Bear vs Reflect
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
Reflect
Open-source daily notes app with backlinks and local Markdown
Where they differ
- Bear starts at $2.99 per month, or $29.99 per year. Reflect starts at $9.99 per month, or $99 per year, for the iPhone and iPad app.
- Reflect is open source, according to its own site.
- Bear also covers web clipper.
- Reflect also covers daily notes.
At a glance
| Bear | Reflect | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $2.99 per month, or $29.99 per year | $9.99 per month, or $99 per year, for the iPhone and iPad app |
| 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 Mac app is free and open source, with no subscription or account required. The iPhone and iPad app needs a paid subscription. |
| 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 | Reflect App, LLC |
| Price read from | bear.app | apps.apple.com |
| 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
Reflect
- Mac users who want free, open-source notes kept as plain Markdown files
- People who work from a daily note and link ideas together
- Users who prefer to bring their own AI provider and API key
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.
Reflect
- Only the Mac app is free; the iPhone and iPad app requires a paid subscription.
- There is no web app, and the vendor says Windows and Android versions are not available and have no release dates.
- AI features need your own API key, and the AI provider bills that usage separately.
- Reflect Open adds no end-to-end encryption of its own; sync and encryption rely on iCloud Drive or Git.
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.
Reflect
- Local Markdown notes
- Notes are plain Markdown files in a folder you choose. There is no account, no telemetry and no Reflect-hosted cloud service.
- Daily notes and calendar
- The app starts on today's note. Apple Calendar events appear beside the daily note and can be turned into meeting notes.
- Wiki links and backlinks
- Double-bracket links connect notes into a graph, backlinks are tracked for each note, and one search covers notes, backlinks and tags.
- Optional AI with your own key
- Add an OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or OpenRouter key to ask questions about your notes, pull out takeaways and fix grammar. Requests go directly to the provider.
- Voice notes and transcription
- Record audio inside the app and transcribe it through the transcription provider you connect.
- Capture and sync
- The Reflect Capture Chrome extension saves links, selected text and screenshots. Notes sync between devices through iCloud Drive or Git.
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.
Reflect
Mac app$0
Free and open source under the MIT license. No subscription and no account.
Reflect Pro (iPhone and iPad)$9.99
per month, or $99 per year (US App Store)
Subscription for the iPhone and iPad app, bought in the App Store, where prices are set per country.
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.
Reflect
- Annual discount
About 17% lower price with the yearly subscription
On the US App Store, Reflect Pro is $99 per year versus $9.99 per month, which works out to about 17% less over a year.
- Other savings
One year of the mobile app free for Classic subscribers
Reflect's site says paid Reflect Classic subscribers get one year of the iPhone and iPad app free.
