Comparison

Bear vs Once Again

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Bear

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
Read full description

Bear is a beautiful, powerfully simple Markdown app to capture, write, and organize your life. ​ Take notes, plan your day, journal thoughts, organize tables, create lists and tasks, sketch ideas, link notes together, write a book, and much more. Bear is used by writers, lawyers, chefs, CEOs, teachers, doctors, engineers, students, parents.. you get the picture. Getting started couldn’t be faster—no signup and no account. Just open a note and write naturally. ​ "My journaling app of choice is Bear" - Kit Eaton, New York Times ​ * 2017 Apple Design Award * 2016 App Store App of the Year * Editors' choice for 7 consecutive years * Most of our parents love it ​ ## BEAUTIFUL. SIMPLE. POWERFUL. PRIVATE - Tools stay out of your way so you can just write - Sketch ideas on iPad with an extendable canvas and Apple Pencil (and other styli) - Clip web pages and other content with Bear’s app extension - The redesigned Info Panel now with Table of Contents and Backlinks - Use Apple Watch to dictate and append to recent notes - Support for all the scripts including RTL languages like Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian - Easily create notes with Siri and Shortcuts - Your notes, not ours - Bear is private at its core: We cannot see your notes, tags, or anything else ​ ## FLEXIBLE MARKDOWN ​ - Work in plain text - easy to move between apps - Still use formatting like bold, italics, strikethrough, links, tables, and more with Markdown - Combine text styles like bold and underline, even in headings - Markdown hides for a clean reading experience - Use WikiLinks to connect notes and build a personal wiki or knowledge management tool ​ ## GET ORGANIZED with #tags, tasks, and more ​ - Add #tags, #multi-word tags# and even #multiple/nested/tags anywhere in a note for quick organization - Pin important tags to the top of the Sidebar - Make important tags stand out in the Sidebar with TagCons - Add tasks to notes and easily view all notes that include tasks - Fold sections to get them out of the way ​ ## SHARING MADE EASY ​ - Export notes to plain text, Markdown, TextBundle, Bear note, and rich text - Export notes to HTML, DocX, PDF, JPG, and ePub (Bear Pro required) - Easily share your notes to any third-party app with the Share Sheet ​ ## SEARCH FAR AND WIDE ​ - Use Spotlight to search your notes from anywhere - Search for text inside photos and PDFs (Bear Pro required) - Focus on specific types of notes with powerful Special Searches like @todo, @images, and @yesterday ​ ## CREATE YOUR COZY SPACE ​ * Pick from nearly 30 themes for the perfect writing space in both Light and Dark Mode (Bear Pro required) * Choose an app icon that speaks to your personality (Bear Pro required) * Set your own fonts for plain text, headings, and code * Set line height and width, paragraph spacing, and more ​ ## GET MORE WITH BEAR PRO ​ One subscription enables a variety of features on all your devices and keeps the Bear hugs coming. ​ - Sync notes between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac via iCloud - Encrypt individual notes with a password that is entirely private to you - Lock Bear with Face/Touch ID - Export to more formats including HTML, DocX, PDF, JPG, and ePub - Search for text inside images and PDFs in Bear notes - Over 30 beautiful app themes & app icons ​ $2.99 monthly $29.99 yearly 14-day free trial ​ ----- Price may vary by location. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your App Store account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You will not be able to cancel the subscription once activated. After purchase, manage your subscriptions in App Store Account Settings. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. ----- ​ bear@shinyfrog.net Twitter: BearNotesApp Reddit: reddit.com/r/BearApp Facebook: BearNotes Instagram: BearNotesApp Privacy Policy: http://www.bear.app/privacy/ Terms of Service: http://www.bear.app/terms/

About

Once Again

This app helps you remember recurring tasks like home maintenance or personal care. It intelligently reschedules reminders based on when you complete a task, keeping your life organized and preventing forgotten chores.

Highlights
  • Smart rescheduling of tasks
  • Organized task categories
  • Customizable notifications
  • Unlimited task tracking with purchase
  • Automatic deadline adjustment
Features
Read full description

Stop Forgetting the Stuff That Matters. Do you struggle to keep track of those recurring chores that slip through the cracks? From changing air filters every three months to checking engine oil or swapping contact lenses, life is full of maintenance tasks that are easy to forget—until it’s too late. Once Again is the smart recurring task manager designed to keep your life running smoothly. Unlike standard to-do lists, our intelligent reminders automatically reschedule themselves the moment you mark a task complete. Key Features: - Smart Rescheduling: Finished a task late or early? We adjust the next deadline automatically so you don't have to. - Organized Categories: Keep home maintenance, car care, and personal health separate and clutter-free. - Custom Notifications: Get nudged exactly when you need to be, ensuring you remember when you need it. Pricing: Once Again is free to use for tracking up to 5 items. You can unlock unlimited items with a single, one-time In-App Purchase. Spare your brain. Let Once Again track the deadlines.

Screenshots

Bear4 screens
Once Again4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Bear at 6.9K against Once Again's 1. Bear also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 weeks) and device support (4 vs 2). Once Again's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 77%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Bear sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Once Again sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Once Again holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bear has 6.9K ratings behind it against 1, 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 100% of Once Again's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bear ships an update every 2 weeks, Once Again every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Bear versus Once Again: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBearOnce Again
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6.9K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6.9K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size230 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShiny Frog Ltd.Creative Jaguar

Customer experience

Bear

All ratings6,871 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral2.6%
Negative5.8%
Written reviews1,754 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral9.5%
Negative13.7%

Once Again

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Bear

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Sync issues causing note conflicts and data loss
  • Cursor jumping and input issues on iPad
  • Inconsistent behavior when importing/exporting content

Requested features

5 requests
  • 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

Once Again

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bear

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Pro subscription7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Yearly Pro subscription7 Days trial$29.991 Year
1 purchases

Once Again

One-time1
  • Premium Upgrade$1.99

Questions

Is Bear free?
Bear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Once Again free?
Once Again is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bear or Once Again?
Once Again is rated higher. Bear averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.9K ratings, while Once Again averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Bear or Once Again have ads?
Neither Bear nor Once Again shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bear or Once Again?
Bear ships an update every 2 weeks, and Once Again every 3 weeks. Most recently, Bear was updated on October 15, 2026 and Once Again on October 6, 2026.

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