# Bear vs Allume

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Bear at 6.9K against Allume's 332. Bear also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 64%). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bear sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Allume sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Bear against 4.6 for Allume. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bear has 6.9K ratings behind it against 332, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of Bear's written reviews are positive against 64% of Allume's.

Bear ships an update every 9 days, Allume every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bear | Allume |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (6.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bear-markdown-notes/id1016366447/reviews)** | [4.6 (332 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/allume-for-focused-thinking/id1501563902/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **6.9K** | 332 |
| Positive reviews | **76.9% of reviews** | 64.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 230 MB | 100 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Shiny Frog Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/527618974) | [Milestone Made, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1476538400) |

## 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


### Allume

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/allume-for-focused-thinking/id1501563902)

This app provides a digital canvas for organizing thoughts and ideas. It allows users to create nested boards, link content, and combine various media types like text, images, and PDFs. Collaborate with others in real-time on shared workspaces.

**Highlights:** Nested boards for deep ideation, Linked cards for referencing, Remixing content from PDFs and images, Unified canvas for text, ink, and files, Real-time collaboration with shared workspaces, PDF annotation and export

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited membership, monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Pro membership, monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Unlimited membership, yearly | $99.99 | per year |
| Pro membership, yearly | $99.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Organize ideas and information
- 🚀 Unique and very cool features
- 👍 Indispensable app - incredibly well designed
- 👍 Great thinking and creative tool
- 👍 Exceptional app

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Too expensive subscription price
- 🔒 Lack of privacy of user data
- 🔒 Requires email to try
- 🐛 Bugs are prevalent
- 🔒 Outrageous pricing

**Reported bugs**

- Eraser size issues
- Undo history reset when navigating between boards
- Crashes when erasing large areas
- Syncing issues between devices
- iPhone app not usable without iPad or Mac

**Requested features**

- More pen color and workspace options
- Zoom in/out within a board
- Search functionality
- Checklists
- Support for pen tablets on Mac


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bear free?

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

### Is Allume free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Bear or Allume?

Bear is rated higher. Bear averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.9K ratings, while Allume averages 4.6 from 332 ratings.

### Do Bear or Allume have ads?

Neither Bear nor Allume shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bear or Allume?

Bear ships an update every 9 days, and Allume every 2 weeks. Most recently, Bear was updated on September 24, 2026 and Allume on September 24, 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.*