Bear
A weekend of work, and real gaps remain.
A notes app for Apple platforms: Markdown that renders as you type, nested tags instead of folders, and sync across devices for a small yearly fee.
Build me a Markdown notes app for one person, with files on disk and search that stays fast. STACK - Tauri with a small web frontend, or a native SwiftUI app if Apple platforms only - Notes as .md files in one folder — the folder is the database, and any editor can open it - SQLite alongside as an index, rebuildable from the files at any time THE EDITOR - Live Markdown: headings, bold, lists and links styled as you type, syntax hidden until the cursor enters the token - Code blocks with syntax highlighting, and nothing that reflows the document as you type - Autosave to disk on a debounce, never on every keystroke TAGS AND LINKS - Tags are #nested/like/this, parsed from the body, never stored separately - [[Wiki links]] between notes, with backlinks computed from the index - Renaming a note rewrites the links that point at it, in one transaction, with a preview of what will change SEARCH - SQLite FTS5 over title and body, updated on save - Rebuild the whole index from the folder in under a second per thousand notes SYNC - No sync code. Put the folder in iCloud Drive, Dropbox or Syncthing, and document the conflict behaviour of each - Detect a file changed underneath you and reload rather than overwrite Include a README on the index rebuild, the link-rename transaction and what happens on a sync conflict.
What you lose
- An editor that renders Markdown as you type without ever showing you the syntax
- iCloud sync that works quietly across iPhone, iPad and Mac
- Tag nesting, backlinks and search that stay fast at tens of thousands of notes
- Typography and themes that make it pleasant enough to write in daily
- Widgets, share sheets and shortcuts wired into the operating system
If you would rather not build
- Obsidian — free for personal use, Markdown files, paid sync
- Craft — paid, stronger documents, weaker plain-text story
The escape hatch
open source · no votes, no paid placement
Logseq
$0Outliner and note-taker over local Markdown files, with backlinks and queries.
logseq/logseqfree · open source
Joplin
$0Markdown notes with end-to-end encrypted sync to storage you choose.
laurent22/joplinfree · open source
Why this verdict
our own opinion · changed only by a person
59/100
Verdict kinda at 59: files on disk with an FTS index is a genuinely better foundation than a proprietary store, and a weekend gets you a usable editor. The polish — live Markdown that never jumps, and sync that just works — is years of detail.
History
tracked since 9 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten
Nothing recorded yet. This chart fills in once the page has visitors, votes or prompt copies — it will not draw a flat line to look busy.
Questions about Bear
answered from the record above
Is Bear free?
No — the plan we track is $2.99 a month. Bear Pro at $2.99/month or $29.99/year; the app is free without sync, themes and export.
Can you replace Bear by building your own?
ALMOST. A weekend of work, and real gaps remain. Replacement score 59 out of 100, build time a weekend. Read what you lose before you decide.
How much does Bear cost?
$2.99 a month on Pro — $35.88 a year. Recorded 9 Aug 2026.
What do you lose by replacing Bear?
An editor that renders Markdown as you type without ever showing you the syntax; iCloud sync that works quietly across iPhone, iPad and Mac; Tag nesting, backlinks and search that stay fast at tens of thousands of notes; Typography and themes that make it pleasant enough to write in daily; Widgets, share sheets and shortcuts wired into the operating system. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Bear?
Yes: Logseq, Joplin. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.
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