Bear vs nvALT (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, nvALT grades higher than Bear: 2.8 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Bear grades higher on features and platforms. nvALT grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on ease of use.
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
nvALT
Free keyboard-driven Mac notes app with plain-text Markdown files
Which one is for you
Pick Bear if
- Fits if you write in Markdown on Mac, iPhone and iPad
- Works for people who'd rather sort notes with tags than folders
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Windows, Android or a browser, as Bear is for Apple devices only
- Tight if you're staying free and own more than one device, because sync needs Pro
- Not for you if you need to lock notes or export to PDF, HTML or DOCX without paying, since those are Pro
- Watch out: the Pro trial is 7 days, billing runs through the App Store, and prices vary by country
- Watch out: the only integration on record is Claude, and the student discount covers the first year before full price returns
Pick nvALT if
- Fits if you want quick plain-text notes on a Mac, driven from the keyboard
- Works for people who already use Simplenote
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Windows, a phone or a browser, as it is Mac only
- Tight if you sync through Dropbox: the app warns against that while Simplenote sync is on
- Watch out: a new major version opens with default settings, so sync and the notes folder must be picked again
- Watch out: the author describes nvUltra as the app that follows nvALT
How we grade them
| 2.6GPABearGood | 2.8GPAnvALTGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BBear Pro is $2.99 a month, or $29.99 a year, which sits in the cheapest quarter of this category against a $6 middle. One subscription covers every device on your Apple ID, and students and academics can ask for 30% off the first year. | AFree, with no paid plan listed on its project page. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree covers writing and organising: tags, links, tables, sketches, 3 themes. The wall is sync. Without Pro your notes stay on one device, and encryption, OCR search and export to PDF, HTML or DOCX are Pro as well. The trial is 7 days. | AFree outright, with no paid tier and no cap shown on the project page. |
| Features | BA Markdown editor mixing text, photos, tables, to-dos and sketches, with nested tags, wiki links and backlinks, a Web Clipper for Safari, Chrome and Firefox, and export in nine formats. Pro adds encryption and search inside photos and PDFs. Nothing in the writing job is missing. | CSearch-first entry, plain-text files, Markdown preview, web clipping and Simplenote sync. The listing's gaps: sync is Simplenote only and the author points to a successor. |
| Ease of use | B4.68 from about 6,900 App Store ratings, just short of the 4.7 an A needs. There are no folders to plan out, only tags you type as you write, and there are migration guides for Evernote, Apple Notes and Obsidian. | BNo store rating on record. You download it and start typing in the search field. |
| Platforms and integrations | COne family of devices: Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, with browser clippers on top. No Windows, no Android, no web version, and the only integration on record is Claude. | DMac only, needing macOS 12 or later. No Windows, mobile or web version. |
| Best for | writing in Markdown on Mac, iPhone and iPad | keyboard-driven plain-text notes on a Mac |
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 nvALT. How we grade
Price against what you get
Bear starts at $2.50 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. nvALT has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
Bear scores higher, and starts $2.50 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other note-taking apps on the chart, 8 score higher than Bear for less, and none scores higher than nvALT for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Bear also covers linked notes.
At a glance
| Bear | nvALT | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $2.99 per month, or $29.99 per year | Free |
| 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. | NvALT is free, with no paid plans listed. |
| 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 | Brett Terpstra |
| Price read from | bear.app | brettterpstra.com |
| Checked | Oct 10, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
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.
nvALT
- nvALT 3 requires macOS 12 or later; there is no Windows, mobile or web version.
- Sync is through Simplenote only, and the app warns if notes sit in Dropbox while Simplenote sync is on.
- A first launch of a new major version opens with default settings, so sync and notes folder must be chosen again.
- The author describes nvUltra as the app he is building to follow nvALT.
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.
nvALT
- Search-first note entry
- One field searches and creates: typing filters the list, and a title with no match becomes a new note on Return.
- Plain-text files
- New libraries are a folder of Markdown files, and tags are written to them as Finder tags.
- Apex Markdown preview
- Previews combine CommonMark, GitHub Flavored Markdown, MultiMarkdown and Kramdown syntax, with themes for editor and preview.
- Web clipping
- Safari extension ships inside the app; Chrome, Brave, Firefox and Zen extensions are installed separately.
- Simplenote sync
- Sync runs through Simplenote and is set up in the Synchronization tab of the notes settings.
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.
nvALT
nvALT$0
Free download; the project page says it is free and shows no paid tier.
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.
nvALT
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bear or nvALT?
As of Nov 13, 2026, nvALT is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $2.50 a month when paid by the year for Bear. Bear starts at $2.99 per month, or $29.99 per year, and nvALT is free.
Which has a free plan, Bear or nvALT?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Bear and nvALT have a free plan.
Which platforms do Bear and nvALT run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Bear lists an iOS app and a browser extension. Both list a macOS app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.