# Bear vs Versatile Notes

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bear at 77% against Versatile Notes's 0%. Bear also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months). Versatile Notes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

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

Bear ships an update every 9 days, Versatile Notes every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bear | Versatile Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (6.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bear-markdown-notes/id1016366447/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **6.9K** | — |
| Positive reviews | **76.8% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Ad-supported** |
| Size | 230 MB | 37 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Shiny Frog Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/527618974) | [NAOAKI SEKIGUCHI](https://appshunter.io/developer/1146328819) |

## 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


### Versatile Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/versatile-notes/id1497894237)

This app functions as a versatile database for storing essential business data, including text, files, images, videos, PDFs, and secure password information. Its powerful search capabilities allow for instant retrieval of even large amounts of data, and data can be organized into groups for efficient management. It also supports iCloud syncing for seamless sharing across Apple devices.

**Highlights:** Store text, images, videos, PDFs, Securely save IDs and passwords, Organize data into groups, Powerful search with AND/OR options, iCloud syncing across Apple devices, Apple Watch compatibility for data display

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bear free?

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

### Is Versatile Notes free?

Versatile Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Bear or Versatile Notes have ads?

Versatile Notes shows ads; Bear does not.

### Which is updated more often, Bear or Versatile Notes?

Bear ships an update every 9 days, and Versatile Notes every 2 months. Most recently, Bear was updated on September 28, 2026 and Versatile Notes on September 18, 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.*