How to Cancel Bear App Pro in 2026 (And Move Your Notes)

Updated February 2026 • 6 min read

Bear is a beautiful note-taking app for Apple devices. The free version is limited to plain text, so most users need Bear Pro at $2.99/month or $29.99/year for Markdown, themes, and sync. It's not expensive, but there are free alternatives that do everything Bear does — and work on Windows/Android too.

Bear Pro Pricing

Free: Basic notes, no sync, no export, no themes
Pro: $2.99/month or $29.99/year — adds sync, export, themes, advanced Markdown

$30/year for a notes app. Apple Notes is free, syncs across all devices, and supports Markdown-like formatting. Obsidian is free and works with plain Markdown files you own.

How to Cancel Bear Pro

Bear Pro is an Apple subscription — you cancel through Apple, not Bear:

iPhone/iPad: Settings → [Your Name] → Subscriptions → Bear Pro → Cancel Subscription
Mac: App Store → click your name → Account Settings → Subscriptions → Bear Pro → Cancel
You keep Pro features until the current billing period ends
After expiry: your notes remain but you lose sync and export

⚠️ Export BEFORE Canceling

The free version doesn't support export. Once Pro expires, you can't bulk export notes. Do this while Pro is still active:

Open Bear → File → Export Notes
Choose Markdown (.md) format — universal and future-proof
Select All Notes
Check "Export attachments"
Save to a folder — you now have plain text files you own forever

Best Bear Alternatives

Obsidian — Free, local Markdown files, works on all platforms. Plugin ecosystem is massive. Bear exports import directly. The closest 1:1 replacement.
Apple Notes — Free, already on your devices. Surprisingly powerful with folders, tags, tables, checklists. No Markdown but good enough for most people.
Notion — Free for personal use. More than notes — databases, wikis, kanban. Overkill for simple notes but incredibly flexible.
Craft — $5/month, Apple-native, beautiful design. If you want Bear's aesthetic but more features. Still a subscription though.
Ulysses — $5.99/month, best for long-form writing. Too expensive for notes, but if you're writing a book it's worth considering.
iA Writer — $49.99 one-time purchase. Markdown editor, clean design, no subscription. Works on Mac, iOS, Windows, Android.

Migrating to Obsidian (Recommended)

Export from Bear as Markdown (see above)
Download Obsidian (free) from obsidian.md
Create a new vault pointing to your exported folder
Done — Obsidian reads .md files natively. Your notes are now plain files on your computer.

Bear uses #tags inline — Obsidian supports this natively. Your tag structure transfers perfectly.

💡 The Case for Owning Your Notes

Bear stores notes in a proprietary database. If the company shuts down or you leave Apple, your notes are trapped. Obsidian uses plain Markdown files stored on your computer. You can open them in any text editor, sync them with any cloud service, and they'll still be readable in 50 years. Own your data.

🔍 Find Every Subscription You're Paying For

Bear Pro is just $30/year — but how many other small subscriptions are adding up? Upload your bank statement to JustCancel and see the total. Those $3-10/month charges compound fast.

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Quick Cancel Guide: Bear App

Direct cancel link + step-by-step instructions