Bear or TaskForge?

Bear is one of the nicest writing environments on Apple hardware and nothing here is going to argue with that. The question is whether you want a beautiful place to write, or a folder of markdown files that a task manager and a calendar also happen to read.

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The short version

Bear is the better writing app

The typography, the nested tags, the editor feel: Bear has spent years on the experience of sitting down and writing, and it shows within about a minute. It also has backlinks, LaTeX, syntax-highlighted code blocks, and search inside images. If writing is the job, Bear does it more gracefully.

TaskForge keeps your notes as files, and does more with them

Notes are .md files in a folder you picked, not rows in a database you export from. Checkboxes in those notes are real tasks with due dates, reminders, and widgets. And it runs on Android and Windows, which Bear does not.

Side by side

Checked against both products in August 2026. Bear's pricing and platform list come from bear.app.

Feature	Bear	TaskForge
Price	Free tier, Bear Pro about $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year for sync	Free tier with no time limit. $49.99 once, or $19.99 a year
How notes are stored	In the app's own database, synced through iCloud. Markdown export available	As .md files in a folder you chose. No database
Sync	Built in, requires Bear Pro	Your own iCloud Drive or Obsidian Sync. Nothing to subscribe to
iPhone, iPad, Mac	Yes, plus Apple Watch	Yes
Android and Windows	No	Yes, native apps on both
Tasks with due dates and reminders	Checkboxes only, no dates or notifications	Due dates, priorities, recurrence, reminders, dependencies
Calendar	No	Day, week, and month views with your device's events
Home screen widgets	Yes	Yes, interactive, including lock screen on iPhone
Backlinks	Yes	No. Wikilinks resolve, but there's no backlinks panel
Images and PDFs in a note	Yes, including search inside images	Images render, PDFs open in your system viewer
Code blocks with syntax highlighting	Yes, many languages	Code fences render on a raised surface, no per-language coloring
Works with an Obsidian vault	No	Yes, same folder, same Tasks syntax

Where TaskForge comes out ahead

Your notes are files, today and in ten years

Bear stores notes in its own database and offers export. TaskForge has nothing to export because the .md file already is the note. Open it in Obsidian, in vim, in TextEdit. Uninstall the app and nothing moves.

Notes and tasks are the same thing

A checkbox in Bear is a checkbox. A checkbox in a TaskForge note is a task with a due date, a priority, and a notification, and it shows on your home screen widget and your calendar. Writing the plan and tracking the plan stop being two apps.

It runs on Android and Windows

Bear is Apple-only, and has been clear about that for years. If you have a Pixel, or a Windows machine at work, TaskForge covers both with the same files.

Sync isn't a subscription

Bear Pro exists largely to pay for sync. TaskForge doesn't sync anything; it reads a folder, so iCloud Drive or Obsidian Sync moves it for free.

Where Bear is the better app

If you're choosing a place to write rather than a place to organize, most of these will matter more than anything above.

It is more pleasant to write in

Typography, spacing, themes, the way the editor gets out of the way. Bear has a decade of care in it and TaskForge is a task app that grew a good note editor. Different starting points.

Backlinks and a proper tag system

Bear's nested tags and backlinks are central to how people organize there. TaskForge has folders, wikilinks that resolve, and search, but no backlinks panel.

Images, PDFs, and OCR

Bear renders attachments inline and can find text inside images. TaskForge renders images and hands a PDF to your system viewer, and it has no OCR.

Export formats and polish

PDF, DOCX, HTML, and more, plus encryption and themes. TaskForge writes markdown and that's the whole list.

Which one to install

Choose Bear if

You're on Apple hardware, writing is the main event, and you want the nicest editor you can get. Tags and backlinks are how you think. Attachments in a note matter.

Choose TaskForge if

You want notes as plain files, you keep tasks and dates inside those notes, you have an Android phone or Windows PC, or you already have an Obsidian vault you'd like a better mobile app for.

Running both

It works, but less neatly than with Obsidian, because Bear's notes live in its database rather than a shared folder. You'd be exporting rather than sharing files. Most people pick one.

Bear and TaskForge, common questions

Is there a Bear app for Android or Windows?

No. Bear is iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. TaskForge covers Android and Windows with native apps.

Does Bear store notes as markdown files?

Bear uses markdown-style formatting while you write, but the notes live in the app's own database and sync through iCloud. You can export to markdown. TaskForge writes .md files directly, so there is no export step.

Can I move my Bear notes into TaskForge?

Yes. Export from Bear as markdown into a folder, then point TaskForge at that folder. Formatting that maps to standard markdown comes across; Bear-specific features like encrypted notes and inline attachments do not.

Does TaskForge have Bear's tags?

It has hierarchical tags on tasks, written as #project/alpha in the file. It does not have Bear's tag sidebar as the primary way of organizing notes; TaskForge uses folders and search.

Which is cheaper?

Depends on how long you keep it. Bear Pro is about $29.99 a year. TaskForge is $49.99 once, so it costs more in year one and less from year two onward. Both have a usable free tier.

Notes that are files, with tasks attached.

Free to download and free to use. Notes and the markdown editor cost nothing.

$49.99 one-time, or $19.99 a year. No account required.