Cubox vs GoodLinks

Cubox

• Readers who save articles, newsletters and web pages to annotate later
• People who want AI summaries and answers drawn from their own saved library
• Users who send highlights on to Obsidian, Notion or Readwise

GoodLinks

• iPhone, iPad and Mac users who want a read-later app bought once
• Readers who highlight articles and export the notes as Markdown
• People who prefer iCloud sync to signing up for another account

Cubox

• The free basic account has a quota on saved content, and the vendor pages read do not say how large it is.
• The web pricing page offers annual plans only: Pro at $29 a year and Pro+AI at $49 a year. The US App Store listing also shows monthly in-app purchases.
• AI Insight and Ask AI need a paid membership and have usage limits; automatic insight is reserved for Pro+AI.
• The download page lists Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android and browser extensions; on Windows and Linux Cubox runs as a web app.

GoodLinks

• Apple platforms only: the FAQ lists iPhone, iPad and Mac, with no web, Windows or Android version.
• There is no free version or trial; the app costs $9.99 up front on the US App Store.
• Features released more than a year after purchase need the optional Annual Feature Upgrade, listed at $4.99.
• Sync runs through iCloud only, and the API works just on the computer where the app is running.

Cubox

Saving from many places

Browser extensions for Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox, the share sheet on iPhone, iPad and Android, a Mac helper, Email Drop and an API all save content into one library.

Article parsing and snapshots

Saved pages are parsed into a clean reading view with adjustable themes and fonts, and a permanent snapshot keeps the page readable if the original link dies. Snapshots are for Pro members.

Highlights and annotations

Highlight passages and add notes while reading, then review them later through widgets and reminders. Multiple highlight colors are part of the Pro plans.

AI Insight and Ask AI

AI Insight gives an article a short summary, key questions and automatic Ghost Highlights, and Ask AI answers follow-up questions. Automatic insight on newly saved items comes with Pro+AI.

Folders, tags and search

Nested folders and tags, smart folders, batch editing and full-text search organize the library. The help center lists nested folders as exclusive to Pro members.

Export and integrations

Content exports as Markdown, HTML or PDF, and collections and annotations sync to Notion, Readwise and Obsidian. Third-party integrations are a Pro feature.

GoodLinks

Clean article view

GoodLinks extracts the article text and removes adverts and other distractions, with a choice of font, spacing and size and Light, Sepia, Dark and Night themes.

Highlights, notes and Notebook

Highlight passages in a choice of colors, attach notes to them, review an article's highlights in the Notebook and export them as Markdown in a customizable format.

Saving from other apps and browsers

A Share Extension saves links on iOS and macOS, and browser extensions cover Safari, Chrome and Firefox. The Chrome extension also installs in Arc, Edge, Opera and Brave.

iCloud sync without an account

Links, articles, highlights, tags and reading position sync through iCloud, so there is no separate web service account to create.

Tags, search and summaries

Tags and starred articles organize the list, search covers title, author, description and content, and articles can be summarized with Apple Intelligence or an external LLM service using your own API key.

Shortcuts, AppleScript and local API

Shortcuts actions, widgets, a URL scheme and AppleScript on the Mac support automation, and from version 3.2 a REST API served on localhost lets other apps on the same computer read and modify the library.

Cubox

• Basic$0

  Free account for saving and reading, with a quota on saved content. The pricing page and help center do not state the number.

• Cubox Pro$29

  per year

  Unlimited saves and highlights, content parsing and webpage snapshots, multiple highlight colors, nested folders and tags, Email Drop and the API.

• Cubox Pro+AI$49

  per year

  Everything in Pro plus the AI reading assistant: automatic AI Insight summaries, Ask AI and AI Ghost Highlights. Starts with the 14-day trial.

GoodLinks

• GoodLinks$9.99

  one-time purchase, universal for iPhone, iPad and Mac

  Permanent access to every current feature, plus any new features released within one year of the purchase date.

• Annual Feature Upgrade$4.99

  in-app purchase; annual by name, no period shown on the listing

  Optional GoodLinks Premium subscription that unlocks features added after the first year. Features unlocked while subscribed are kept for good.

Cubox

• Other savings

  Renewal price lock on Pro+AI annual

  Cubox's Premium FAQ says anyone who buys or subscribes to the Pro+AI annual membership can keep renewing at the original purchase price, whatever later price changes are made.

GoodLinks

No public discounts listed.