Not everyone wants [Notion](/entry/notion-versus-readwise-which-subscription-actually-fuels-your-knowledge-workflow). Sometimes you just want a fast, pretty place to write things down. Three good options, three pricing shapes.
| Free tier | Paid | Sync | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Notes | full app, free on Apple devices | none (iCloud storage billed separately: $0.99/mo 50 GB and up) | iCloud, included |
| UpNote | 50 notes, no attachments | $1.99/mo or ~$39.99 lifetime | cross-platform, cloud |
| Bear | full app, local only | Pro $2.99/mo ($29.99/yr) | iCloud sync is Pro-only |
Apple Notes is free, already on your devices, and much better than its reputation — folders, tags, tables, sketches, scanning, decent search, and solid iCloud sync at no extra cost (unless your total iCloud storage tips over the free 5 GB, which is a separate bill). If you live entirely in the Apple ecosystem, start here; you may never need anything else.
Bear is the writer's markdown app — a genuinely lovely typing experience, an elegant tag-based organization system, and export to lots of formats. The catch: the free version doesn't sync between devices. You need Bear Pro ($2.99/month or $29.99/year) for cross-device iCloud sync, which is the main reason to pay. Apple platforms only.
UpNote is the cross-platform one — Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android — with a clean interface and, crucially, a one-time lifetime purchase option around $39.99 instead of a subscription. The free tier caps you at 50 notes, so it's really a paid app, but paying once for something that works on every OS is appealing if you're not all-Apple.
All-Apple and want free: Apple Notes. Apple user who wants a beautiful markdown writing app and will pay for sync: Bear. Need Windows/Android/Linux support or hate subscriptions: UpNote's lifetime licence.