Bear
Ghost
| Feature | Bear | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $2.99/mo | Free / from $9/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.7 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | writers, note-takers, students, apple-users | professional-bloggers, independent-publishers, news-sites, creators |
| Founded | 2016 | 2013 |
| Markdown Editor | ✓ | ✗ |
| Nested Tags | ✓ | ✗ |
| Focus Mode | ✓ | ✗ |
| Export Formats | ✓ | ✗ |
| Themes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cross Note Linking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Publishing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Newsletters | ✗ | ✓ |
| Memberships | ✗ | ✓ |
| Seo | ✗ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Hosting | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Ghost Pros
- Open-source and self-hostable (free)
- Native membership and paid subscription support
- Fast and SEO-friendly by default
- Clean writing experience without bloat
✗ Ghost Cons
- Themes require code knowledge to customize
- Smaller plugin ecosystem than WordPress
- Self-hosting requires technical maintenance
The Verdict
Bear is built for writers and note takers, with a focus on markdown-editor and nested-tags. Ghost targets professional bloggers and independent publishers and leads with publishing and newsletters.
On pricing, Bear is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $2.99/mo compared to $9/mo for Ghost. That $6.01/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.
Feature-wise, Ghost offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Bear takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
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.