Graphite vs Bear: Markdown notes and writing compared

At a glance

Feature	Graphite	Bear
Platforms	Any modern browser: Chrome, Edge, Arc, Safari and Firefox, on a computer, tablet or phone. Installs as an app (PWA). Native apps are coming soon.	Mac, iPhone and iPad.
Price	Free to write. Pro is $3.99 a month or $29 a year, or Pro Lifetime at $29 once (founding price until 13 November 2026, then $59) on up to 5 devices, with every 1.x update.	Free to use. Bear Pro is $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year, after a 7-day free trial.
Files and where they live	Plain Markdown files, in your browser, in a folder on your disk (Chrome, Edge and Arc) or in your own Google Drive.	Notes written in Markdown, stored in a SQLite database on the device.
Offline	Yes, once it has loaded. With Google Drive, edits are kept on the device and sync shortly after.	The free version keeps notes on the device.
Account needed	No. A free account is optional, for Google Drive sync and Pro.	No Bear account: sync uses Apple’s CloudKit with the iCloud account on your devices.
Focus features	Focus (sentence or paragraph), Typewriter and Zen. Syntax Highlight and Style Check with Pro.	Typewriter Mode on Mac. You can hide the sidebar and note list, and fold sections of a note.
Version history	A snapshot every ten minutes: the latest 5 free, up to 40 with Pro. Compare any two versions, word by word.	Not covered on the pages we checked.
Export	Markdown and web page free. PDF, Word and blog post with Pro.	Free: .txt, .md, .textbundle, .bearnote and .rtf. Bear Pro adds HTML, DOCX, PDF, JPG and ePub.
Sync and collaboration	Through your own Google Drive, free. Read-only share links. No real-time co-editing.	iCloud sync with Bear Pro. You can send notes to others; collaboration is not described.

Choose Bear if…

You want a notes app for quick thoughts, lists and snippets, organised with tags.
You’re on Mac, iPhone and iPad and like iCloud handling sync.
You scan documents, or want to search inside PDFs and images (Bear Pro).
You want notes encrypted with an extra layer of protection (Bear Pro).

Choose Graphite if…

You want each document as a plain Markdown file on your disk or in Google Drive, not in a database.
You also write on Windows, Linux, a Chromebook or Android.
You’re writing longer pieces: Focus, Zen, Version History, word targets and Manuscript.
You want PDFs in styles for essays, books and papers, and Word export (Pro).

Switching from Bear

In Bear, export your notes as Markdown (.md). Markdown export is part of Bear’s free version.
In Graphite, choose Import Files or Backup… and select the files, or put them in a folder and open it with Open Folder… (Chrome, Edge or Arc).
Any #tag in a document’s text appears under Tags in Graphite’s sidebar.
Graphite imports .md, .markdown, .txt and its own .zip backups, so choose Markdown rather than TextBundle when you export.

Questions

Is Graphite a Bear alternative?

For writing, often yes; for notes, it depends. Bear is built around quick notes and tags on Apple devices. Graphite is built for drafting and revising documents, and runs in any browser.

Can I use Graphite on Windows or Android?

Yes. Graphite runs in Chrome, Edge, Arc, Safari and Firefox, and installs as an app on Windows, Android and other systems where the browser supports it.

Does Graphite sync without paying?

Yes. Sign in with Google and your documents sync through your own Google Drive, free. Graphite’s servers never receive your writing.

Sources

Everything about Bear on this page comes from its own site, checked on 17 October 2026. If something has changed, write to us and we’ll fix it.

About Graphite: pricing and the guides. Other comparisons: iA Writer, Ulysses, Obsidian, Typora.