People often search for these three together, but they don’t really do the same job. Bear and Obsidian are notes libraries: places to write, tag, link and search everything you’ve ever noted down. Oxid Note is a sticky-notes app: a few small plain-text windows that can stay in front of the other windows on your desktop, so a checklist, a phone number or a draft is always in view. Comparing them is mostly about working out which of those you need, or whether you want both.
Short version: if you want somewhere to keep all your notes, with tags, formatting, search and sync to your iPhone, Bear is the polished choice on Apple devices. If you want linked notes as plain Markdown files, on any platform, with a huge plugin library, Obsidian is hard to beat, and it’s free. If what you actually want is a plain-text note that stays in front of your other windows while you work, that’s what Oxid Note is for, and it sits alongside either of them. It doesn’t show over apps in full-screen mode, and if you only need one floating note, the Stickies app that comes with macOS can float too.
At a glance
| Oxid Note | Bear | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Sticky notes, each in its own window | Markdown notes app | Linked notes stored as local Markdown files |
| Price | $19 one-time, one Mac; 7-day trial | Free; Pro $2.99/month or $29.99/year after a 7-day trial | Free; Sync from $4/month, Publish from $8/month, billed yearly |
| Platforms | Mac | Mac, iPhone, iPad | Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android |
| Stays in front of other windows | Yes, switched on per note, in multiple independent note windows; not over apps in full-screen mode | Not listed on its features page as of October 2026 | Not listed on its features page as of October 2026 |
| Transparency | Adjustable per note, 0 to 100% | Not listed | Not listed |
| Text | Plain text; one font, text colour and background colour per note | Markdown, with themes (3 free, 28+ with Pro) | Markdown, with community themes |
| Sync between devices | No; notes are saved on this Mac only | iCloud sync, with Pro | Obsidian Sync, paid, end-to-end encrypted |
| Organising | Notes manager with search and sorting; due dates with an overdue label | Tags, search inside photos and PDFs with Pro | Links between notes, graph view, Canvas |
| Extending it | No | Not listed | Thousands of community plugins |
Different jobs
Bear is a writing and notes app for Mac, iPhone and iPad with a well-earned reputation for design. The free version keeps your notes on one device, scans documents and exports to formats from Markdown and PDF to DOCX and ePub. Bear Pro adds iCloud sync between your devices, more themes, search for text inside photos and PDFs, and note encryption (bear.app). If you take notes on your phone and want them on your Mac a moment later, that sync is the main reason to pay.
Obsidian stores your notes as plain Markdown files in a folder on your own device, so they stay readable by any other app and you aren’t locked in. You can link notes to each other, see those links as a graph, and lay ideas out on an infinite Canvas. Its community has built thousands of plugins and themes, adding things like calendars, kanban boards and task tracking (obsidian.md). The app is free for personal use, and runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android. Nothing else here comes close to how far you can customise it.
Oxid Note doesn’t try to be a library. Each note is its own small window, and you can set any of them to stay in front of your other windows, with background transparency you can adjust so you can see through it to the work underneath. Notes are plain text: there are buttons that insert bullet, numbered and checkbox markers, but no bold, headings or links. Every note can have its own background colour, text colour and font. Focus mode hides the controls while you type, notes can have a due date, a notes manager keeps track of them all, and a menu bar icon and the Control-Shift-O shortcut show or hide every note from anywhere. Notes are saved on your Mac and don’t sync to other devices.
When a floating note helps
A notes library is where things go to be kept. A sticky note is for the thing you need in front of you right now: the steps of a task you’re following, figures you’re copying into a form, a talk’s running order, or a to-do list for the afternoon. You can do that by keeping a Bear or Obsidian window open and arranging your others around it, but it gets hidden as soon as you switch apps. Oxid Note can stay in front, and transparency means it can sit over a corner of your work without blocking it.
Two limits are worth knowing. A note stays in front of ordinary windows on your desktop, but not over an app in full-screen mode, because macOS puts that app in its own Space and the note stays behind. And macOS already includes Stickies, which can keep a note in front of other windows (Window > Float on Top), has a translucent mode and supports rich text. If one floating note is all you need, try Stickies first. Oxid Note adds adjustable transparency, focus mode, due dates, a notes manager and a shortcut that shows or hides every note at once.
If you already use Bear or Obsidian, there’s no need to choose. Use either as your library and keep a few floating notes for the moment.
Price
Obsidian’s app is free, with no sign-up. You pay only for its optional services: Sync at $4 a month billed yearly or $5 monthly, and Publish at $8 a month billed yearly or $10 monthly. A commercial licence is $50 per user per year, and Obsidian encourages, but doesn’t require, organisations to buy one (pricing).
Bear is free to use on one device. Bear Pro, which adds sync, is $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year after a 7-day trial (bear.app).
Oxid Note costs $19 once, for one Mac, with no subscription. A 7-day trial starts on first launch; without a trial or licence, your notes become read-only. It’s also in the $99 Value Pack, which includes 12 Oxid apps. Bear Pro and Obsidian Sync are ongoing costs, but they pay for syncing across devices, which Oxid Note doesn’t do.
Which should you choose?
- Choose Bear if you want a polished notes app on Mac, iPhone and iPad, with formatting, tags and iCloud sync.
- Choose Obsidian if you want your notes as plain files you control, linked notes, plugins, or an app on Windows, Linux or Android. It’s free to start.
- Choose Oxid Note if you want several plain-text notes that stay in front of your other windows while you work, with adjustable transparency, colours, due dates and a shortcut to bring them all up, and you don’t need them over full-screen apps.
- Use Stickies if one floating note with rich text is enough; it comes with your Mac.
- Use Oxid Note with either library if you want a notes library and something on screen for the task at hand.
Questions
How do I keep a note floating on top of other windows on a Mac?
The Stickies app that comes with macOS can do it with Window > Float on Top. Oxid Note lets you switch it on per note, with adjustable transparency. An Oxid Note doesn't show over an app in full-screen mode, because macOS puts that app in its own Space.
Is there a Stickies alternative for Mac?
Oxid Note adds adjustable transparency, focus mode, due dates, a notes manager and a shortcut that shows or hides every note at once. It is $19 once for one Mac, with a 7-day trial. If one floating note with rich text is enough, try Stickies first.
Bear vs Obsidian: what's the difference?
Bear is a polished Markdown notes app for Mac, iPhone and iPad; Pro adds iCloud sync for $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year after a 7-day trial. Obsidian stores linked notes as local Markdown files, has thousands of community plugins, runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android, and is free.
Does Oxid Note sync notes to my iPhone?
No. Oxid Note saves notes on your Mac only. If you need notes on several devices, Bear Pro's iCloud sync or Obsidian Sync, from $4 a month billed yearly, do that and Oxid Note doesn't.
Can Oxid Note format text with bold or headings?
No. Notes are plain text, with buttons that insert bullet, numbered and checkbox markers, but no bold, headings or links. Each note can have its own font, text colour and background colour; Bear and Obsidian use Markdown.