# Bear vs InkSpace

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Bear at 6.9K against InkSpace's 10. Bear also leads on monetization model (freemium vs paid) and device support (4 vs 2). InkSpace's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 77%). 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 InkSpace sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. 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 InkSpace. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bear has 6.9K ratings behind it against 10, 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 100% of InkSpace's.

Bear ships an update every 2 weeks, InkSpace every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bear | InkSpace |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (6.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bear-markdown-notes/id1016366447/reviews)** | [4.6 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inkspace/id6741228360/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **6.9K** | 10 |
| Positive reviews | 76.8% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | **Freemium** | Paid |
| Size | 230 MB | 67 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Shiny Frog Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/527618974) | [Tyler Sherman](https://appshunter.io/developer/598091745) |

## 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


### InkSpace

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inkspace/id6741228360)

This digital notebook app offers complete creative freedom for note-taking, brainstorming, sketching, and journaling. Customize notebooks with various templates, page styles, and colors. Organize and access notes seamlessly across devices, with offline functionality.

**Highlights:** Unlimited custom notebooks, Write, draw, and sketch with stylus support, Insert custom shapes, text, and media, Searchable tags and bookmarks, Sync across all devices, Offline functionality

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

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fitness Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| Finance Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| Handwriting Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| Planner Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| Teaching Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| Journal Pack | $0.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bear free?

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

### Is InkSpace free?

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

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

Bear is rated higher. Bear averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.9K ratings, while InkSpace averages 4.6 from 10 ratings.

### Do Bear or InkSpace have ads?

Neither Bear nor InkSpace shows ads.

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

Bear ships an update every 2 weeks, and InkSpace every 10 days. Most recently, Bear was updated on October 13, 2026 and InkSpace on October 8, 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.*