Every app on this page runs natively on Mac and was built around Markdown. We make one of them — Octarine — so this guide leans on checkable facts rather than adjectives: where your notes live, what's included, what it costs. Every claim comes from the app's own pricing and help pages, linked at the bottom and last checked in November 2026.
What "a Markdown note app" has to mean
Plenty of apps can import or export Markdown while keeping your notes in their own database. That's different from an app whose notes are Markdown files in a folder — readable by any text editor, syncable by any service, and survivable without the app. The table below separates the two, because it's the difference that matters most over years of note-taking.
| App | Notes are plain Markdown files | Mac | Other platforms | Free tier | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Octarine | Yes | Yes | Windows, Linux | Core features, no time limit | Pro, one-time |
| Obsidian | Yes | Yes | Windows, Linux, iOS, Android | Everything, incl. commercial use | Sync and Publish subscriptions |
| Bear | No (database; Markdown export) | Yes | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | Without sync | Bear Pro subscription |
| Craft | Optional (local folder turns off sharing) | Yes | iOS, Windows, Android, web | Up to 1,500 blocks | Plus $10/month or $96/year |
| NotePlan | Yes | Yes | iPhone, iPad, web | None | $99/year or $12/month |
| Logseq | Yes (stable version; DB version in beta) | Yes | Windows, Linux, iOS, Android | Everything, open source | None |
The short version, by what you want
If you want files with the features built in: Octarine. Notes are plain Markdown files in a folder you choose, and the things most people assemble elsewhere — daily notes, templates, Views (tables, Kanban boards, and graphs over your notes), Git sync, themes, and AI that searches across the workspace — ship with the app. The editor is WYSIWYG, so formatting doesn't shift as you type. The installer is under 30MB, the core app is free, and Pro is a one-time purchase. The tradeoffs: no plugin ecosystem, no Android app, and iOS is in TestFlight for Pro users.
If you want to build your own system: Obsidian. A vault of plain Markdown files, thousands of community plugins and themes, and apps in both mobile stores, free including commercial use. You assemble the features yourself, and first-party sync (Obsidian Sync, $4/user/month) and publishing (Obsidian Publish) are subscriptions.
If you live entirely on Apple devices: Bear. A genuinely lovely editor, native Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch apps, Apple Pencil sketching, password-locked notes, and search inside scanned PDFs and photos with Pro. The tradeoff is the reason this guide distinguishes files from databases: your notes live in Bear's database, syncing requires a Bear Pro subscription, and there is no Windows, Linux, or Android app.
If your notes are shared documents: Craft. Rich layouts and cards, real-time co-editing, comments, and share links, with AI on every plan and apps for Mac, iOS, Windows, Android, and the web. Documents live in Craft's cloud by default; an optional local folder turns off sharing, comments, and version history. The free plan caps at 1,500 blocks, and Plus is $10/month or $96/year.
If your notes serve a calendar: NotePlan. Events, scheduled tasks, and time blocking beside daily and weekly notes, all as plain Markdown files, with built-in AI including voice transcription. There's no free plan ($99/year or $12/month) and no Windows or Linux app, but for calendar-driven planning it's the most complete option here.
If you think in outlines: Logseq. Free and open source, with every line a block you can reference, embed, and query. The stable version stores Markdown files; a database version is in beta. Writing is outline-shaped, which long- form writers sometimes fight.
How to choose in five minutes
- Open the finder and ask: if this app disappeared tomorrow, could you open every note you care about in a text editor? If the answer matters, you want Octarine, Obsidian, or NotePlan.
- Ask who your notes are for. Just you, or other people? If other people, Craft is the strongest of the six; the rest are personal-first.
- Ask what you want to maintain. Obsidian gives you the most power and the most upkeep; Octarine and Bear give you the least setup.
- Ask what you'll pay. Two of the six are free forever (Obsidian, Logseq), Octarine's core is free with a one-time Pro purchase, and Bear, Craft, and NotePlan are subscriptions.
Trying them costs little: most offer a free tier or download, and any app that stores plain files can be pointed at a copy of the same folder.
Sources and review notes
- Facts about each app come from its own pages, last checked November 4, 2026: Octarine pricing, Obsidian pricing and how Obsidian stores data, Bear syncing and privacy and export formats, Craft plans and pricing and External Locations, NotePlan pricing, and Logseq releases.
- We publish fuller, sourced comparisons for Obsidian, Bear, Craft, and NotePlan, including rows where each of them beats Octarine.
- We have not measured launch time, memory use, or search speed across these apps on an identical vault; when we do, the numbers will be added here with the methodology.