Octarine vs Bear
Plain files on every desktop vs a polished Apple-only app
Bear and Octarine are both calm markdown writing apps. The difference is where they run and where your notes live.
Bear is Apple-only, and it makes the most of it: native apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, Apple Pencil sketching, an Apple Watch app, password-locked notes, and search inside scanned PDFs and photos. Notes live in Bear's database, and iCloud sync comes with a Bear Pro subscription.
Octarine keeps notes as plain markdown files and runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux. You get the same kind of minimal writing view, plus split panes, tabs, a graph, and separate workspaces when you need them. Sync runs through Git or the folder service you already use, at no extra cost. Bear exports to markdown, so trying Octarine costs you nothing.
Octarine
BearSources ยท Checked Nov 4, 2026
Compared against Bear's help center and Bear 2 release notes. Bear's subscription price is set in the App Store, so we describe what Pro includes rather than quoting a number. Octarine's side was checked against its docs, including the iOS widgets, Shortcuts, and Siri support.
- Bear 2 release notes
- Linking notes in Bear
- Bear export formats
- Bear syncing and privacy
- Encrypting notes in Bear
- Searching text in attachments
- Sketching in Bear
- Bear for Apple Watch
- Bear sidebar (Todo section)
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Something wrong or out of date, including if you work on Bear? Suggest a correction
Octarine.