Just as we use bookmarks to mark our place in books, now we have digital bookmarks for the internet.
They help us find our way back to websites we want to visit again.
But as we use the internet more, we might save more bookmarks. This can make it hard to find the ones we want.
That’s why people use bookmark managers.
These apps, or tools as we can call them, go beyond the basic bookmarking feature of web browsers, giving you more organization features to help you categorize, tag, and easily search through your saved web pages.
But how do you pick the right one for you?
Let’s take a look at some of the best bookmark manager apps and see how they can level up your internet browsing experience.
Top Picks at a Glance
Tool | Best For | Main Features | Free Plan | Paid Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Raindrop.io | Organizing & tagging bookmarks | Collections, full-text search, broken link checker | Yes | $3/month or $28/year |
Notion | Flexible database-style saving | Custom views, tags, filters, Web Clipper | Yes | From $10/month (annually) |
Pocket | Read-it-later with recommendations | Offline mode, TTS, discovery engine | Yes | $4.99/month or $44.99/year |
Instapaper | Distraction-free reading | Offline reading, highlights, clean layout | Yes | $5.99/month or $59.99/year |
Anybox | Apple users & quick access | Siri Shortcuts, Spotlight search, smart lists | Yes (up to 50 links) | $1.99/month or $39.99 lifetime |
1. Raindrop.io
Raindrop.io is an all-in-one bookmark manager app that works well for both day-to-day users and advanced users. It’s one of the best I can recommend because it’s easy to use, but also has powerful tools as a link organizer app.
Here’s an example of how it can help: Let’s say you’re doing research for a project.
With Raindrop.io, you can:
- Create different collections for each topic
- Add tags to your bookmarks to find them easily
- Share collections and collaborate with friends and colleagues
More than that, if you pay for the pro version, you get a really useful full-text search feature. This lets you search not just the titles of your bookmarks, but everything on the saved pages.
So, if you remember reading something but can’t remember where, you can still find it. Raindrop.io also has a helpful feature that finds broken links. What does that mean?
Sometimes websites we bookmark stop working. Raindrop.io checks for this and lets you know, so you can keep your bookmarks up-to-date.
Pricing: It’s free to use with no limit on bookmarks. There’s a Pro plan that costs $3 per month or $28 per year. Available on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, and major browsers.
2. Notion
Notion is more than just a bookmark manager. It’s a tool for organizing all your digital stuff. What makes it great is how flexible it is. You can use it to save and organize many different things, like tasks, projects, notes, lists, and the list goes on and on.
You can set it up in a way that works best for you. You can create a database of bookmarks and view them as a table, gallery, or list. You can even add properties like tags, dates, and custom fields, making it easy to filter and sort your bookmarks however you like.
You can set it up like this:
- Create a new database for bookmarks
- Add properties like “URL”, “Title”, “Tags”, and “Date Added”
- Save websites by adding new entries to this database
- Use the “Tags” property to categorize your bookmarks
- Filter and sort your bookmarks using these properties
For example, you could create a “Research” tag for academic sources, a “Recipes” tag for cooking websites, and so on.
But how can you save bookmarks to these databases?
Using Notion’s Web Clipper. It’s a browser extension you can add to your web browser so you can easily save web pages and articles to your Notion workspace while you’re browsing the internet.
This feature also works on mobile apps, making it simple to save and organize online content you find interesting.
Pricing: Notion is free for personal use. Paid plans start at $12/user/month (or $10/user/month when billed annually). It is available on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and web browsers.
3. Pocket (Shutting Down Soon)
Pocket, introduced in 2007, has come a long way and is still a popular app today. If you’re looking for a bookmark manager that seamlessly integrates with your digital life across all devices, Pocket might be your perfect match.
It integrates with hundreds of apps and mainly works as a browser extension, so you can save anything to Pocket.
But Pocket does more than just save things for later. It also helps you find new stuff to read. It looks at what you like and save, then suggests articles you might enjoy reading.
One of Pocket’s most loved features is its text-to-speech function. It can read your saved articles out loud, turning your bookmark collection into pretty much a personal podcast.
* The team behind Pocket has announced that the app will be shutting down soon, so it’s best to back up your saved content while you still can.
Pricing: Pocket comes with a Free Plan with all main features, and a Premium Plan at $4.99/month or $44.99/year, which removes ads and includes advanced features like full-text search. It’s available on iOS, Android, macOS, and web browsers.
4. Instapaper
Instapaper is another one of the best bookmark manager apps that allows you to save web content for later reading on various devices, including e-readers, smartphones, and tablets.
If you’re the type of person who always finds some interesting articles but never has the time to read them right away, Instapaper might be your solution.
One of the best reasons to try Instapaper is that it makes articles easier to read. When you save an article, it removes distractions like ads and comments. This leaves you with just the text, which is cleaner and simpler to read.
You can also change how the text looks. You can pick the font, make the text bigger or smaller, and even highlight and annotate text.
But the coolest thing is that Instapaper works offline. You can simply save articles when you’re connected, and you can read them later even without internet access.
It’s great for people who travel or just want to read when they have free time.
Pricing: Instapaper has a Free Plan and a Premium Plan at $5.99/month or $59.99/year, providing you awith dditional features like full-text search, unlimited highlights and notes, and text-to-speech. It is available on iOS, Android, macOS, and web browsers.
5. Anybox
Anybox is another app, but for Apple users. If you’re a student, researcher, or anyone who needs a lightweight design and nicely organized bookmarks, Anybox might be a good choice.
Anybox’s standout feature is its ability to automatically generate lists based on attributes like URL or added date to streamline organization.
You can even use Siri Shortcuts to create custom actions to enhance your workflow. And the coolest thing is you can search for your saved links using Spotlight on your iPhone. These features help you find and use your bookmarks faster.
Pricing: Anybox’s Free Plan only allows users to save up to 50 links. For unlimited saving capabilities, you can opt for a one-time purchase of $39.99 or a subscription model starting at $1.99/month or $14.99/year.
Choosing the Right Bookmark Manager for You
After looking at these five bookmark managers, you might be wondering which one is best for you.
Consider your primary use case.
Think about how you use bookmarks:
- Do you save articles to read later?
- Do you save websites for work or school research?
- Do you need to share saved links with others?
- Do you need integrations with other apps or services?
Your answers will help you choose the best bookmark manager for you.
And don’t forget about what devices you use the most.
Most of these bookmark tools work on different devices, but some might be better for the devices you use.
Try out a few different bookmark managers. See which one you like best and find the easiest to use.
Happy bookmarking!
