# Evernote vs Bear

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bear at 77% against Evernote's 51%. Bear also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.4). Evernote's advantage is ratings volume (78K vs 6.9K) and chart position (#21 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Evernote sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $13.95 per month and Bear sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Bear holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Evernote has 78K ratings behind it against 6.9K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 51% of Evernote's written reviews are positive against 77% of Bear's.

Evernote ships an update weekly, Bear every 9 days. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Evernote | Bear |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (78K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/evernote-ai-notes-and-notebook/id281796108/reviews) | **[4.7 (6.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bear-markdown-notes/id1016366447/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **78K** | 6.9K |
| Positive reviews | 51.1% of reviews | **76.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 9 days |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#21** | — |
| Size | 329 MB | 230 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.1** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Evernote Corporation](https://appshunter.io/developer/281796111) | [Shiny Frog Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/527618974) |

## What reviewers say

### Evernote

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/evernote-ai-notes-and-notebook/id281796108)

**Currently charting:** #21 Top Grossing · Productivity, #206 Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)

Capture ideas, organize notes, and manage tasks across all your devices. This app helps you tame distractions and accomplish more by bringing your to-dos, schedule, and important information together in one searchable place.

**Highlights:** Capture ideas as searchable notes, Create to-do lists with reminders, Organize with notebooks and tags, Scan and digitize paper documents, Sync across all devices, Integrate with Google Calendar, Web clipping for articles

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Evernote Plus | $13.95 | per month |
| Evernote Plus | $15.00 | per month |
| Evernote Premium | $17.49 | per month |
| Evernote Personal | $17.49 | per month |
| Evernote Personal | $17.49 | per month |
| Monthly Personal Plan | $17.49 | per month |
| Evernote Personal Monthly | $17.49 | per month |
| Evernote Personal Monthly | $22.00 | per month |
| Evernote Premium | $169.00 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 High quality notes app
- 🔒 Secure and reliable
- 👍 Useful features and integrations
- 👍 Powerful search and organization
- 👍 Seamless cross-device sync

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and unreliable on mobile
- 🔒 Security and privacy concerns
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 👎 Declining quality and customer support
- 👎 Aggressive upselling and limitations on free version

**Reported bugs**

- Notes not saving properly
- Sync issues between devices
- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Search functionality not working as expected
- Inability to access notes after subscription changes

**Requested features**

- Improved mobile app performance and stability
- Enhanced security features like encryption and two-factor authentication
- More flexible and affordable subscription options
- Better customer support and communication
- Expanded formatting and customization options


### Bear

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

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:** Safari Extension, Siri integration, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Evernote free?

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

### Is Bear free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Evernote or Bear?

Bear is rated higher. Evernote averages 4.4 out of 5 from 78K ratings, while Bear averages 4.7 from 6.9K ratings.

### Do Evernote or Bear have ads?

Neither Evernote nor Bear shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Evernote or Bear?

Evernote ships an update weekly, and Bear every 9 days. Most recently, Evernote was updated on September 24, 2026 and Bear on September 24, 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.*