Bear is a Markdown-focused note app with cross-note links, hashtag tagging, powerful search, Focus Mode, iCloud sync, and multiple export options. Users appreciate its clean interface and Apple ecosystem integration, though some seek alternatives with stronger privacy features or cross-platform availability.
Obsidian leads as the top-ranked Bear alternative, extending Markdown note-taking with backlinks, bidirectional links, and graph view for mapping relationships between ideas. Standard Notes adds end-to-end encryption and encrypted backups for privacy-focused users, expanding beyond Bear's iCloud-style syncing. Notesnook focuses on private, encrypted notes with two-factor authentication and reminders for security-conscious users.
Bear alternatives range from local-first vault apps like Obsidian to encrypted sync-first tools like Standard Notes and Notesnook, giving users options across privacy levels and platform support.
Open source choices like Zettlr suit users who prefer auditable code and community-driven development. Linux users have native desktop apps available through Standard Notes for workflows outside Windows and macOS.
For self-hosting, AFFiNE and Outline can run on your own infrastructure for complete data control. Markdown workflows remain portable with Obsidian keeping notes in plain-text format, while offline functionality works reliably with Anytype during travel or unreliable connections.
Cloud sync becomes essential for multi-device users, with Evernote and Notesnook both including syncing across devices. For WYSIWYG-style editing, Standard Notes, Notesnook, and Anytype all list WYSIWYG support among their notable features for users who prefer rich-text editing over raw Markdown.
Your privacy-focused note-taking app. Justnote helps you take notes easily anytime on any device. Powered by Stacks technology, all your saved notes are encrypted, and only you can decrypt them and see the content inside.
Thailand
Calmly Writer is a professional text editor designed to focus on what you want to tell, with a simple, unobtrusive and distraction-free user interface.
TreeTime is an information organizer that stores text, numbers, and other data in linked trees. Mathematical operations like sums, ratios, and differences are calculated and updated on the fly. It exports to PNG, SVG, HTML, CSV, and plain text, and includes a configurable web interface.
Germany
EU
Auteureist is a "novel" writing application for the Apple iPhone. Can export to some desktop software, like Scrivener . The website does a great job at documenting every feature, and there are a lot.
Draftify is a minimal note and journal app (Mac only). It's a place to quickly write ideas and to think.
AI executive assistant that records Google Meet, Zoom, Teams, Webex; transcribes and makes instant summaries: decisions, action items, minutes, smart titles. Search/tag, jump to quotes, export/share.
Cloud-based writing platform tailored for novelists, featuring cross-device syncing, distraction-free focus mode, advanced plotting tools, detailed character and story planning, daily word goal tracking, scene organization, annotation, and editing with grammar checks.
United States
Writing on paper, you let go and just get your idea out. You don't get caught up perfecting the words too early. Rough Draft is like writing with pen and paper, so you can't delete words, only cross them out.
Japan
The Guide is a two-pane outliner - a program that allows you to arrange text notes in a tree-like structure. It supports formatted text, exporting to RTF and hyperlinks (both internal and external).
This is a free online tool, developed by Gemoo, that allows YouTube creators and learners to take notes while watching videos, making it easier to learn and utilize video materials more efficiently.
China
