Bear vs MindNode
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bear
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.
- Distraction-free writing environment
- Flexible Markdown formatting
- Tag-based organization
- Task management
- Note linking (WikiLinks)
- Web clipping extension
- Apple Pencil sketching
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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/
MindNode
Capture, organize, and visualize your thoughts and ideas. This app allows you to brainstorm, structure complex projects, and share your vision in various formats. Stay productive across all your devices with seamless iCloud integration.
- Capture thoughts as text, images, links, or tasks
- Organize ideas with hierarchical outlines and mind maps
- Style mind maps with themes and stickers
- Export ideas to various formats
- Cross-platform productivity with iCloud sync
- Focus Mode and foldable branches for organization
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Every great idea starts with a single thought. And another. And then a million more. MindNode is the most delightful brainstorming app for Mac and iOS. It helps you capture your thoughts and create a clear picture of your idea. Featured as Apple’s “App of the Day” & “Editors’ Choice” WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND? • Capture Your Thoughts Whether as words, images, links, tasks, or notes, capture your thoughts in any form. Create an outline for an organized, hierarchical view, and observe how it grows as a mind map. Use the mind map to visually rearrange nodes and add new thoughts. MindNode is the right tool to get your ideas out of your head the way you want to. • Organize Your Idea Your document reflects your ever-changing understanding of an idea as you add and adjust thoughts. Move, tag, connect, detach, and reconnect as often as you like. Mind map and outline side-by-side. Concentrate on one thought at a time with Focus Mode, Visual Tags, and foldable branches. • Style Your Mind Map Personalize your document with beautiful out-of-the-box themes and custom stickers. Make your mind map look just right by styling every detail. With Smart Layout your idea will always look fantastic. • Share Your Vision Easily share your documents with others or move them one step further in your creative process. Send tasks to Apple Reminders, Things, or OmniFocus. Export your idea as text, image, and to many other file formats. STAY PRODUCTIVE WHEREVER YOU GO Whether it’s on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, with MindNode, you stay productive wherever you are. Store your files on iCloud Drive and access them on all your devices. FREE EDITOR Use MindNode for free to capture your ideas with actions like editing, rearranging, and folding nodes, as well as importing and exporting files. • Capture: grow your thoughts into fully-fledged ideas • Fold branches: keep your documents organized • Import: FreeMind, MindManager, iThoughts, plain text, RTF, CSV, OPML, Markdown, TextBundle • Export: plain text, RTF, CSV, OPML, PDF, PNG image, Markdown, TextBundle, TaskPaper, FreeMind MINDNODE PLUS MindNode Plus is a cross-platform subscription for your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It unlocks all of MindNode’s features like Outlining, Visual Tags, Focus Mode, Notes, Themes, Stickers, Connections, and much more. MindNode Plus is available as a monthly and a yearly subscription. Try out all of MindNode’s features with a free 14-day trial. • Collect everything: add text, images, and links to nodes • Outlining: create your document using a hierarchical, organized approach • Visual Tags: tag your thoughts for more context, highlight tags to see new relationships • Notes: keep your mind map easy to read without losing a single detail • Connections: connect nodes on different branches • Tasks: turn your thoughts into actions • Quick Entry: just start typing to collect thoughts • Themes: beautiful out-of-the-box themes and unlimited personal themes • Images: insert your own images and annotate them • Stickers: 260+ hand-crafted stickers with adjustable colors • Styling: rich styling options for every single part of your mind map • Layouts: top-down and horizontal • Focus Mode: put a spotlight on a single branch • Dark Mode: for when your thoughts come at night • Share Tasks: to Apple Reminders, Things, and OmniFocus WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT MINDNODE “The app keeps out of your way, so it doesn’t interrupt your thought processes.” – New York Times “An app on the cutting edge of iOS design and technologies.” – MacStories “Slowly grow and track your ideas, connecting nodes to help you better conceptualize your idea or thoughts.” – BusinessInsider QUESTIONS? Reach out to us at support@mindnode.com and on Twitter (@mindnode). Let us know if you have any questions or issues. We’re always glad to help. Terms of Service: https://mindnode.com/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Bear at none against MindNode's shown. Bear also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 6 weeks) and review sentiment (77% vs 59%). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Bear sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and MindNode sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Bear holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6.9K and 1.9K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Bear's written reviews are positive against 59% of MindNode's.
Bear ships an update every 9 days, MindNode every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bear | MindNode |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (6.9K ratings) — better | 4.5 (1.9K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 76.8% of reviews — better | 59.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6.9K — better | 1.9K |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 230 MB | 390 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shiny Frog Ltd. | IdeasOnCanvas GmbH |
Customer experience
Bear
MindNode
User reviews
Bear
From 6.9K App Store ratingsWhat 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
MindNode
From 1.9K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Smooth and intuitive interface
- 🧠 Excellent for organizing thoughts and ideas
- 🌐 Seamless sync across devices
- 💻 Great for both personal and professional use
- 🎨 Beautiful and customizable themes
Room to improve
- 💰 Subscription model frustrates some users
- 🔒 Locked features behind paywall
- 🐛 Occasional sync and stability issues
- 🔀 Limited layout and connection options
Bugs and requests
Bear
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
MindNode
Reported bugs
3 issues- Files disappearing or becoming corrupted
- App crashing after recent updates
- Inability to restore previous purchases
Requested features
4 requests- Add audio recording capability
- Improve handwriting and Apple Pencil support
- Allow more flexible node connections and layouts
- Provide a one-time purchase option
In-app purchases
Bear
- Monthly Pro subscription7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Yearly Pro subscription7 Days trial$29.991 Year
MindNode
- Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Yearly Subscription6 Months trial$24.991 Year
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- Yearly Subscription1 Year trial$24.991 Year









