# Bear vs Semaphor

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bear at 77% against Semaphor's 15%. Bear also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.5) and ratings volume (6.9K vs 15). Semaphor's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bear sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Semaphor sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $8.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Bear holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bear has 6.9K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Bear's written reviews are positive against 15% of Semaphor's.

Bear ships an update every 9 days, Semaphor every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bear | Semaphor |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (6.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bear-markdown-notes/id1016366447/reviews)** | [3.5 (15 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/semaphor/id1093566063/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **6.9K** | 15 |
| Positive reviews | **76.8% of reviews** | 15.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Size | 230 MB | 19 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **10.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Shiny Frog Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/527618974) | [SpiderOak, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/360584374) |

## What reviewers say

### Bear

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bear-markdown-notes/id1016366447)

A beautiful and simple Markdown app for capturing, writing, and organizing your thoughts and ideas. It offers a distraction-free writing environment, flexible formatting, and powerful organizational tools like tags and tasks. Ideal for anyone looking to streamline their note-taking and creative processes.

**Highlights:** Distraction-free writing environment, Flexible Markdown formatting, Tag-based organization, Task management, Note linking (WikiLinks), Web clipping extension, Apple Pencil sketching

**Features:** Safari Extension, Siri integration, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Pro subscription | $2.99 | per month |
| Yearly Pro subscription | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Elegant and minimalist design
- 🚀 Smooth and fast performance
- 💡 Flexible tagging system for organization
- 🔒 Secure and private notes
- 🎨 Customizable themes and fonts

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Subscription required for syncing and advanced features
- 🔍 Limited search functionality within notes on iOS
- 🖼️ Issues with image handling and resizing
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes reported
- 💻 Lack of web/Windows app for cross-platform access

**Reported bugs**

- Sync issues causing note conflicts and data loss
- Cursor jumping and input issues on iPad
- Inconsistent behavior when importing/exporting content

**Requested features**

- Add password protection for individual notes
- Improve search capabilities to find text within notes
- Implement table support for more robust note-taking
- Develop a web-based version for broader accessibility
- Allow manual sorting and organization of notes


### Semaphor

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/semaphor/id1093566063)

This app offers secure team communication and collaboration with end-to-end encryption and private blockchain technology. It provides features like direct messaging, file sharing, and project-specific channels for real-time teamwork.

**Highlights:** End-to-end encryption, Secure file sharing, Private direct messaging, Unlimited project channels, Real-time collaboration, Native offline mode

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Personal Plan Monthly | $8.99 | per month |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bear free?

Bear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Semaphor free?

Semaphor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Bear or Semaphor?

Bear is rated higher. Bear averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.9K ratings, while Semaphor averages 3.5 from 15 ratings.

### Do Bear or Semaphor have ads?

Neither Bear nor Semaphor shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bear or Semaphor?

Bear ships an update every 9 days, and Semaphor every 3 weeks. Most recently, Bear was updated on October 1, 2026 and Semaphor on June 1, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*