Catchlight vs Bear.

Bear only encrypts the individual notes you lock, and syncs them through iCloud. Catchlight seals every Take on your device by default, and the same item can be a note, a task and a reminder.

Bear is one of the loveliest notes apps on iPhone, and we mean that. It is markdown-first, beautifully made, and syncs through your own iCloud. The difference is what each app is for, Bear is a notes app you can lock note by note, Catchlight is a “zero-knowledge” place where a note, a task and a reminder are one thing.

At a glance. The short version.

Bear pricing and features verified July 2026, check bear.app for current plans. Bear syncs through your iCloud and offers optional per-note encryption. Catchlight is pre-launch, its feature set is subject to change before launch.

Credit where it’s due. Bear is genuinely beautiful.

We’re not pretending otherwise. Bear’s typography, its markdown, its themes, the feel of writing in it, are all good, and if you want a pure, pretty notes app and live inside the Apple ecosystem, Bear is a wonderful choice.

Where Catchlight differs is not polish for its own sake. It is two specific bets, that privacy should be the default, not a per-note toggle, and that a note, a task and a reminder should not be three separate things.

Default, not optional. How the privacy differs.

Bear keeps your notes in your own iCloud and lets you encrypt individual notes with a password. That is good, but it is opt-in and per-note, anything you forget to lock is just synced. Bear syncs through iCloud, so the caveats in can Apple read your notes apply here too.

Catchlight encrypts everything, automatically, on your device, with a key only you hold. There is no per-note decision to remember and no account in the picture. Sync, if you want it, writes encrypted files into a folder you already own.

Being fair. Where Bear is the better choice.

Bear is the better choice if what you want is a beautiful, markdown-native notes app, you are happy syncing through iCloud, and a reasonable annual price for that craft is exactly the trade you want. As a writing surface, it’s very good.

Where Catchlight is the better choice.

Catchlight is the better choice if you want privacy on by default rather than note by note, no account at all, and one place where a note can also be a task and a reminder. It trades Bear’s markdown depth for a calmer, unified, “zero-knowledge” model.

Quick answers. Common questions.

Is Bear end-to-end encrypted?

Bear syncs through your own iCloud and lets you encrypt individual notes with a password, but it is opt-in and per-note. Catchlight encrypts everything by default, on device, with a key only you hold.

Does Catchlight use markdown like Bear?

Catchlight is deliberately simpler than a full markdown editor, it is built for fast capture rather than long-form writing. Although the addition of some markdown features is on our roadmap, if markdown is the point for you, Bear does it well.

Does Catchlight need an account or a subscription to sync?

No account, ever. Sync is included in the one flat price and writes to a folder you own, there is no separate sync tier.

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