# Bear vs Metion

The clearest difference is rating: Bear at 4.7 against Metion's 4.3. Bear also leads on ratings volume (6.9K vs 46) and review sentiment (77% vs 60%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bear sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Metion sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Bear holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bear has 6.9K ratings behind it against 46, 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 60% of Metion's.

Bear ships an update every 9 days, Metion every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bear | Metion |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (6.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bear-markdown-notes/id1016366447/reviews)** | [4.3 (46 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/metion-markdown-notes/id1530965242/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **6.9K** | 46 |
| Positive reviews | **76.9% of reviews** | 60.0% 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 | 96 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Shiny Frog Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/527618974) | [Hangzhou Quanduan Technology Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1483142209) |

## 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


### Metion

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/metion-markdown-notes/id1530965242)

This notebook tool prioritizes a superior writing experience using Markdown. It allows you to build knowledge bases, connect notes as networks, and offers a distraction-free Zen Mode. Data is stored freely in plain text files with built-in Git support for synchronization and version history.

**Highlights:** Markdown support, Knowledge base creation, Networked notes, Zen Mode writing, Open filesystem storage, Built-in Git sync, History versioning

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 订阅公众号图片上传中转 | $0.99 | per month |
| Subscribe Pro Extensions | $6.99 | per year |
| Standard Edition (iOS+iPadOS) | $17.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- ✨ Seamless integration with Apple ecosystem
- ✍️ Great writing experience
- 💡 Promising features
- 🎨 Minimalist and aesthetic design
- 🚀 Enhances productivity

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent bugs and crashes
- 📱 Not optimized for phones
- 🗂️ Limited free version features
- 🎨 UI issues and design flaws
- ❌ Syncing problems

**Reported bugs**

- Git sync not working
- iCloud folder cannot be specified
- Writing statistics not visible or crashing
- Custom file sorting not working
- New file creation bug (text pushed up)

**Requested features**

- Optimize for phone usage
- Add Windows version
- Improve Git sync functionality
- Allow specifying iCloud folder
- Restore writing statistics feature


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bear free?

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

### Is Metion free?

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

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

Bear is rated higher. Bear averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.9K ratings, while Metion averages 4.3 from 46 ratings.

### Do Bear or Metion have ads?

Neither Bear nor Metion shows ads.

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

Bear ships an update every 9 days, and Metion every 2 weeks. Most recently, Bear was updated on September 24, 2026 and Metion on September 21, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*