Twain
Twain vs Bear
Both are native Mac Markdown apps, but they do different jobs. Bear is a notes system with its own database. Twain reads, reviews and edits the Markdown and MDX files already on your disk.
Not shipped yet. The signed, notarised build is in progress; the download and checkout open together when it's ready.
The short version
Bear is a notes system: notes live in its own database and sync through iCloud. Importing a Markdown file copies it in, and there is no way to open an existing file on disk and edit it in place. Twain is the opposite. It opens files where they already live (a repo, a docs folder, iCloud Drive), previews them in Finder with the spacebar, renders MDX components safely, and edits Markdown as blocks that save straight back to the file. If your writing lives in a notes app, that is Bear's job. If it lives in files, Twain is built for that.
your Markdown and MDX lives in files, a documentation repo, a folder of notes, or output an AI wrote, and you want to read, preview, review and edit it without importing anything or paying a subscription.
you want a notes app for writing and keeping personal notes, with iCloud sync across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Watch, and you are happy for those notes to live in Bear's own library rather than as files.
At a glance
Twain next to Bear on the things that decide it. Every fact is dated against Bear's public material.
| Twain | Bearverified 17 Jul 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Opens .md / .mdx files on disk, in place | Yes | No: import copies them into a database |
| Finder Quick Look | Yes (MD + MDX) | No |
| MDX component rendering | Yes: safe, labelled unknowns | No |
| Editing | Block-based visual editor, tables edited in place (Pro) | Hybrid live editor, inside its notes database |
| Maths / Mermaid | KaTeX and Mermaid | Maths (MathJax, 2.5+); no Mermaid |
| Review tooling (diagnostics, anchored notes, rendered diff, AI report) | Yes | No |
| CLI / MCP for agents | CLI (check, render, export) and read-only MCP ship in the app; separate packages pending | BearCLI, MCP server and Claude Connector, shipped (2.8) |
| Platforms | macOS 14+ | macOS, iPhone, iPad, Watch, web beta |
| Sync | Your files, synced your way (git, iCloud Drive) | iCloud (CloudKit) only, Pro |
| Price | Free viewer; $19 Pro once (7-day trial) | $2.99/month or $29.99/year |
Side by side
What Twain has that Bear doesn't
- Opens the files already on your disk. No import step, no copy into a database. Rename a file in Finder and Twain follows it.
- Finder Quick Look for Markdown and MDX: press space on a file and read it rendered, without opening an app.
- Renders MDX. Known components become real UI, with component maps for Docusaurus, Mintlify, Nextra and Fumadocs; unknown ones become clean labelled placeholders, and nothing in the file is ever executed. Bear has no MDX support.
- Edits Markdown as blocks (Pro). A floating format toolbar, block move handles and in-place table editing, with every change saved back to the file it came from.
- Review tooling built for documentation: diagnostics with source lines, anchored annotations that survive edits, a rendered diff against last save or Git HEAD, and a Copy Report for Agent action.
- Renders the way repo docs are written: GFM tables, task lists, footnotes, GitHub alerts, Mermaid, and YAML frontmatter as a key-and-value card. Bear has no GitHub alerts and leaves frontmatter inert.
- One-time price. The viewer is free; Pro is a single purchase with a 7-day trial and a 14-day money-back guarantee, not a subscription.
- Runs on macOS 14 and later, Apple silicon or Intel.
What Bear has that Twain doesn't
- Design. Bear won an Apple Design Award, has a custom typeface and more than 28 complete themes.
- Editor. Bear's hybrid live editor hides markup until you edit it.
- Reach. Bear runs on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and a web beta, with iCloud sync across them.
- Agent tooling shipped first. Bear 2.8 added BearCLI, an MCP server and a Claude Connector in April 2026.
The real difference: files versus a database
Everything else follows from this. Bear stores notes in a private database and syncs them with iCloud; a Markdown file has to be imported, which copies its contents in, and there is no path to open an existing file on disk and keep editing it as a file. Getting notes back out means exporting, and export flattens Bear's tag hierarchy into flat directories. Twain never imports anything. It opens the file where it already lives and writes changes straight back to it. For notes you only ever touch inside one app, Bear's model works. For documentation in a repo, or files an AI wrote into a folder, that model means importing and exporting rather than editing in place.
The agent story, on both sides
Bear 2.5 added LaTeX maths through MathJax, and 2.8 (April 2026) added BearCLI, an MCP server and a Claude Connector, with a web app now in free beta at web.bear.app. Twain 1.0 ships its own CLI (check, render, export) and a read-only MCP server inside the app, and they work over the files in a repo rather than a notes database; separately installable packages are next. What has not changed is the storage model, and that is what keeps Bear and Twain in different categories. Bear still does not do Mermaid, rendered HTML or MDX.
Pricing
Bear Pro is $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year, and sync sits behind it. Twain's viewer is free, and Pro is a one-time $19 at the launch price, rising to $29 after the launch window, with a 7-day trial and a 14-day money-back guarantee. The subscription covers Bear's sync, themes and export formats. If you want to read, review and edit files on your Macs, a one-time price fits better.
Questions
Can Bear open a Markdown file already on my disk?
Not in place. Bear can import a Markdown file, which copies its contents into Bear's database, but there is no way to open an existing file on disk and keep it as a file. Twain opens files where they are and saves back to them.
Does Bear support MDX?
No. Bear renders CommonMark with its own extensions but has no MDX component support. Twain renders MDX components safely and shows unknown ones as labelled placeholders.
Does Twain sync like Bear?
No, and deliberately. Twain has no sync of its own; it opens your plain files, so you sync them however you already do, with git, iCloud Drive or Dropbox. Bear syncs its own database through iCloud on a Pro subscription.
Is Twain a good Bear alternative?
Only if your job is files. If you want a notes app with sync across Apple devices, that is Bear's category and Twain is not a notes system. If your Markdown and MDX live as files in a repo or folder and you want to read, review and edit them, that is exactly what Twain is for.
Verification date shown reflects Bear's public material as of that day; capabilities and prices can change. Twain facts describe what the app does today; see the full comparison tables and all comparisons. Prices are in USD.
Try Twain
The free viewer, with a 7-day Pro trial built in.
Not shipped yet. The signed, notarised build is in progress; the download and checkout open together when it's ready.