Apple Notes vs Bear: the best simple notes app?

Quick answer

Both are fast, clean and made for Apple devices. Apple Notes is already on your phone.

Bear is the one writers love. Here's how they differ.

What 125x is: 125x is a web app at 125x.app. You connect your YouTube subscriptions, and it gives you a feed of the latest videos from the channels you follow, each with a summary: a verdict, the 5 key takeaways, and the spoiler, plus Actionable and Lessons tabs with more tips. You read that and decide what's actually worth opening.

Open 125x

Quick comparison

	Apple Notes	Bear
Writing style	Rich formatting, lists, tables	Markdown with text, photos, tables and todos in one note
Organizing	Folders, tags, Smart Folders	Flexible tags, pinned tags, headings with folding
Extras	Quick Note, audio recording and transcription, scanned documents, locked notes, shared notes	Sketches, OCR search in photos and PDFs, encryption, themes
Export	Import, export and print	Many formats including Markdown, PDF, HTML, DOCX
Devices	Apple devices and iCloud	Mac, iPhone, iPad with iCloud sync

Pick Apple Notes if

You want zero setup and shared notes with family or friends (Apple's Notes User Guide).
You scan documents and record audio into notes.
You like folders plus Smart Folders that gather notes by tag.

Pick Bear if

You write in Markdown and want it to look beautiful (Bear).
You organize with tags instead of folders.
You want to export notes to Markdown and other formats easily.

For YouTube notes

Both work well for a quick note per video: title, link, three takeaways, one action. Apple Notes is great for a fast Quick Note while watching. Bear's nested tags like #videos/fitness keep a growing library tidy.

How 125x fits

Copy a video's Lessons tab from 125x into a note, add your own thought, and tag it by topic. Put the Actionable steps on your to-do list.

FAQ: questions people ask

Is Bear better than Apple Notes?

Bear is better for Markdown and tag-based writing. Apple Notes is better for quick capture, sharing and scanning, and it's already installed.

Does Apple Notes support tags?

Yes. Apple's Notes guide covers tags and Smart Folders.

Does Bear work on Windows?

Bear's site lists Mac, iPhone and iPad.