Evernote is a cross-platform note-taking powerhouse with advanced organizational features and third-party integrations, while Bear is a streamlined, Apple-exclusive markdown editor optimized for speed and simplicity. Evernote serves power users managing thousands of notes, while Bear excels for writers and developers preferring elegant, distraction-free composition.
Evernote vs Bear — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Specialized note-taking and digital clipping platform with industry-leading OCR technology.
Minimalist markdown-native note app exclusive to Apple devices with emphasis on elegant design and writing-focused features.
Platform Availability. Monthly Subscription Cost. Native Markdown Support. Maximum Note Size. Third-Party Integrations. Free Tier Upload Limit. Offline Access
Choose Evernote if you need cross-platform access, work with large files, manage complex note hierarchies, require extensive integrations with productivity tools, or use Android/Windows devices. Choose Bear if you're fully invested in Apple's ecosystem, prefer markdown-native editing, value minimalist design, want affordable annual pricing, and prioritize writing quality over organization complexity.
Evernote: 40 GB/month upload | Bear: N/A
Evernote: 10+ (article, simplified, bookmark, screenshot, full page) | Bear: N/A
Evernote: 50+ basic templates | Bear: N/A
Evernote: Up to 5 users per note | Bear: Not supported
Evernote: Full offline access across all devices | Bear: Full offline support on iOS/macOS; sync when online
Evernote: Full article capture with formatting preservation | Bear: N/A
Evernote: Basic - manual export only | Bear: N/A
Monthly Subscription Cost (Personal Plan)
Evernote: $11.99/month | Bear: $2.99/month
Evernote: 50 MB | Bear: Unlimited (with free version)
Evernote: No - notebooks and tags only | Bear: N/A
Evernote: 0 - No Zapier support | Bear: N/A
Evernote: 5 (intuitive interface) | Bear: N/A
Annual Subscription Cost (Personal Plan)
Evernote: $119.99/year | Bear: $19.99/year
Evernote: 5 platforms (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Web) | Bear: 3 platforms (Mac, iOS, iCloud Web)
Evernote: 2 notebooks max | Bear: Unlimited notebooks
Evernote: Yes (included in paid plans) | Bear: No
Evernote: Yes (shared notebooks) | Bear: No (public links only)
Evernote: Limited (WYSIWYG primary) | Bear: Yes (full native support)
Evernote: 5 (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Web) | Bear: 3 (Mac, iOS, iPadOS)
Evernote: 100MB per note | Bear: ~10MB practical limit
Evernote: 60MB per month | Bear: Unlimited
Evernote: 2,000+ integrations | Bear: ~50 integrations
Evernote: No (limited, requires tools) | Bear: Yes (full native support)
Evernote: All platforms (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android) | Bear: iOS/Mac only (subscription required)
Evernote: 225+ million registered users (as of 2024) | Bear: ~5 million active users
Evernote: Full offline mode with complete sync | Bear: N/A
Evernote: Standard encryption (Evernote manages keys) | Bear: Yes, all notes E2EE
Evernote: Basic sharing, no real-time co-editing | Bear: N/A
Evernote: Full-featured with selective sync and formatting preservation | Bear: N/A
Evernote: No; proprietary codebase | Bear: N/A
Evernote: 3 (List, Tag, Saved Search) | Bear: N/A
Evernote: 0.5 weeks (intuitive) | Bear: N/A
Evernote: Reliable background sync with full offline queue | Bear: N/A
Evernote: N/A | Bear: iOS, macOS, Web (3)
Evernote: N/A | Bear: No automatic backlinks; manual tagging only
Evernote: N/A | Bear: Full access on all platforms
Evernote: N/A | Bear: Tags and folders only
Evernote: N/A | Bear: iOS, iPadOS, macOS (Apple only)
Evernote: N/A | Bear: Markdown, PDF, HTML
Evernote: N/A | Bear: 2-4 hours for basic use
Evernote: N/A | Bear: Limited (direct integrations)
Evernote: N/A | Bear: 49% (annual: $20.99)
Evernote: N/A | Bear: 4 formats (PDF, HTML, Markdown, Plain Text)
Evernote: N/A | Bear: Yes - native AI assistant
Evernote: N/A | Bear: 2 modes (limited customization)
Evernote: N/A | Bear: Full offline with sync
Evernote: N/A | Bear: ~50 official extensions
Evernote: N/A | Bear: Proprietary (low portability)
Evernote: N/A | Bear: 95% feature parity with desktop
Evernote: N/A | Bear: $36/year (premium subscription)
Evernote: N/A | Bear: 3 (iOS, macOS, Web)
Evernote: N/A | Bear: 200+ with syntax highlighting
Evernote: N/A | Bear: No native databases
Evernote: N/A | Bear: Not supported (external links only)
Evernote: N/A | Bear: Full offline access with automatic sync
Evernote: N/A | Bear: Standard markdown (.md) format
Evernote: N/A | Bear: 5-10 minutes to productive use
Evernote: N/A | Bear: Limited API access
Evernote vs Bear — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Evernote vs Bear. Contains 90 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Evernote vs Bear — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Evernote vs Bear.
Evernote provides offline access on all platforms (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android). Bear offers offline access only on iOS and Mac, and it requires a paid subscription. Evernote's offline capability is more comprehensive across devices.
No. Bear is exclusively available on Apple devices (Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch). There are no Windows or Android versions. If you need cross-platform access, Evernote is the better choice.
Which app is better for markdown writing?
Bear has significantly better markdown support with native live preview, syntax highlighting, and markdown-first design. Evernote has limited native markdown support and requires third-party tools like Markdown Editor extensions. If markdown is essential to your workflow, Bear is superior.
Bear costs $14.99/year (or $2.99/month) while Evernote Premium costs $14.99/month ($180/year). Bear is 87% cheaper on annual pricing ($14.99 vs $180 annually). However, Evernote's free tier offers more features than Bear's free tier.
Which app has better search capabilities?
Evernote's search is more advanced, featuring OCR (optical character recognition), handwriting recognition, saved searches, and complex logical operators. Bear uses basic text search with tag filtering. If you manage thousands of notes and rely on powerful search, Evernote excels.
Platform Availability: Evernote has Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Web, while Bear has Mac, iOS, iPadOS only.
Monthly Subscription Cost: Evernote has $14.99/month (Premium), while Bear has $14.99/year or $2.99/month.
Native Markdown Support: Evernote has Limited (third-party tools needed), while Bear has Full native markdown editing.
Maximum Note Size: Evernote has Up to 100MB per note, while Bear has No official limit (typically 10MB+ practical).
Third-Party Integrations: Evernote has 2,000+ via Zapier and native APIs, while Bear has 50+ (primarily Apple ecosystem).
Free Tier Upload Limit: Evernote has 60MB per month, while Bear has Unlimited uploads on free tier.
Offline Access: Evernote has Available on all platforms, while Bear has iOS/Mac only, requires subscription.