A question buyers ask AI · names a product

Can Bear store my notes as plain Markdown files on my own disk and still sync between my iPhone and Mac?

Measured in 1 answer, last on Nov 10, 2026. Only the passages that name a brand are shown.

Brands in the answers

BrandNamed inRecommended inPositiveAvg. position
Obsidian100%100%100%—
Bear100%0%0%—

Where each answer names a brand

Answer 1 · Nov 10, 2026
ObsidianRecommendedpositive
“If having genuine Markdown files that you own and can manipulate outside the application is non-negotiable, I'd choose Obsidian.”
+ local folder of Markdown files

“It gives you a local folder of Markdown files, works on iPhone and Mac, and doesn't require a subscription if you use iCloud Drive for synchronization.”

+ iPhone and Mac support

“It gives you a local folder of Markdown files, works on iPhone and Mac, and doesn't require a subscription if you use iCloud Drive for synchronization.”

+ no subscription needed with iCloud Drive

“It gives you a local folder of Markdown files, works on iPhone and Mac, and doesn't require a subscription if you use iCloud Drive for synchronization.”

Bearmixed
“Bear supports Markdown, but it does not use ordinary .md files in a folder on your disk as its native storage system.”
+ polished writing experience

“Bear is arguably more polished as a writing experience”

+ Markdown support

“Bear supports Markdown”

+ iCloud sync between iPhone and Mac

“Bear Pro syncs your notes between iPhone and Mac using iCloud.”

+ Markdown export

“You can export notes as ordinary Markdown files (.md).”

+ Markdown import

“You can import existing Markdown files into Bear.”

− no folder-based .md file storage

“Bear doesn't offer that folder-based workflow.”

− proprietary database storage

“Bear stores notes in its own local database on your devices.”

− storage architecture doesn't meet requirement

“its storage architecture doesn't meet your requirement”

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