Quick answer
Choose Bear for elegant everyday note-taking. Choose Noute when your notes need to connect and accumulate into a knowledge system.
Where Bear shines
Bear has long appealed to Apple users because it feels polished, fast, and pleasant to write in. If your note system is mostly capture, tags, and focused drafting, that simplicity is a strength.
Where Noute pulls ahead
Noute is built for people who want their notes to relate to one another more explicitly. Wikilinks, backlinks, local Markdown files, and visual context all make more sense once your notes start forming a network instead of staying isolated.
The main trade-off
Bear feels lighter and more streamlined for simple note collections.
Noute gives you more connected-note power, but that also means it is aimed at people who want a broader knowledge workflow rather than a pure note pad.
Best fit summary
If you want a refined writing app first, Bear may be the better fit.
If you want a local-first Markdown workspace where ideas link, resurface, and stay portable, Noute is the stronger choice.