What is the difference between Bear and Standard Notes?

Bear is best for Writers who want a beautiful markdown editor, while Standard Notes is best for Privacy-focused users wanting encrypted notes. Bear starts at $2.99/mo and Standard Notes starts at Free.

Is Bear or Standard Notes cheaper?

Bear starts at $2.99/mo with a free tier. Standard Notes starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Standard Notes?

Both Bear and Standard Notes offer free tiers.

Bear vs Standard Notes

Bear is elegant markdown writing app for Apple devices with tags, themes, and export options, while Standard Notes is end-to-end encrypted note-taking app with extensible editors and self-hosting option. The biggest difference up front: Standard Notes is free, while Bear starts at $2.99/mo. Bear is built for writers who want a beautiful markdown editor, whereas Standard Notes targets privacy-focused users wanting encrypted notes.

At a glance

	Bear	Standard Notes
Best for	Writers who want a beautiful markdown editor	Privacy-focused users wanting encrypted notes
Starting price	$2.99/mo	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
E2E Encryption	—	✓
Editors	—	✓
Focus Mode	✓	—
Markdown	✓	—
Self-Hosted	—	✓
Tags	✓	✓
Themes	✓	—

Bear

Strengths

Full Markdown support with live preview for clean, structured notes
Includes Tags as a core feature, purpose-built for note taking workflows
Free without sync — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Includes themes alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Moving notes out to another platform can be difficult — export options vary
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Bear → Full review

Standard Notes

Strengths

Open source and transparent
End-to-end encryption by default — messages are unreadable even to the server operator
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
Free with basic editors — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Self-hosting requires Linux admin skills and ongoing server maintenance
Moving notes out to another platform can be difficult — export options vary
Community support can be slower than the dedicated support teams at commercial alternatives

Try Standard Notes → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Standard Notes is completely free (Free with basic editors), which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Bear starts at $2.99/mo, but Free without sync. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Bear offers Focus Mode, Markdown and Themes that Standard Notes lacks. Standard Notes brings E2E Encryption, Editors and Self-Hosted that Bear does not have. Both share Tags.

Team fit: Both tools target individuals teams, so the decision hinges on features and workflow fit rather than scale.

Open source: Standard Notes is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Bear is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Bear's biggest strengths are: full markdown support with live preview for clean, structured notes. includes tags as a core feature, purpose-built for note taking workflows. Standard Notes's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. end-to-end encryption by default — messages are unreadable even to the server operator.

Watch out for: With Bear, users commonly note that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade. With Standard Notes, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Bear if...

You need a tool built for writers who want a beautiful markdown editor
You specifically need Focus Mode and Markdown
You care about includes tags as a core feature, purpose-built for note taking workflows
The free tier works for you: free without sync

Choose Standard Notes if...

You need a tool built for privacy-focused users wanting encrypted notes
Budget is a hard constraint — Standard Notes is free, Bear is not
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need E2E Encryption and Editors
You care about end-to-end encryption by default — messages are unreadable even to the server operator