Comparison

Bear vs MinT

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

MinT

Read full description

MinT is not a Pomodoro timer, or another timer that starts after you have already decided to focus. It is an app blocker built to help you quit using your phone on autopilot. A Pomodoro asks you to decide, “I am starting now.” A regular timer only tells you how much time has passed. But the moment that trips many of us up happens earlier: Before you have formed a thought, your hand has already opened a short-video, social, shopping, or news app. By the time you notice, ten minutes are gone and the thing you meant to start is still waiting. That is the moment MinT protects. It creates a small but real space between your finger and the feed, giving awareness time to catch up. Remember why you picked up your phone, then choose: open with a purpose or stop here. HOW AN APP OPEN BECOMES A CHOICE AGAIN Choose the app that pulls you in most easily. The next time you open it, Apple's Screen Time shield catches the action before the feed appears. It shows today's opening and usage context so you can recognize the impulse. If you really need the app, choose a clear amount of time and turn the ring clockwise. Finish the ritual and MinT opens a temporary access window. When the time ends, protection returns automatically. Halfway through, you may realize, “I do not actually want to scroll. I just do not want to face what is in front of me.” Open Tasks instead and carry that existing momentum into one smaller, easier first action. That is what awareness means in MinT. It is not a message telling you to use your phone less. It is the feeling of having a choice again at the exact moment an impulse occurs. WHY A RING YOU HAVE TO TURN Ordinary pop-ups quickly become muscle memory: appear, dismiss, continue. MinT's ring asks for a continuous physical action. One-way rotation removes extra decisions, while tactile feedback gives restless fingers somewhere else to land. You do not need to be fast or perfect. Briefly lifting your finger does not erase all your effort. There is no puzzle or lecture, only a moment of being present. If you are restless, easily distracted, or recognize ADHD traits in yourself, stillness can be a burden. MinT lets the body move first, then brings awareness back. QUIT THE MOMENT YOU “COME TO” AFTER TEN MINUTES OF SCROLLING MinT does not demand that you never watch another short video, or pretend every kind of entertainment is wrong. You can enter with a purpose, decide how long you need, or change your mind when awareness returns. Over time, the habit you are breaking is not just one app. It is the automatic path of opening without choosing. MinT keeps that awareness with you through: • Countdowns, Live Activities, and Dynamic Island keep remaining time visible. • Halfway reminders bring back the purpose of the open. • Fixed-time or Screen Time usage modes restore protection by time or actual usage. • Per-app controls set the ritual, duration, and intervention strength. • Progressive pressure can make repeated opens require more effort. • Free Start uses the ring without opening a protected app. • Deep Focus keeps protected apps locked for a chosen period. • Tasks turn a reminder, event, or personal prompt into one small next step. • Local insights separate access-window time from actual usage. • Gentle nudges and quiet themes reduce stimulation and shame. If you often know what to do but cannot begin; if your hand regularly moves faster than your mind; if limits, reminders, and timers have not stopped the automatic open, MinT is designed for that missing moment of awareness. The free version protects one app. MinT Pro unlocks multiple protected apps, full personalization, and advanced on-device insights. MinT does not diagnose or treat ADHD and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Quitting mindless phone use does not have to be a war with yourself. Before the next open, let awareness return. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Bear4 screens
MinT4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Bear at 4 against MinT's 1. Bear also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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 MinT sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Bear versus MinT: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBearMinT
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6.9K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings6.9K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size230 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShiny Frog Ltd.上海半塘信息技术有限公司

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

MinT

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
3 purchases

MinT

Subscriptions2
  • MinT Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • MinT Pro Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • MinT Pro Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Bear free?
Bear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MinT free?
MinT is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Bear or MinT have ads?
Neither Bear nor MinT shows ads.

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