Comparison

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal vs Cacha Sign

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

Cacha Sign

Features
Read full description

Your signature. Always with you. Open a PDF or Word (.docx) file, add your signature, and share the result from your iPhone or iPad. Cacha Sign converts Word files to PDF on your device and opens the editor so you can review and sign them. START WHERE YOU RECEIVE YOUR DOCUMENTS • Open a compatible attachment and choose Share > Cacha Sign. • You can also choose a file from iCloud Drive or other providers available in Files. • PDFs open directly in the editor. Word (.docx) files are automatically converted to PDF. • Your original file stays unchanged. YOUR SIGNATURE, STAMPS, AND ANNOTATIONS • Draw your signature with your finger or Apple Pencil, or import an image. • Save multiple signatures and choose a default. • Use built-in stamps or create your own text and image stamps. • Add text and dates. Move, rotate, and resize elements. • Navigate with page thumbnails and zoom controls. REVIEW, SAVE, AND SHARE • Review converted PDFs before signing: formatting may differ from Word. • Available or embedded fonts are preserved when compatible. If a font is unavailable, the editor identifies the substitution. • Keep signed PDFs in your on-device library, find documents, and share through available apps or save to Files. SIGNING AND LOCAL DIGITAL PROOF Authorize signing with Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode. Cacha Sign generates a local, self-signed certificate and a separate digital proof file. Share the PDF together with its .cachasign.json file to verify integrity in Cacha Sign. The local certificate does not establish identity through an external certificate authority. To attribute a proof to a signer, compare its certificate fingerprint through a trusted channel. Signing dates come from the device, without an external timestamp service. This version does not embed PAdES signatures in PDFs or import .p12/.pfx certificates. ON YOUR DEVICE No account required. Word conversion and signing take place locally, without sending your documents to a conversion server. Signatures and documents are stored on your device. Signing keys are protected by device security. Choose English or Spanish in Settings. Word conversion supports .docx, not the older .doc format, and cannot guarantee identical reproduction of complex documents. Export a PDF from Word or Pages if you need to preserve its original appearance. Requires iOS 17 or later. Digital signing requires a configured device passcode.

Screenshots

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal4 screens
Cacha Sign4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Bear Markdown Notes & Journal at Free against Cacha Sign's $4.99. Bear Markdown Notes & Journal also leads on device support (4 vs 2). Cacha Sign's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On update cadence, ads and iOS requirement 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

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal is free to download; Cacha Sign costs $4.99 up front. Bear Markdown Notes & Journal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Cacha Sign asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bear Markdown Notes & Journal ships an update every 10 days, Cacha Sign fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Bear Markdown Notes & Journal versus Cacha Sign: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBear Markdown Notes & JournalCacha Sign
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.7 (6.9K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings6.9K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size263 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShiny Frog Ltd.LUIS ANTONIO HERNANDEZ VERA

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

Cacha Sign

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

Cacha Sign

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 Cacha Sign free?
Cacha Sign costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Bear Markdown Notes & Journal or Cacha Sign have ads?
Neither Bear Markdown Notes & Journal nor Cacha Sign shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bear Markdown Notes & Journal or Cacha Sign?
Bear Markdown Notes & Journal ships an update every 10 days, and Cacha Sign fortnightly. Most recently, Bear Markdown Notes & Journal was updated on November 3, 2026 and Cacha Sign on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons