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There is a researched guide for these apps. Read Obsidian vs Bear: file control or focused Apple writing? .
Prices & plans Features and limits A personal knowledge base in local files
Markdown writing for Apple devices
Prices & plans Published prices keep their original currency and billing terms. Taxes, promotions and checkout prices can differ.
Core Free
No account or paid license required
Availability Global
Free for personal and commercial use.
Source Sync Standard — monthly USD 5.00/month
Billed monthly per user
Availability USD list price
1 vault, 1 GB storage and 5 MB maximum file.
Source Sync Standard — annual USD 48.00/year
Billed annually per user
Availability USD list price
Annual total calculated from the advertised $4 per month billed annually.
Source Sync Plus — monthly USD 10.00/month
Billed monthly per user
Availability USD list price
10 vaults, 10 GB storage and 200 MB maximum file.
Source Publish — annual USD 96.00/year
Billed annually per site
Availability USD list price
Annual total calculated from $8 per month billed annually; separate from Sync.
Source Free Free
No subscription charge
Availability Global Apple App Store availability
Local notes with TXT, Markdown, TextBundle and RTF export.
Source 1 Source 2 Pro — monthly USD 2.99/month
App Store recurring subscription
Availability US base price
One subscription across devices with the same Apple ID. Local prices and taxes vary.
Source Pro — annual USD 29.99/year
App Store yearly subscription
Availability US base price
7-day trial is documented. Introductory promotions are not assumed to be renewal prices.
Source Features and limits Documented differences. An unverified answer means we do not have enough evidence.
Obsidian Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android apps are documented.
Bear Native Mac, iPhone and iPad apps plus a limited browser beta; no native Windows or Android version.
Offline use Obsidian The local vault remains available without a connection; Sync merges changes when connectivity returns.
Bear Native apps support local notes offline. The web privacy page says notes are not stored locally in the browser.
Obsidian Notes are Markdown text in a local folder and can be edited with other text editors.
Bear Not yet verified for this product.
Collaboration Obsidian All collaborators need Sync. Shared vaults do not provide live co-editing cursors or fine-grained permissions.
Bear A shared live editing workflow was not established from the reviewed official sources.
Sharing exported notes and syncing one person's devices do not establish multi-person co-editing.
Export Obsidian Markdown files are directly accessible. Vault settings and extensions live separately in the .obsidian folder.
Bear Free exports TXT, Markdown, TextBundle, Bear Note and RTF. Pro adds HTML, DOCX, PDF, JPG and ePub.
Privacy and storage Obsidian Official Sync documents end-to-end encryption; local-only use does not send notes to Obsidian.
Bear Pro can encrypt individual notes; their password cannot be reset by Bear and titles may remain visible.
Project portability Obsidian API import converts databases and formulas to Bases with limitations. ZIP import does not preserve databases.
Bear The Mac importer brings in vault notes and local attachments. Remote HTTP assets and plugin-generated tags are not imported automatically.
Free plan limits Obsidian Core use is free without a mandatory account. Sync and Publish are optional services.
Bear Local editing and basic export are free; official cross-device iCloud sync is a Pro feature.
Use at work Obsidian Commercial use is free; the paid commercial license is optional support.
Bear Not yet verified for this product.
Team limit Obsidian A shared vault supports at most 20 collaborators according to the current help page.
Bear Not yet verified for this product.
Sync Obsidian Not yet verified for this product.
Bear Pro synchronizes through Apple CloudKit using the same Apple ID.
AI features Obsidian Not yet verified for this product.
Bear Bear 2.8+ on Mac offers a CLI, Claude Connector and MCP server. These require opt-in and cannot read encrypted note content.
Browser and ADP Obsidian Not yet verified for this product.
Bear Official pages disagree on whether Bear Web works with Advanced Data Protection enabled.
The web FAQ says ADP prevents use. The privacy page documents ADP login with two-factor authentication. Do not switch security settings based on this comparison.
This workspace aligns existing research. It does not declare a winner or treat missing evidence as a missing feature. Read the methodology .
