Comparison

Bear vs Meeting Notes & Work Planner

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

Head to head
About

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.

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

Meeting Notes & Work Planner

Capture your thoughts and ideas with a versatile note-taking app. Easily create handwritten notes, add images, and convert speech to text. Organize your content with folders and sync across devices.

Highlights
  • Handwritten note creation
  • Image integration
  • Speech-to-text conversion
  • Drawing and doodling tools
  • Folder organization
  • Cloud synchronization
Features
Read full description

Don’t work hard, work smarter! Document all your classes or meetings with the awesome tools SketchNotes brings to you. CREATE EASY NOTES AND ADD IMAGES • Create customizable notes, and write anything you want in an easy, yet really helpful note that will make almost impossible to forget homeworks and projects QUICK SPEECH TO TEXT TOOL • If your teacher or partners are talking fast, use the Speech to text tool and save all the highlights lessons. You won’t even have to write anything. PERSONALIZE AND SHARE • Set your creativity free. Use our pencils, sharpies and shapes to draw doodles, funnels or anything that comes to your mind. ORGANIZE AND SYNC • Create folders and subfolders to make sure you will find the information you need whenever you want • Sync your notes on the cloud Price of subscription: - 3 day free trial then $9.99 per month Terms of use: https://giantbrainsllc.wordpress.com/terms-of-use/ Privacy Policies: https://giantbrainsllc.wordpress.com/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

Bear4 screens
Meeting Notes & Work Planner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Bear at 4.7 against Meeting Notes & Work Planner's 4.1. Bear also leads on monetization model (freemium vs subscription) and review sentiment (77% vs 66%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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 sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Meeting Notes & Work Planner sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bear holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. 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 66% of Meeting Notes & Work Planner's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bear ships an update every 9 days, Meeting Notes & Work Planner every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Bear versus Meeting Notes & Work Planner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBearMeeting Notes & Work Planner
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6.9K ratings) — better4.1 (1.9K ratings)
Positive reviews76.9% of reviews — better65.8% of reviews
Number of ratings6.9K — better1.9K
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.614.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size230 MB66 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShiny Frog Ltd.Giant Brains

Customer experience

Bear

All ratings6,858 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral2.6%
Negative5.8%
Written reviews1,752 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral9.5%
Negative13.6%

Meeting Notes & Work Planner

All ratings1,929 ratings
Positive75.1%
Neutral7.9%
Negative17.0%
Written reviews257 reviews
Positive65.8%
Neutral9.3%
Negative24.9%

User reviews

Bear

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

Meeting Notes & Work Planner

From 1.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Simple and straightforward
  • 💡 Helpful for organizing notes
  • 👍 Good for handwritten notes

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 🔒 Concerns about security and privacy
  • 👎 Confusing interface and navigation
  • 🤖 Annoying pop-ups asking for reviews

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

Meeting Notes & Work Planner

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notes getting deleted unexpectedly
  • Inability to edit or move images
  • Syncing issues across devices
  • Freezing and performance problems

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more customization options
  • Improve stability and reliability
  • Provide better support and documentation
  • Allow more flexibility in note-taking

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bear

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

Meeting Notes & Work Planner

Subscriptions5
  • Weekly Subscription3 Days trial$1.997 Days
  • New Monthly Subscription$9.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription$9.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Yearly3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Bear free?
Bear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Meeting Notes & Work Planner free?
Meeting Notes & Work Planner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bear or Meeting Notes & Work Planner?
Bear is rated higher. Bear averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.9K ratings, while Meeting Notes & Work Planner averages 4.1 from 1.9K ratings.
Do Bear or Meeting Notes & Work Planner have ads?
Neither Bear nor Meeting Notes & Work Planner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bear or Meeting Notes & Work Planner?
Bear ships an update every 9 days, and Meeting Notes & Work Planner every 3 weeks. Most recently, Bear was updated on September 24, 2026 and Meeting Notes & Work Planner on September 22, 2026.

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