# Bear vs DeeBee

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bear at 77% against DeeBee's 0%. Bear also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.6). 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 DeeBee sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Bear ships an update every 9 days, DeeBee every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bear | DeeBee |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 230 MB | 18 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 17.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Shiny Frog Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/527618974) | [yukihiro iwanaga](https://appshunter.io/developer/1655909981) |

## 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


### DeeBee

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/deebee-database-style-notes/id6444661193)

Create custom note formats with text, images, checklists, and more. Ideal for journaling, tracking progress, or recording impressions. Easily search and filter your entries.

**Highlights:** Customizable note formatting, Support for text, images, and checklists, Calendar integration, Advanced search and filtering, Record ongoing progress

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock all field types | $0.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bear free?

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

### Is DeeBee free?

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

### Do Bear or DeeBee have ads?

Neither Bear nor DeeBee shows ads.

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

Bear ships an update every 9 days, and DeeBee every 2 weeks. Most recently, Bear was updated on September 25, 2026 and DeeBee on June 1, 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.*