UnmarkedOur pick
Pick Unmarked when your Markdown lives in files that other tools work on too, like a repository, a shared folder or a project an assistant is editing. Unmarked opens that file directly, with Read mode, Present and Word export in the free app. Pick Bear when you want a tagged, linked note library that syncs across your Apple devices with Bear Pro.
| Question | Unmarked | Bear |
|---|---|---|
| Your Markdown file | Stays in its folder. Unmarked edits and saves that file | Imported as a copy into Bear's database. Markdown comes back out by export |
| When an assistant edits it | The assistant edits the .md file and the open window follows it | Bear's command-line tool, MCP server and Claude Connector edit notes inside Bear. A file changed on disk doesn't change the note |
| Reading view | A separate Read mode for the finished document | The note editor, with an optional per-note Read-Only Mode |
| Math, code and diagrams | Shown finished in Read, in Present and in exports. Write shows the LaTeX and the Mermaid source | Math, colored code and Mermaid diagrams render live in the note, free |
| What costs extra | Nothing. Present, Word, PDF and HTML are included | Sync, plus Word, PDF, HTML and ePub export, need Bear Pro: $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year in the US |
A note in Bear is a copy
Bear keeps notes in its own database. Bringing a Markdown file in imports it, which makes a copy, and getting Markdown back out is an export.
For notes that live only in Bear, that works well. Files with other jobs are different. They change on disk: a README in a repository, a spec in a shared folder, a plan a coding assistant updates as it works. When they do, the copy in Bear stays as it was.
Unmarked follows the file
When another program writes to the file, Unmarked updates the open window, in Read or Write. Typing you haven't saved yet is never replaced, and if you both changed the file, macOS asks which version to keep.
Bear has its own route for assistants. Its command-line tool, MCP server and Claude Connector let outside tools search, read, create and edit notes inside Bear. If your assistant works through those, your notes can stay in Bear. If it works on files in a folder, as coding assistants and scripts do, Unmarked is looking at the same file they are.
When the document has to go somewhere
Present turns your headings into full-screen slides, and the same file exports to Word, PDF or HTML.
Bear is built for a different job: a library of notes held together by nested tags, backlinks and Workspaces. If that library is what you're choosing, choose Bear.
Which one fits your work?
Choose Unmarked if
- Your Markdown sits in a Git repository or a folder you share.
- Something else edits the file while you have it open, like a script or a coding assistant.
- Reading the finished document and presenting it matter as much as writing it.
- Word and PDF export should come without a subscription.
Choose Bear only if
- Nested tags, backlinks and Workspaces are how you organize your notes.
- You want your notes on Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, synced with Bear Pro.