An Apple Notes alternative for Mac, with charts, LaTeX and Word export
An Apple Notes alternative for Mac with charts drawn from a table, LaTeX, Word export and calls recorded into a note. Mac only, no sync, and not free. Compared.
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What Bear does well
Bear is a Markdown notes app for Mac, iPhone and iPad, and it's hard to beat for what it costs. Pro is $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year, after a 7-day trial, on bear.app, and students get 30% off the first year. Pro adds iCloud sync and export to Word, PDF, HTML, ePub, Markdown and more.
It renders LaTeX with MathJax, keeps tables you can copy as CSV or Markdown, and since July 2026 draws Mermaid diagrams, pie and XY charts included, written as code. It has no AI or voice of its own. Version 3.0 shipped in September 2026, and the same team is testing a new Mac Markdown editor called Lettera.
We make Koi, so read this with that in mind. Every fact about another app comes from its own site, help pages or forum, checked October 16, 2026. We didn't run tests. And to be fair to Bear up front: on LaTeX and Word export, Koi is no better, and on price and the iPhone it's worse.
Stay
Stay on Bear if
- You write on your iPhone or iPad. Koi is Mac only, with no sync.
- You want to pay $29.99 a year, not $192.
- You want your notes as Markdown you can take anywhere. Koi keeps them in its own database, with Copy as Markdown one page at a time and no bulk export.
- You organize with tags. Koi has groups, not tags.
- You'd rather your notes app had no AI at all.
Why people look
Why people look for a Bear alternative
Some people want something Bear doesn't try to be: a Windows or Android app, folders instead of tags, or an AI that writes. Others hit a rough patch. Bear's own forum has threads on table cells that stopped wrapping in October 2026 and on slowdowns in large notes with sketches. Those are reports from users, not tests.
The list
6 Bear alternatives for Mac
1. Koi
Best for: Notes you can talk into, with charts from a table and calls recorded in
Koi's editor covers what most Bear users need: headings, lists, to-dos, tables, pictures and LaTeX. It adds charts: type /chart, pick one of 11 kinds, and it's drawn from a small table you edit, no code. Pages export to Word or PDF on the paper size you pick, and flashcards on a page are studied with spaced repetition.
Where it really differs is voice. Tap Fn + ⌥ and Koi types what you say, on your Mac, offline, in any app (more on dictation). Tap Fn + ⌃ to record a call or a class into a page, kept on your Mac. Koi's AI, which is online, can write and edit pages when you ask on a call.
What you give up: iPhone and iPad, sync, tags, plain Markdown files and the price. Pro is $20 a month after a 3-day trial, or Lifetime from $59 once. Our list of notes apps you can buy once compares Lifetime with the others.
2. Apple Notes
Best for: Free notes on every Apple device, with folders and shared notes
Apple Notes is free, has folders, shares notes and folders over iCloud, and records audio in a note with a live transcript on M1 or later Macs. It has simple tables, no LaTeX (Math Notes solves sums instead) and no charts, and exports PDF and Markdown but not Word.
3. Obsidian
Best for: Free, local Markdown files with links, plugins and folders
Obsidian keeps notes as plain Markdown files in a folder you choose, with backlinks, a graph, Canvas and Bases for database-like views. LaTeX renders with MathJax 4. The app is free; Sync is $5 a month or $4 billed yearly, and there are iPhone and Android apps. Expect some setting up, and plugins for anything beyond the basics.
4. Craft
Best for: Polished native docs on Apple devices, Windows and the web
Craft is native on Mac, iPad and iPhone, with Windows and web apps, and builds documents from blocks, with Collections for databases. It has LaTeX formulas and exports to Word, PDF and Markdown. Free covers 1,500 blocks; Plus is $8 a month, or $6.40 billed yearly on its site.
5. Typora
Best for: A Markdown editor on plain files, paid once, on Mac, Windows and Linux
Typora edits .md files that live wherever you keep them, and formats as you type. It numbers equations, draws Mermaid diagrams and exports to LaTeX, Word, PDF and ePub. It's $14.99 once for 3 devices, with a 15-day trial, and no phone app.
6. iA Writer
Best for: Focused writing on plain text files, paid once, with no AI writing
iA Writer is a quiet writing app on local text files, with Markdown tables and Word and PDF export. It doesn't write for you, on purpose, and marks text that was pasted or AI-written. The Mac app is $49.99 once, and iPhone and Windows are sold separately.
Comparison
Bear alternatives compared
From each app's own site, checked October 16, 2026. Yearly prices are per year unless marked.
| Notes kept as | iPhone | LaTeX | Charts | Paid | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear | Its own library, Markdown inside | Yes | MathJax | Mermaid code | $29.99 a year | Cheap notes on every Apple device |
| Koi | A database on your Mac | No | Yes | 11 kinds, from a table | $192 a year, or Lifetime from $59 | Notes you talk into, with calls recorded in |
| Apple Notes | iCloud or On My Mac | Yes | No | No | Free | Free, with folders and sharing |
| Obsidian | Markdown files | Yes | MathJax 4 | Plugins | Free; Sync $48 a year | Plain files and plugins |
| Craft | Craft's cloud | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Plus $6.40 a month yearly | Polished docs |
| Typora | Markdown files | No | MathJax, numbered | Mermaid code | $14.99 once | Markdown paid once |
| iA Writer | Text files | Sold separately | Not listed | No | $49.99 once | Focused writing |
Head to head
Bear vs Koi
- Math: a tie. Both render LaTeX in the page.
- Word and PDF export: a tie. Bear's needs Pro.
- Charts: Koi draws 11 kinds from a table you edit. Bear draws pie and XY charts from Mermaid code.
- Voice: Koi has offline dictation in any app and records calls and classes. Bear has none of its own.
- AI: Koi's assistant writes and edits pages on a call, online. Bear has no AI of its own.
- Devices: Bear is on iPhone and iPad with iCloud sync. Koi is one Mac, no sync.
- Getting notes out: Bear exports Markdown and many other formats. Koi copies one page at a time as Markdown, or exports Word and PDF.
- Price: Bear is $29.99 a year. Koi Pro is $192, or Lifetime once.
Before you switch
Moving your notes from Bear
Export first: Bear Pro exports notes as Markdown, Word, PDF and more. Koi's Import takes Markdown, Word, PDF and plain text, and brings each file in as a page, read on your Mac. Koi has no tags, so you'll sort pages into groups instead. Try a handful of notes before you move a whole library.
Going the other way later is harder: Koi has no export of every page at once. If owning your notes as files matters most, Obsidian or Typora is the safer home.
Choosing
Which Bear alternative should you pick?
- Free, with folders and sharing on every Apple device? Apple Notes.
- Plain Markdown files you own, free? Obsidian.
- Polished docs with databases, on iPhone too? Craft.
- Markdown paid once, with numbered equations? Typora.
- Distraction-free writing, no AI? iA Writer.
- Notes you can talk into, with charts and recorded calls, on one Mac? Koi.
If math is why you use Bear, our list of notes apps with LaTeX for Mac goes deeper.
Keep exploring
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An offline Notion alternative for your own docs on one Mac: pages stored on the Mac, tables, charts, LaTeX and Word export. No databases, sync or iPhone app.
The best Craft alternatives for Mac
Looking for a Craft Docs alternative on Mac? Koi, Notion, Apple Notes, Bear, Obsidian and Capacities, compared on sync, databases, voice, export and price.
The best notes apps with LaTeX for Mac
The best notes apps with LaTeX for Mac: Typora, Bear, Obsidian, Notion, Craft, Capacities, Ulysses and Koi, compared on numbering, exports and price.
Support
Frequently asked questions
Bear is free to start. Pro, which adds iCloud sync and full export, is $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year at the time of writing, and students get 30% off the first year.
Yes. Bear renders LaTeX with MathJax: single dollar signs for inline math and double ones for a block.
Only for some jobs: charts drawn from a table, dictation and recorded calls, and an AI that writes pages. Bear is far cheaper, syncs to iPhone and iPad, and exports Markdown freely.
Export them from Bear as Markdown or Word files, then use Koi's Import, which brings each file in as a page. Tags don't come across as tags, since Koi uses groups.