# Bear Markdown Notes & Journal vs MD Flow

The clearest difference is monetization model: MD Flow at free against Bear Markdown Notes & Journal's freemium. MD Flow also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 77%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Bear Markdown Notes & Journal's advantage is ratings volume (6.9K vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bear Markdown Notes & Journal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and MD Flow sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

MD Flow holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bear Markdown Notes & Journal 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 Markdown Notes & Journal's written reviews are positive against 100% of MD Flow's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bear Markdown Notes & Journal | MD Flow |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (6.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bear-markdown-notes-and-journal/id1016366447/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/md-flow-markdown-reader/id6762501714/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **6.9K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 76.9% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 10 days |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Size | 263 MB | 7 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Shiny Frog Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/527618974) | [Amilcar Zambrano Guevara](https://appshunter.io/developer/1874795319) |

## What reviewers say

### Bear Markdown Notes & Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bear-markdown-notes-and-journal/id1016366447)

Capture, write, and organize your thoughts and ideas with a beautiful and powerful Markdown editor. Create lists, tasks, link notes, and export in various formats. Offers a private and distraction-free writing experience.

**Highlights:** Markdown editor with formatting, Note linking and organization with tags, Task creation and management, Web content clipping, Apple Pencil sketching support, Export to multiple formats, Dictate notes with Apple Watch

**Features:** Safari Extension, Siri integration, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo 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


### MD Flow

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/md-flow-markdown-reader/id6762501714)

Instantly preview Markdown files with syntax-highlighted code, tables, and Mermaid diagrams. Browse folders with a fast interface and export documents to PDF. This app works directly with your existing file structure without indexing or setup.

**Highlights:** Browse folders with intuitive interface, Instant Markdown preview, Syntax-highlighted code blocks, Rendered Mermaid diagrams, Export documents to PDF, Search within current folder, Table of contents navigation

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Support | $1.99 | one-time |
| Medium Support | $3.99 | one-time |
| Large Support | $5.99 | one-time |
| .MD Finder Pro | $7.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bear Markdown Notes & Journal free?

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is MD Flow free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Bear Markdown Notes & Journal or MD Flow?

MD Flow is rated higher. Bear Markdown Notes & Journal averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.9K ratings, while MD Flow averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Bear Markdown Notes & Journal or MD Flow have ads?

Neither Bear Markdown Notes & Journal nor MD Flow shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bear Markdown Notes & Journal or MD Flow?

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal ships an update every 10 days, and MD Flow every 10 days. Most recently, Bear Markdown Notes & Journal was updated on November 11, 2026 and MD Flow on October 31, 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.*