Comparison

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal vs Markling

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

Head to head
About

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal

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

Markling

Read full description

Make room for your next idea. Markling is a Markdown editor for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro. Open a file, shape your thoughts, and see your writing take form. WRITE YOUR WAY Edit the Markdown source with syntax highlighting, formatting tools, line numbers, find and replace, and Undo/Redo. Or select and edit directly in Preview: the Markdown around your selection appears as you work, then returns to its rendered style. READ WITH CLARITY Preview headings, lists, tables, task checkboxes, code, and images. Jump between sections with the outline. Choose a preview theme, adjust the text size, or settle into focus mode. Light and dark appearances are included. SPACE WHEN YOU NEED IT iPhone and narrow windows keep Edit and Preview one tap apart. On iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro, wider windows add Split view with an adjustable divider and synchronized scrolling. KEEP YOUR OWN FILES Open documents from Files, iCloud Drive, or other available file providers. Browse a folder as a workspace and return to documents through Recent Files. Your writing stays in ordinary Markdown files. On Mac, use the native Save and Save As commands; mobile documents save changes in place. Access follows the permissions of your chosen file provider. DIAGRAMS AND MATH Preview Mermaid diagrams, inline and display LaTeX math, and footnotes using libraries included in the app. No online rendering service is required. Remote HTTPS images need a network connection. SHARE THE RESULT Export paginated PDF or standalone HTML, or use system printing. Diagrams and math render in HTML and PDF, with readable fallback for invalid source. PDF can include accessible HTTPS images. FREE MOBILE. ONE-TIME MAC UNLOCK. iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro are free. On Mac, start a free 14-day trial of all editing features, then unlock Mac editing with a one-time in-app purchase. There is no subscription or automatic charge after the trial. The purchase screen shows your local price. Restore your purchase on your other Macs using the same App Store account. After the Mac trial ends, you can still open, read, copy, and export documents, and save outstanding edits. Creating and editing documents requires the Mac unlock. Your files remain yours. No Markling account or ads. Questions? Contact mihail.duchev@icloud.com.

Screenshots

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal4 screens
Markling4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Markling at none against Bear Markdown Notes & Journal's 2. Markling also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 10 days). Bear Markdown Notes & Journal's advantage is iOS requirement (16 vs 18.0). On price, ads and device support 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 Markdown Notes & Journal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Markling asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal ships an update every 10 days, Markling every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Bear Markdown Notes & Journal versus Markling: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBear Markdown Notes & JournalMarkling
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6.9K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings6.9K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro
Requires iOS16 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size230 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShiny Frog Ltd.MIHAIL PLAMENOV DUCHEV

Bugs and requests

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal

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

Markling

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Pro subscription7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Yearly Pro subscription7 Days trial$29.991 Year
None

Markling

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bear Markdown Notes & Journal free?
Bear Markdown Notes & Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Markling free?
Markling is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Bear Markdown Notes & Journal or Markling have ads?
Neither Bear Markdown Notes & Journal nor Markling shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bear Markdown Notes & Journal or Markling?
Bear Markdown Notes & Journal ships an update every 10 days, and Markling every 3 days. Most recently, Bear Markdown Notes & Journal was updated on October 24, 2026 and Markling on October 9, 2026.

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