Work · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Bear

A beautiful, flexible writing app for notes and prose

Bear is a writing application designed for creating notes and prose across iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices. The app emphasizes visual appeal and flexibility, allowing users to write seamlessly across multiple platforms… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Bear launched in 2016; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Bear▲22

   Bear is a beautiful writing app for crafting notes and prose

   2016 · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Bear 2▲403

   Simple, powerful, private Markdown notes

   2023 · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Bear▲38

   Beautiful writing app for notes and prose

   2016 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Koala▲117

   Free, open source and web based bear alternative.

   2022 · koalanotes.herokuapp.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Letterspace▲446

   A simple note-taking app on iOS & Mac

   2015 · programmerbird.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Bear – Minimal blogging platform▲685

   Free, no-nonsense, super-fast blogging

   2020 · bearblog.dev · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Writer▲81

   Beautiful, secure and fast text editor and notes app.

   2021 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Writer▲134

   Beautiful, fast, native notes app with Markdown

   2021 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Scratchpad▲382

   Quick notes, always available

   2024 · sindresorhus.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Spaces▲200

    Writing app that never breaks your flow ✍️

    2020 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Canvas for iOS▲307

    Write with your team, in realtime, using markdown

    2016 · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Scraib.app▲315

    AI writing partner in every app on your Mac

    Nov 2025 · scraib.app · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Paragraphs▲272

    A minimalist writing app for Mac

    2015 · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Chunks▲138

    A new way to write a whole bunch of stuff

    2018 · chunks.app · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Bulletpen▲480

    Write great essays while you yap

    2025 · bulletpen.ai · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Ulysses III▲293

    A powerful writing tool for Mac, iPad, and iPhone

    2014 · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Rough Draft▲408

    Write now. Edit later. Remember, it's just a rough draft.

    2015 · 96problems.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    Bamboo▲114

    Markdown notes with AI under your control

    Jul 2026 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Frost 5.0▲126

    Beautiful mood inducing writing app

    2022 · frostwriter.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Just Open & Type (JOT)▲345

    A fast journal app for those spontaneous thoughts and ideas

    2017 · jot.webflow.io · its alternatives →

21. 21
    boo.ai▲100

    Beautifully simple writing app with a built-in AI copywriter

    2022 · boo.ai · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Timber Note▲66

    Easy to use, beautifully crafted notes app

    2020 · play.google.com · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Noto▲286

    A simplified, modern writing app.

    2019 · noto.ink · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Minimal▲166

    A meditation inspired writing app for effective notes

    2021 · minimal.app · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →