Clean and calm
A quiet window, careful typography and eight built-in color themes that follow your light or dark appearance.
Bear alternative
The free, open-source Bear alternative for Mac.
Bear is a lovely notes app that keeps notes in its own database. kayet keeps every note as a plain Markdown file in a folder you choose, free and with nothing to subscribe to.
kayet vs Bear at a glance
| kayet | Bear | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, no paid tiers | Free, Pro subscription for sync |
| Source code | Open source (Apache 2.0) | Closed source |
| Where your text lives | Plain files in any folder you pick | Its own database |
| Platforms | macOS on Apple Silicon | Mac, iPhone, iPad |
| Organization | Folders and files | Tags and nested tags |
| Linking notes | Regular Markdown links | Note links |
| Export | HTML and PDF | Many formats |
What will feel familiar
Markdown that keeps up
Lists continue on Enter, pasted URLs over text become links and pasted images are saved next to the note.
Find anything
Jump to a note with ⌘P or search all of them with ⌘⇧F.
Where kayet is different
Notes are filesEach note is a .md file in your workspace folder. No import, no export, no lock-in.
Free, no Pro tierEvery feature is included. There is no subscription.
Edit anythingCode and config files open with syntax highlighting, so kayet doubles as a light text editor.
Open sourceApache License 2.0, developed in the open on GitHub.
When Bear is the better choice
kayet does less on purpose. Stay with Bear if:
- You want built-in sync between Mac, iPhone and iPad.
- You organize notes with tags rather than folders.
- You need note-to-note links and backlinks.
Questions
Is kayet a free Bear alternative?
kayet is a free, open-source Markdown notes editor for Mac. Unlike Bear, it stores each note as a plain file in a folder.
How do I move my notes from Bear to kayet?
Export your notes from Bear as Markdown files into a folder, then open that folder in kayet as the workspace (⌘⇧O).
Does kayet have an iPhone app?
No. kayet is a Mac app. Keep your notes in iCloud Drive or Dropbox to read them on other devices.
Start writing.
Free and open source. Requires macOS on Apple Silicon.
Download for Mac
Signed and notarized. Release notes & previous versions.
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Bear is a trademark of its respective owner. kayet is an independent project, not affiliated with or endorsed by the makers of Bear. The comparison reflects publicly available information as of October 2026 and may change.