# Bear vs Markdown゜

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bear at 77% against Markdown゜'s 31%. Bear also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (6.9K vs 473). Markdown゜'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bear sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Markdown゜ asks for nothing beyond the download.

Bear holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bear has 6.9K ratings behind it against 473, 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 31% of Markdown゜'s.

Bear ships an update every 2 weeks, Markdown゜ every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bear | Markdown゜ |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (6.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bear-markdown-notes/id1016366447/reviews)** | [4.5 (473 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/markdown/id1494902837/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **6.9K** | 473 |
| Positive reviews | **76.8% of reviews** | 30.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Size | 230 MB | 7 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16 | **15.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Shiny Frog Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/527618974) | [Teleprompter LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/823066256) |

## 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


### Markdown゜

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/markdown/id1494902837)

Create and edit Markdown files with a simple yet powerful editor for iOS. Generate PDFs and HTML from your documents, with features like syntax highlighting, line numbers, and autosave. Seamlessly sync with cloud storage and export your work to other apps.

**Highlights:** Create and edit .md files, Export to PDF and HTML, File synchronization (cloud storage), Syntax highlighting and line numbers, Autosave and instant preview, Dark mode and custom fonts

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- ✨ Simple and intuitive interface
- 📄 Good markdown preview functionality
- 🎨 Clean design and lightweight app
- 📤 Easy PDF and HTML export
- ☁️ Cloud storage integration (iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive, NextCloud)

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Cursor jumps to end of document when typing
- 💾 Files fail to save or save unreliably
- ⚠️ Data loss and content disappearing
- 🔄 Reverts to older file versions unexpectedly
- 📱 Mobile network interference with local file editing

**Reported bugs**

- Cursor automatically jumps to end of document after typing any character
- Text content vanishes without explanation
- Files fail to save as .md format
- App gets stuck in error message loop
- Cannot create new files (plus button not working)

**Requested features**

- Word count and character count
- Internal markdown reference
- Table support for markdown
- Code block syntax highlighting
- Auto-save functionality


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bear free?

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

### Is Markdown゜ free?

Markdown゜ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Bear or Markdown゜?

Bear is rated higher. Bear averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.9K ratings, while Markdown゜ averages 4.5 from 473 ratings.

### Do Bear or Markdown゜ have ads?

Neither Bear nor Markdown゜ shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bear or Markdown゜?

Bear ships an update every 2 weeks, and Markdown゜ every 6 weeks. Most recently, Bear was updated on October 13, 2026 and Markdown゜ on October 9, 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.*