 7-day trial. | CNo free plan, and the terms don't list what works without a membership. You get a 2-week free trial, and the listing doesn't say whether it wants a card. After that it's the subscription, with no pay-once option. |
| Features | AA Markdown editor that mixes text, photos, tables, to-dos and sketches. Nested tags, wiki links with backlinks, and a Web Clipper for Safari, Chrome and Firefox. Pro adds note encryption and search inside photos and PDFs. Export covers nine formats, from plain text to ePub. | BNote Lifetime archives notes left unedited, with reminders before they go. Several people can edit a note at once, a note becomes a public web page in three taps, and todo lists sync with Apple's Calendar. It's plain on purpose, though. Formatting is typed with special characters, and the listing shows no tags. |
| Ease of use | A4.7 from about 6,900 App Store ratings. There are no folders to plan out, just tags you type as you write. And Bear has migration guides for Evernote, Apple Notes and Obsidian if you're moving in. | BWe have no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is our ceiling. There's very little on screen to learn. The quirks are things like typing a name between curly brackets to make a folder. |
| Platforms and integrations | CMac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, with browser clippers on top. That's all Apple. There's no Windows, Android or web version, and sync runs through your own iCloud. | CiPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, synced through iCloud, with Apple Calendar, Shortcuts and Siri hooked in. One family of devices, though. There's no Windows, Android or web app. |
| Best for | writing in Markdown on Mac, iPhone and iPad | a quiet page where old notes clear themselves out |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bear and Minimal. How we grade
Where they differ
- Bear starts at $2.99 per month, or $29.99 per year. Minimal starts at $4.99 per month, or $49.99 per year.
- Bear has a free plan. Minimal does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Bear lists a browser extension.
- Bear also covers linked notes and web clipper.
- Minimal also covers tasks.
At a glance
| Bear | Minimal | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $2.99 per month, or $29.99 per year | $4.99 per month, or $49.99 per year |
| 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. | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial on both the monthly and yearly Bear Pro subscriptions. | 2-week free trial |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Shiny Frog | Timeless LLC |
| Price read from | bear.app | minimal.app |
| 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
Minimal
- Writers who want a quiet, sparse page on Apple devices
- People who would rather old notes expire than pile up
- Co-writing a note or publishing one as a web page
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.
Minimal
- It is available for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch only; there is no Windows, Android or web app.
- After the 2-week trial it is a subscription at $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year; no one-time purchase is offered.
- The terms say the best features are members-only but do not list what works without a subscription.
- Notes published as websites are public by default and can be searchable on the web.
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.
Minimal
- Note Lifetime
- An optional setting archives notes left unedited for a chosen period. Reminders arrive before a note expires, pinning or editing keeps it alive, and expired notes can be restored.
- Collaborative notes
- A note can be shared as view-only or editable, by invitation or public link, and several people can edit at once. Collaborative notes sync with offline support.
- Publish as Website
- A note can be turned into a simple public web page in three taps, for example to publish an essay written in the app.
- Todo lists and Calendar
- Todo items have checkable boxes, and a list can sync with Apple's Calendar app, where each item becomes an event with its own start time, end time and alerts.
- Markdown-style formatting
- Headers, lists, bold, italics, block quotes and pull quotes are typed with special characters. A folder is created by typing its name between curly brackets.
- Sync, import and export
- Notes sync through iCloud across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. They export as PDF, HTML and Markdown, and text and links come in through the system share sheet.
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.
Minimal
Minimal Monthly$4.99
per month
Membership for one person, billed monthly through the App Store after the 2-week free trial.
Minimal Annual$49.99
per year
The same membership billed once a year after the 2-week free trial.
Minimal Family Plan$79.99
per year
Shares Minimal with up to 6 family members through Apple's Family Sharing, after a 2-week free trial.
Team plansCustom
For workplaces that want to share Minimal across a team; arranged by writing to the vendor.
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.
Minimal
- Annual discount
About 16.5% off with annual billing
Minimal costs $49.99 a year against $4.99 a month, which comes to $59.88 over 12 months, a saving of about 16.5%.
- Education
Up to 80% off for students and educators
The pricing section says students and educators can save up to 80% on an annual plan by getting in touch with the vendor.
- Nonprofit
Up to 80% off for non-profit employees
The same discount of up to 80% on an annual plan is offered to non-profit employees who contact the vendor.
