Microsoft OneNote vs Bear

Name: Bear
Brand: Bear
Availability: OnlineOnly
Rating: 4.5 (45 reviews)

Note-Taking Apps pricing comparison · 2026

Microsoft OneNote has a free plan, then $9.99–$19.99/user/mo, while Bear has a free plan, then from $2.99/mo. Bear is typically 82% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.

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See pricing on each vendor's site

Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.

Visit Microsoft pricing

Free plan limits → Discount programs →

Visit Bear pricing

Free plan limits → Discount programs →

Compare

2 products · Note-Taking Apps

Side-by-side · live

Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote is free with a Microsoft account, offering unlimited notebooks, handwrit

verified 20d ago

$809 $888

View pricing →

Bear

Bear pricing starts at $2.

verified 10d ago

$809 $888

View pricing →

Recorded annual contract medians

Microsoft median is $79 less than Bear · different customer contracts; not a quote

Cheapest $809

Spread 9%

Estimated license cost

at 25 seats

List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.

Microsoft 365 Family

$3.9K/yr

year 1 license · $13/seat

Bear Pro - Monthly subscription

$897/yr

year 1 license · $3/seat

What buyers actually pay

median, annual

Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.

↓ Lowest median

Median annual

$809/yr

Vendr · n=59

Median annual

$888/yr

Vendr · n=303

REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from

Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs

Sources 10 sourced facts

5 hidden-cost · 2 contract · Vendr median · 2 review platforms

Last verified 2w ago

Confidence Medium confidence

Sources 3 sourced facts

1 contract · Vendr median · 1 review platform

Last verified 1w ago

Confidence Medium confidence

REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder

Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.

REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker

Severity-ranked, sourced

4 documented

Microsoft 365 Subscription Required for Full Features

$9.99-$19.99/month

1 source
OneDrive Ecosystem Lock-In

5-15% of license costs

1 source
Data Migration Costs When Leaving

5-15% of license costs

1 source
Support Quality — Time Cost

5-10% of license costs

2 sources

No hidden costs documented

REF · 04

Contract terms

The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.

Microsoft

Bear

Auto-renewal

Yes

Cancellation

—

at any time

Commitment

Until the anniversary date for annual subscriptions

—

Price escalation

—

Can downgrade

—

REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews

TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2

TrustRadius

8out of 5 (950)

Trustpilot

1.3out of 5 (20)

Best for

Getting started at no cost

Watch out

Notes frequently lost during sync — entire days of work can disappear without warning

4.5out of 5 (45)

Best for

Power users needing cross-device sync

Watch out

Limited Cross-Platform Support

Decide

Get a quote from each vendor

Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.

Visit Microsoft pricing

Free plan limits → Discount programs →

Visit Bear pricing

Free plan limits → Discount programs →

License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.

Note-Taking Apps