How to Migrate from Bear to Apple Notes

Bear to Apple Notes migration: export Bear notes as Markdown files, then import them. Apple Notes accepts text pasting but does not import Markdown directly. Use a conversion step for large libraries.

Why People Move from Bear to Apple Notes

Bear costs $2.99/month (or $29.99/year). Apple Notes is free. Some users switch when the pricing changed or when they decide Bear’s additional features are not worth the cost. Others move when they want better Siri and Spotlight integration.

What you lose leaving Bear: Markdown editing syntax, multi-level headers with proper Markdown rendering, hashtag-based organization, the focused writing environment.

Export Steps

In Bear: File > Export Notes > choose folder. Select Markdown (.md) format. Bear exports each note as a .md file preserving headers, bold, lists.

Import to Apple Notes: Apple Notes has no direct import from Markdown files. Options for large libraries:

Option A (manual): Open each .md file in a text editor, copy, paste into Apple Notes. Markdown syntax renders as plain text with asterisks visible.

Option B (script): Use a Markdown-to-Apple-Notes script. Several are available on GitHub that use AppleScript to create notes programmatically from Markdown files.

Option C (partially): Use Nemos. Nemos captures text and links via the share sheet. Not a direct Bear replacement for structured writing, but handles the reference-capture side that Bear was used for.

What Migrates Well vs Poorly

Migrates well: plain text content, headers becoming bold text, bulleted lists.

Migrates poorly: Bear-specific hashtag organization (becomes plain text), nested subheadings (flatten), images (need to be re-attached in Apple Notes), internal links between notes.

Keeping Both for a Transition Period

If you have a large Bear library, consider keeping Bear active for reference to old notes while using Apple Notes for new captures. Export when you need a specific note, rather than batch-migrating everything at once.