Bear
Evernote
| Feature | Bear | Evernote |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $2.99/mo | Free / from $10.83/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.7 / 5 | 3.8 / 5 |
| Best For | writers, note-takers, students, apple-users | note-takers, researchers, professionals, knowledge-workers |
| Founded | 2016 | 2004 |
| Markdown Editor | ✓ | ✗ |
| Nested Tags | ✓ | ✗ |
| Focus Mode | ✓ | ✗ |
| Export Formats | ✓ | ✗ |
| Themes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cross Note Linking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Notes | ✗ | ✓ |
| Web Clipper | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ocr | ✗ | ✓ |
| Notebooks | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tags | ✗ | ✓ |
| Search | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Bear Pros
- Gorgeous design
- Flexible tag system
- Supports Markdown
- Very affordable Pro plan
✗ Bear Cons
- Apple only (no Windows/Android)
- Limited collaboration
- No web version
✓ Evernote Pros
- Great web clipper
- OCR for images
- Cross-platform
- Long track record
✗ Evernote Cons
- Expensive
- Feels outdated
- Very limited free plan (50 notes)
- Performance issues
The Verdict
Bear is built for writers and note takers, with a focus on markdown-editor and nested-tags. Evernote targets note takers and researchers and leads with notes and web-clipper.
On pricing, Bear is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $2.99/mo compared to $10.83/mo for Evernote. That $7.84/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.
Bear edges out on user ratings (4.7 vs 3.8). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Both tools are a solid fit for note takers — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: Bear has a slight overall edge — but if great web clipper matters most to you, Evernote may still be the right call.
