Comparison

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal vs SCRIBZEE®

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal

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
Read full description

Bear is a beautiful, powerfully simple Markdown app to capture, write, and organize your life. ​ Take notes, plan your day, journal thoughts, organize tables, create lists and tasks, sketch ideas, link notes together, write a book, and much more. Bear is used by writers, lawyers, chefs, CEOs, teachers, doctors, engineers, students, parents.. you get the picture. Getting started couldn’t be faster—no signup and no account. Just open a note and write naturally. ​ "My journaling app of choice is Bear" - Kit Eaton, New York Times ​ * 2017 Apple Design Award * 2016 App Store App of the Year * Editors' choice for 7 consecutive years * Most of our parents love it ​ ## BEAUTIFUL. SIMPLE. POWERFUL. PRIVATE - Tools stay out of your way so you can just write - Sketch ideas on iPad with an extendable canvas and Apple Pencil (and other styli) - Clip web pages and other content with Bear’s app extension - The redesigned Info Panel now with Table of Contents and Backlinks - Use Apple Watch to dictate and append to recent notes - Support for all the scripts including RTL languages like Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian - Easily create notes with Siri and Shortcuts - Your notes, not ours - Bear is private at its core: We cannot see your notes, tags, or anything else ​ ## FLEXIBLE MARKDOWN ​ - Work in plain text - easy to move between apps - Still use formatting like bold, italics, strikethrough, links, tables, and more with Markdown - Combine text styles like bold and underline, even in headings - Markdown hides for a clean reading experience - Use WikiLinks to connect notes and build a personal wiki or knowledge management tool ​ ## GET ORGANIZED with #tags, tasks, and more ​ - Add #tags, #multi-word tags# and even #multiple/nested/tags anywhere in a note for quick organization - Pin important tags to the top of the Sidebar - Make important tags stand out in the Sidebar with TagCons - Add tasks to notes and easily view all notes that include tasks - Fold sections to get them out of the way ​ ## SHARING MADE EASY ​ - Export notes to plain text, Markdown, TextBundle, Bear note, and rich text - Export notes to HTML, DocX, PDF, JPG, and ePub (Bear Pro required) - Easily share your notes to any third-party app with the Share Sheet ​ ## SEARCH FAR AND WIDE ​ - Use Spotlight to search your notes from anywhere - Search for text inside photos and PDFs (Bear Pro required) - Focus on specific types of notes with powerful Special Searches like @todo, @images, and @yesterday ​ ## CREATE YOUR COZY SPACE ​ * Pick from nearly 30 themes for the perfect writing space in both Light and Dark Mode (Bear Pro required) * Choose an app icon that speaks to your personality (Bear Pro required) * Set your own fonts for plain text, headings, and code * Set line height and width, paragraph spacing, and more ​ ## GET MORE WITH BEAR PRO ​ One subscription enables a variety of features on all your devices and keeps the Bear hugs coming. ​ - Sync notes between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac via iCloud - Encrypt individual notes with a password that is entirely private to you - Lock Bear with Face/Touch ID - Export to more formats including HTML, DocX, PDF, JPG, and ePub - Search for text inside images and PDFs in Bear notes - Over 30 beautiful app themes & app icons ​ $2.99 monthly $29.99 yearly 14-day free trial ​ ----- Price may vary by location. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your App Store account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You will not be able to cancel the subscription once activated. After purchase, manage your subscriptions in App Store Account Settings. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. ----- ​ bear@shinyfrog.net Twitter: BearNotesApp Reddit: reddit.com/r/BearApp Facebook: BearNotes Instagram: BearNotesApp Privacy Policy: http://www.bear.app/privacy/ Terms of Service: http://www.bear.app/terms/

About

SCRIBZEE®

Securely access all your handwritten notes from any device, anytime. This app offers high-quality scans that are automatically enhanced for clarity and readability. Organize, share, and even convert notes to PDF for easy distribution.

Highlights
  • Secure cloud access for notes
  • High-quality automatic scanning
  • Cross-device synchronization
  • Note organization by subject/project
  • Share notes via social media/messaging
  • Convert notes to PDF
  • Revision progress tracking
Read full description

ACCESS ALL YOUR HANDWRITTEN NOTES SECURELY, WHEN AND WHERE YOU NEED THEM, on your smartphone, tablet or laptop. Already more than a million people are using SCRIBZEE®. ◆ WITH SCRIBZEE® YOUR HANDWRITTEN NOTES ARE ACCESSIBLE EVERYWHERE, EVEN WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR NOTEBOOK WITH YOU ◆ Whether you’re a student or a professional on a business trip, it’s great to be able to access all your handwritten notes without having to carry your notes or notebooks around with you. With SCRIBZEE®, access your notes anywhere and at any time via the smartphone app, even in flight mode, or alternatively on a tablet, PC or Mac with SCRIBZEE® Online (www.scribzee.com). ◆ A HIGH-QUALITY SCAN EVERY TIME, BETTER THAN USING YOUR SMARTPHONE CAMERA ◆ Capturing your notes with your smartphone camera is a possibility. However, the result doesn’t often come up to expectations. The pages are crooked, slightly blurry and badly framed. Your notes get mixed up with your photos, they take up storage space and are not multipage. With SCRIBZEE® and your compatible HAMELIN product, your scan is automatically enhanced by the app, so you get a high-quality result every time: • Accurate framing of the page content, • Vertical and horizontal re-framing of the image, • Optimisation of the contrast and brightness levels Your scanned notes are always clear and fully readable, shareable, enrichable and printable. ◆ SCRIBZEE® FOR LEARNING ◆ Are you in the habit of forgetting your notebook? Have you ever misplaced study cards or had them torn to pieces by your puppy? SCRIBZEE® protects your notes so you can study wherever and whenever you need to on your smartphone. Do you wake up in the morning with study cards strewn all over your bed? Organise your notes by subject in SCRIBZEE® and study in bed using your smartphone. Fed up of seeing more pics of your notes or study cards on your smartphone than photos of your friends? Store your notes in SCRIBZEE® and free up your photo gallery for more important things. Got a friend in need? With SCRIBZEE® share your class notes or study cards with one click (Twitter, Messenger, What’s App). Have you written out so many study cards you don’t know where to start revising? With SCRIBZEE® assign a status (red, orange, green) to each card and keep track of your revision progress. ◆ SCRIBZEE® FOR BUSINESS ◆ Does your job involve long-term projects? Save and access all your notes in SCRIBZEE®. Do you manage lots of different projects? Archive your notes by subject, client or project name and find everything you need with SCRIBZEE®’s search function. Do you frequently attend meetings then need to send out the meeting notes quickly? With SCRIBZEE® no more typing out handwritten notes, just convert to PDF and share instantly. Do you find your notes or meeting minutes easily get mixed up? Keep your notes under control access them faster by linking them to the appointments in your calendar. ◆ SCRIBZEE® IS ALSO ◆ • A free app. • Exclusively available with your favourite HAMELIN notebook. • Includes dedicated, unlimited free cloud storage space. • Totally secure. Your notes are encrypted and only readable by you. • Allows you to create automatic reminders for your important notes. • Add photos from your smartphone to enrich your handwritten notes. • And much more. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal4 screens
SCRIBZEE®4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Bear Markdown Notes & Journal at 4.7 against SCRIBZEE®'s 3.8. Bear Markdown Notes & Journal also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 53%) and ratings volume (6.9K vs 180). SCRIBZEE®'s advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Bear Markdown Notes & Journal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and SCRIBZEE® sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bear Markdown Notes & Journal has 6.9K ratings behind it against 180, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Bear Markdown Notes & Journal's written reviews are positive against 53% of SCRIBZEE®'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal ships an update every 10 days, SCRIBZEE® monthly. Both last shipped on November 2, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Bear Markdown Notes & Journal versus SCRIBZEE®: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBear Markdown Notes & JournalSCRIBZEE®
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6.9K ratings) — better3.8 (180 ratings)
Positive reviews76.9% of reviews — better53.4% of reviews
Number of ratings6.9K — better180
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS1615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size230 MB157 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShiny Frog Ltd.Hamelin SAS

Customer experience

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal

All ratings6,870 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral2.6%
Negative5.8%
Written reviews1,754 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral9.5%
Negative13.7%

SCRIBZEE®

All ratings180 ratings
Positive70.6%
Neutral3.9%
Negative25.6%
Written reviews232 reviews
Positive53.4%
Neutral7.8%
Negative38.8%

User reviews

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal

From 6.9K App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

  • 🔒 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

SCRIBZEE®

From 180 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📚 Convenient digital note storage
  • 🔍 Handwriting search functionality
  • 🗂️ Organized folder structure
  • 💻 Accessible across devices
  • ✍️ Seamless scanning of handwritten notes

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • 🤖 Unreliable handwriting recognition
  • 📁 Limited folder/organization options
  • 🔄 Inconsistent syncing between devices
  • 🔍 Ineffective search capabilities

Bugs and requests

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal

Reported bugs

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

Requested features

5 requests
  • 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

SCRIBZEE®

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App fails to open or get stuck on loading screen
  • Issues with account creation and password reset
  • Scanned notes not saving or disappearing
  • Inconsistent behavior when scanning multiple pages
  • Compatibility problems with certain device models

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add sub-folder support for better organization
  • Improve handwriting recognition accuracy
  • Implement a more user-friendly interface
  • Allow scanning of non-proprietary notebooks
  • Integrate with popular note-taking apps

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Pro subscription7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Yearly Pro subscription7 Days trial$29.991 Year
4 purchases

SCRIBZEE®

Subscriptions4
  • Scribzee+ monthly subscription$3.991 Month
  • Scribzee+ monthly subscription$6.991 Month
  • Scribzee+ annual subscription$24.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Scribzee+ annual subscription$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Bear Markdown Notes & Journal free?
Bear Markdown Notes & Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SCRIBZEE® free?
SCRIBZEE® is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bear Markdown Notes & Journal or SCRIBZEE®?
Bear Markdown Notes & Journal is rated higher. Bear Markdown Notes & Journal averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.9K ratings, while SCRIBZEE® averages 3.8 from 180 ratings.
Do Bear Markdown Notes & Journal or SCRIBZEE® have ads?
Neither Bear Markdown Notes & Journal nor SCRIBZEE® shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bear Markdown Notes & Journal or SCRIBZEE®?
Bear Markdown Notes & Journal ships an update every 10 days, and SCRIBZEE® monthly. Most recently, Bear Markdown Notes & Journal was updated on November 2, 2026 and SCRIBZEE® on November 2, 2026.

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