Free, open-source alternatives to Bear

Bear is a writing-focused notes app that uses Markdown formatting and organises notes with tags instead of folders. The open-source apps below do the same core job of keeping Markdown notes in a clean editor with quick search and simple organisation.

FSNotes and MiaoYan are native Mac apps that store notes as files in a folder you choose, so iCloud Drive or another synced folder can carry them between machines. QOwnNotes keeps plain-text Markdown notes with optional Nextcloud integration, and Notes is a cross-platform app with nested folders and tags.