Bear
Tana
| Feature | Bear | Tana |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $2.99/mo | Free / from $12/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | apple-users, writers, students, developers | power-users, researchers, knowledge-workers, systems-thinkers |
| Founded | 2016 | 2020 |
| Markdown | ✓ | ✗ |
| Nested Tags | ✓ | ✗ |
| Themes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Export Options | ✓ | ✗ |
| Focus Mode | ✓ | ✗ |
| Apple Watch | ✓ | ✗ |
| Supertags | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai Commands | ✗ | ✓ |
| Live Queries | ✗ | ✓ |
| Views | ✗ | ✓ |
| Node Graph | ✗ | ✓ |
| Daily Notes | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Bear Pros
- Beautiful design
- Markdown support
- Nested tags
- Fast search
✗ Bear Cons
- Apple only
- No collaboration
- Limited free features
✓ Tana Pros
- Supertags create structured data effortlessly
- Powerful AI-powered search and commands
- Everything is queryable and linked
- Flexible views (table, board, calendar)
✗ Tana Cons
- Steep learning curve
- No mobile app yet
- Still in development (features changing)
The Verdict
Bear is built for apple users and writers, with a focus on markdown and nested-tags. Tana targets power users and researchers and leads with supertags and ai-commands.
On pricing, Bear is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $2.99/mo compared to $12/mo for Tana. That $9.01/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.