Why switch from Bear?

Bear is one of the best-designed notes apps on the Mac. People look elsewhere for three reasons: the useful parts (sync, themes, note encryption, app lock) need Bear Pro at $29.99 a year; Bear runs only on Apple devices; and iCloud sync is not end-to-end encrypted by Bear. If you are all-Apple and happy to subscribe, stay.

What is the best free Bear alternative?

Obsidian is free for personal use and keeps Bear’s Markdown idea in files you own. Apple Notes is free and already installed. Notesnook’s free plan includes a rich editor and encryption. Dash is free on iPhone and the web, with a one-time $14.99 purchase for the Mac app.

Is there a Bear alternative with encryption?

Dash locks any note with AES-256 and locks the whole app, included in the one-time price. Notesnook encrypts everything by default. Apple Notes encrypts locked notes end to end. Obsidian encrypts sync only; Craft and iA Writer have no note encryption.

Can I import my Bear notes?

Bear exports notes as Markdown, TextBundle, PDF, HTML or DOCX (some formats need Pro). Obsidian opens a Markdown folder as a vault; iA Writer opens the files directly; Apple Notes imports Markdown since macOS 26; Notesnook imports through its app. In Dash, paste in the notes you use and keep the export as an archive.

Does Bear encrypt notes?

Yes, individually and on Bear Pro. You set a password on a note, and Face ID or Touch ID unlocks it on your devices; only the note body is encrypted, and titles stay visible. Bear cannot recover a forgotten password. The rest of your library syncs through iCloud with Apple’s keys.

Dash Notes

Free on iPhone

Alternatives

Bear Alternatives

Six notes apps for people who want Bear’s polish without the subscription, encryption they do not rent, or an app that runs beyond Apple devices.

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Updated September 2026 · Dash team

Bear is the app many Mac users compare everything else to: Markdown underneath, beautiful typography on top, tags instead of folders. The reasons people look for a Bear alternative are specific. Sync, themes, note encryption and the app lock all sit behind Bear Pro at $29.99 a year; the app runs only on Apple devices; and its iCloud sync is not end-to-end encrypted by Bear.

The six apps below each answer one of those. We build Dash, so it is listed first and judged by the same rules as the rest.

Six Bear alternatives

01
Dash
Our app
A private notes app for Mac and iPhone with a lock on any note and on the whole app included in the one-time price, no account, and sync that is optional and end-to-end encrypted.
Best for
Bear’s Apple-native feel with encryption you do not rent
Price
$14.99 once on Mac; free on iPhone and the web
Privacy
Offline by default; locked notes AES-256-GCM; sync end-to-end encrypted
- Note lock and app lock included, not a Pro feature
- Duress password, self-destructing notes, Touch ID and Face ID
- Open source (MIT); exports Markdown, PDF, DOCX
- No Windows or Linux app
- A block editor rather than raw Markdown
- Sync is a subscription
02
Obsidian
Markdown files on your disk with a refined editor, backlinks and plugins, on every platform including Windows and Android.
Best for
Bear’s Markdown, beyond Apple devices
Price
Free for personal use; Obsidian Sync $4 a month billed yearly
Privacy
Files stay local; Sync is end-to-end encrypted; no note lock built in
- Plain files you own
- Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android
- Backlinks, graph, thousands of plugins
- No encryption at rest built in
- Set-up before you write
- Closed source app
03
Craft
Design-led documents with blocks, pages inside pages and beautiful sharing, on Mac, iPhone, iPad and the web.
Best for
Structured documents that look good shared
Price
Free (1,500 blocks, 1 GB); Plus subscription for unlimited content
Privacy
Cloud-synced; Craft holds your data; no end-to-end encryption
- Polished native apps
- Great for long, structured documents
- Publishing and sharing built in
- Cloud-first by design
- No note-level encryption
- Full use needs the subscription
04
Apple Notes
Free, preinstalled, and better every year, with locked notes, tags, Smart Folders and, since macOS 26, Markdown export.
Best for
The zero-cost option already on your Mac
Price
Free
Privacy
iCloud holds a key unless Advanced Data Protection is on; locked notes are end-to-end encrypted
- Free and everywhere Apple is
- Locked notes are end-to-end encrypted
- Handwriting and document scanning
- No app lock
- Apple devices only
- Export drops folder structure
05
Notesnook
Encrypted by default behind an account, with a rich editor on the free plan and clients everywhere.
Best for
Encryption on every platform
Price
Free; Essential $19.99 a year; Pro $69.99 a year
Privacy
End-to-end encrypted by default (XChaCha20-Poly1305, Argon2)
- Everything encrypted, no Pro upgrade needed
- Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, web
- GPL-3.0 client and server
- Account required
- Not local files
- Free tier limits attachments
06
iA Writer
A focused Markdown writing app in plain text files, bought once per platform.
Best for
Writing rather than note management
Price
$49.99 once on Mac; bought separately per platform
Privacy
Plain files in the location you choose (iCloud or local); no encryption
- One-time purchase
- Plain Markdown files
- Mac, Windows, iOS and iPad
- No tags-first organisation like Bear
- No note encryption or lock
- Each platform is a separate purchase

A lock on every note, included in the price. Dash is $14.99 once on Mac, free on iPhone.

Get Dash for Mac

Why people leave Bear

The subscription. Bear is free to write in, but syncing between your Mac and iPhone, encrypting a note or locking the app all need Pro at $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year.
Apple only. No Windows, Linux or Android app, and no web app.
Sync privacy. Notes travel through iCloud with Apple’s keys unless you have Advanced Data Protection on; only individually encrypted notes are protected end to end.

What to keep and what to fix

Keep the writing experience; Bear set a high bar and a replacement that feels like a spreadsheet is a step back. Keep per-note encryption as the floor. Then fix the thing that made you look: Dash if it was paying yearly for a lock, Obsidian or Notesnook if it was Apple-only, Craft if you want the polish pointed at shareable documents, iA Writer if you mostly write long pieces.

Moving your notes out of Bear

Decrypt any encrypted notes you want to keep; exports cannot read them otherwise.
Export. Select notes, or a tag, and export as Markdown or TextBundle (which keeps images). PDF, HTML and DOCX are there too; some formats need Pro.
Import. Obsidian and iA Writer open the Markdown folder as it is. Apple Notes imports Markdown since macOS 26. Notesnook imports through its app. In Dash, paste in the notes you use and keep the export as an encrypted .dashpack archive.

Pay once for the app. Sync is the only subscription.

No plan needed to take notes. Ever.

Dash for iPhone

Freeon the App Store

Same encryption, Face ID
Works fully offline
No account to make

Download

Dash Sync (optional)

$4.99/ month, or $47.99 / year

Mac, iPhone, iPad and web in step
Encrypted on your device first
7-day free trial, cancel any time

Start free trial

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

Best notes apps for MacEight Mac notes apps compared on privacy, offline use and price.Notes app with password protectionLock a note, lock the app, and what a lock screen does not do.Apple Notes alternativesSix apps for encryption, export or life beyond Apple devices.

Encryption you buy once, not rent.

$14.99 once on Mac. Free on iPhone.

Get Dash for Mac App Store