Comparison

Bear vs GitWriter

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

GitWriter

This app provides a mobile Markdown editor integrated with Git repositories. It allows users to write, edit, and sync Markdown files directly from their iPhone or iPad, offering features like version control, offline editing, and export options.

Highlights
  • Edit Markdown files with distraction-free interface
  • Git repository integration with OAuth login
  • Offline editing and background sync
  • Version history and revert functionality
  • Export Markdown to Word documents
  • Create new branches and files on mobile
Read full description

Get the mobile Markdown editor for your Git repositories. Write and edit Markdown files directly on your iPhone or iPad, synced with your repositories. Perfect for writers, developers, and content creators who want to capture ideas and collaborate on the go. Write and edit ● Edit Markdown files with a clean, distraction-free interface ● Choose from multiple fonts (sans-serif, serif, monospace) for comfortable writing ● Track word and character count with built-in stats ● Undo and redo changes with full editor support ● Auto-save your work as you type Repository integration ● Browse your Git repositories with secure OAuth login ● Navigate through branches to find exactly what you're looking for ● Create new branches and files directly from your mobile device ● View version history and revert to previous versions ● Sync changes automatically with real-time conflict resolution Write anywhere, anytime ● Save files for offline editing when you're without internet ● Background sync queue uploads your changes when you're back online ● Manage offline cache with easy swipe-to-delete ● Continue writing on planes, trains, or anywhere life takes you Export and share ● Export Markdown files to Word documents ● Share files directly from the app ● Access your writing from any device through your Git repositories Upgrade to GitWriter Backer (available in select countries) ● Create new files and branches on the go ● Save unlimited files for offline editing ● Access full version history and revert to any commit ● Export to Word documents ● Remove file restrictions and edit any file in your repos Note: If you subscribe via Apple, payment will be charged to App Store Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period at the rate of the selected plan. Subscriptions and auto-renewal may be managed by going to Account Settings after purchase. Privacy policy: https://gitwriter.io/privacy

Screenshots

Bear4 screens
GitWriter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bear at 77% against GitWriter's 0%. Bear also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.0) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months). 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 GitWriter sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bear holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.0. 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 0% of GitWriter's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bear ships an update every 2 weeks, GitWriter every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Bear versus GitWriter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBearGitWriter
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6.9K ratings) — better2.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews76.8% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings6.9K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac
Requires iOS1615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size230 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShiny Frog Ltd.Anthony Brooks

Customer experience

Bear

All ratings6,871 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral2.6%
Negative5.8%
Written reviews1,753 reviews
Positive76.8%
Neutral9.5%
Negative13.7%

GitWriter

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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

GitWriter

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
2 purchases

GitWriter

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Backer$1.991 Month
  • Yearly Backer$14.991 Year

Questions

Is Bear free?
Bear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is GitWriter free?
GitWriter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bear or GitWriter?
Bear is rated higher. Bear averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.9K ratings, while GitWriter averages 2.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Bear or GitWriter have ads?
Neither Bear nor GitWriter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bear or GitWriter?
Bear ships an update every 2 weeks, and GitWriter every 4 months. Most recently, Bear was updated on October 13, 2026 and GitWriter on October 11, 2026.

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