Raindrop.io
Raindrop.io is one of the best bookmark managers: nice collections and lots of integrations.
But it’s made to organise links. The reader view is limited, needs Pro, and doesn’t always get the whole article.
It’s really two different needs:
- Organising links (keeping, sorting, sharing): Raindrop.io is great at that.
- Reading articles later (the whole text, no distractions, offline): that’s what wallabag.it is for.
The other options for reading
- Instapaper: a nice reading app, but the best features need Premium, around 55 € a year.
- Readwise Reader: very complete (RSS, highlights, notes), but around 96 € a year.
What wallabag.it does
- It saves the whole article, not just the link. If the page disappears, you still have it.
- You read on the web, on Android, on iOS, and on Kobo or PocketBook e-readers. Offline too.
- Tags, search, highlights and annotations.
- You can export everything whenever you want: PDF, ePUB, mobi, JSON, CSV…
- It’s hosted in Europe. No ads, no tracking: it’s paid for by subscriptions.
- It’s the open-source wallabag, the project I started in 2013. If you’d rather host it yourself, you can.
Prices
| Service | Per year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| wallabag.it | 11 € | Open source, hosted in Europe |
| Raindrop.io Pro | ~26 € | Bookmarks first, search and annotations in Pro |
| Instapaper Premium | ~55 € | Highlights, notes, text-to-speech |
| Readwise Reader | ~96 € | Highlights sync, RSS, AI features, hosted in the US |
wallabag.it costs 11 € a year. There’s also 4 € for 3 months, or 30 € a year if you want to support the project a bit more. You can try it free for 14 days, no credit card needed.
You can also use both: Raindrop.io for your links, wallabag.it for your reading.