Our take
Pick Bear if people on Mac / iPhone / iPad who will stay on Free local while they write a first Polar Bears note — then Pro at US$2.99/mo or US$29.99/yr when they want themes / export / OCR / deeper iCloud, not Obsidian Sync $4 first unless they want a graph vault, and not if they need Windows / Android (Bear is Apple-only). Pick Day One if journalers who will stay on Basic or pay Silver $49.99/yr for more
Best for
Bear A note you start at a public $
Day One Keep a journal at a public $
Free plan
Bear $0 · local notes, Markdown, tags, tables. No Pro themes / advanced export / OCR / full iCloud depth
Day One $0 · 1 device; 1 photo per entry
Lowest paid
Bear Bear Pro $2.99/mo
Day One Silver $49.99/yr
Next step up
Bear
Day One Gold $74.99/yr
Watch out
Bear Apple platforms only
Day One Basic is one device
Last checked
Bear 2026-10-23 · bear.app/faq/features-and-price-of-bear-pro
Day One 2026-10-26 · dayoneapp.com
people on Mac / iPhone / iPad who will stay on Free local while they write a first Polar Bears note — then Pro at US$2.99/mo or US$29.99/yr when they want themes / export / OCR / deeper iCloud, not Obsidian Sync $4 first unless they want a graph vault, and not if they need Windows / Android (Bear is Apple-only).
Read the Bear pagejournalers who will stay on Basic or pay Silver $49.99/yr for more devices/photos.
Read the Day One page
