Everything Bear does well, and the two things it does not.
Bear has the better editor, nested tags, real export, and an agent server of its own. It cannot file a selection without a right-click, or hide from a screen share.
Get HushNotesPay once. macOS 14 or later.
One key, not a right-click
Bear files a selection from its right-click menu.
Stays over full screen
Bear floats on top, and full screen is not documented.
Out of the screen share
A Bear window is in the capture like any other.
Both lock a note
Bear Pro encrypts note by note, and that is not the difference.
What each one gives you.
Every line Bear wins is here too.
| Capability | HushNotes | Bear |
|---|---|---|
| Capture selected text from any app with one key | Yes, one key | PartialRight-click only |
| Keeps where the text came from | YesApp, title and page URL | Not documented |
| Floats above other apps, full screen included | Yes, full screen too | Floats, yesFull screen not documented |
| Hidden from screen sharing and screenshots | Yes, by default | Not offered |
| Hide every note from another app, with one key | Yes, one key⌥⇧H, and it relocks | No⌘H hides the front app only |
| Lock a note behind Touch ID | Yes, per note | Yes, on Pro |
| Give each note its own paper and opacity | Six papers, 10–100%The paper fades, never the ink | Not documentedThemes, scope not documented |
| Works without an account | Yes, none exists | YesCloudKit, no registration |
| Syncs to iPhone and iPad | NoMac only | Yes, on Pro |
| Export your notes | NoDoes not ship today | Yes, full on Pro |
| Agents can read your notes | Yes, four toolsOff by default, no delete | Yes, wider reach |
| Price | $9.99 once33% off at launch | $2.99 a month |
Keep writing in Bear.
The long pieces stay where the better editor is. The line you grabbed in the middle of a call comes here.
Get HushNotesNine things it does, four it will not.
Bear Pro covers all four of the second list.
HushNotes does
- Keep a selection from any app, one key
- Store the app, title and URL with it
- Float over full-screen apps
- Stay out of screen shares and screenshots
- Clear the desk from wherever you are
- Lock a note behind Touch ID
- Set each note’s paper and opacity
- Work with no account, offline, paid once
- Answer an agent, on your machine only
HushNotes does not
- Sync to your iPhone or iPad
- Export your notes anywhere
- Organise anything by tags
- Find the words inside a picture
One of these is a subscription.
$9.99 once is under four months of Bear Pro, and nothing after that. That is 33% off at launch, down from $14.99.
$9.99
One payment, three Macs.
$2.99/mo
Or $29.99 a year.
Your notes are on your screen, not in the share.
Every note window is left out of screen shares, recordings and screenshots, on by default.
It is Apple's mechanism rather than ours, so treat it as a strong privacy measure and not a guarantee, and check it against your own setup before a call that matters.
The awkward ones, answered.
Is Bear the better writing app?
Yes. The editor is more capable, there are far more themes, and a long piece belongs there. This one is built for the line you take while you are doing something else.
Bear has an agent server. Why does this one?
Bear's reaches further: it searches, reads, creates, appends, tags, pins, attaches, archives and trashes. HushNotes serves four tools on a loopback address, off by default and read-only to begin with, with no delete and no edit, and a locked note is filtered out before anything is served.
Does HushNotes export to Markdown?
No. Export of any kind does not ship today. Bear Pro exports to Markdown, TextBundle, RTF, PDF and more, and that is a real reason to keep it.
Can I lock a note without a subscription?
Yes. Any HushNotes note locks on the one $9.99 licence. Bear encrypts a note on Pro, which is $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year.
What does screen-share invisibility not cover?
The menu bar item's own window, which AppKit owns and which holds no note content, and a camera pointed at your display. Treat it as a strong privacy measure and not a guarantee.
What does "Not documented" mean?
That the vendor publishes no answer. Nothing there was proven absent, only left undocumented, which is why it does not read No.
