GoodLinks vs Plinky
We give GoodLinks and Plinky the same GPA: 2.8 out of 4.0. GoodLinks grades higher on value for money, features and ease of use. Plinky grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
GoodLinks
Read-later and link-saving app for iPhone, iPad and Mac
Plinky
Link-saving app for iPhone, iPad and Mac with tags and reminders
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAGoodLinksGood | 2.8GPAPlinkyGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$9.99 once on the US App Store, and that one purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac. Most paid reading apps charge more than that every year. Features added after your first year need an optional $4.99 upgrade. | BPro is $3.99 a month or $39.99 a year on the US App Store, about typical for a reading app. The lifetime unlock is $159.99, roughly four times the yearly price. Unread Premium subscribers get yearly Pro at 50% off. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing is free. There's no free version and no trial, so it's $9.99 up front before you've seen it handle a single link of yours. | BYou can save links for free, but links, tags, folders, reminders and pins are all capped, and the App Store listing doesn't put numbers on the caps. So you find out where free ends by hitting it. |
| Features | AA clean article view, highlights with notes, Markdown export, tags, search through the article text, and summaries from Apple Intelligence or your own API key. It does one job, reading later, and does all of it. Shortcuts, AppleScript and a local API are there for tinkerers. | BSolid basics for saving links: folders, tags, pins, reminders that bring a link back at a set time, widgets and a developer API. Reading leans on Safari's Reader Mode, and nothing in the listing mentions highlights or keeping a copy of the page. |
| Ease of use | A4.7 from 638 App Store ratings. There's no account to create because it syncs through iCloud, and saving a link is the share button or a browser extension. | BThere's no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is as high as we go. Saving is the share button or a browser extension, and suggested tags give you somewhere to start. |
| Platforms and integrations | CiPhone, iPad and Mac, plus saving extensions for Safari, Chrome and Firefox. All Apple, though. The FAQ lists no web, Windows or Android version, and sync is iCloud only. | CiPhone, iPad and Mac, with extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Safari, plus Shortcuts and an API. All Apple, though. No Android, Windows or web app is listed, and it needs iOS 18.5 or macOS 26 or later. |
| Best for | read-later on Apple devices, bought once | saving links from any app on Apple devices |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: GoodLinks and Plinky. How we grade
Where they differ
- GoodLinks starts at $9.99 one-time purchase on the US App Store, covering iPhone, iPad and Mac. Plinky starts at $3.99 per month, or $39.99 per year (US App Store).
- Plinky has a free plan. GoodLinks does not.
- GoodLinks can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- GoodLinks also covers highlights.
- Plinky also covers bookmarks.
At a glance
| GoodLinks | Plinky | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9.99 one-time purchase on the US App Store, covering iPhone, iPad and Mac | $3.99 per month, or $39.99 per year (US App Store) |
| Free plan | None | Plinky can be used and links saved for free, within limits the listing does not put numbers on. Unlimited saved links, tags, folders, reminders and pinned links need Plinky Pro. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Ngoc Luu | Red Panda Club |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Plinky
- iPhone, iPad and Mac users who want one place for links from apps and browsers
- People who save videos, recipes and social posts as well as articles
- Shortcuts users who want to automate saving and finding links
Worth knowing
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.
Plinky
- Apple platforms plus browser extensions only; no Android, Windows or web app is listed.
- The free version caps saved links, tags, folders, reminders and pins, and the listing does not state the numbers.
- The App Store listing requires iOS or iPadOS 18.5 or macOS 26 or later.
- The lifetime unlock is $159.99, about four times the price of a year of Plinky Pro.
Key features
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.
Plinky
- Saving from any app or browser
- A share extension on iPhone and iPad and browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Safari save links from other apps and the web. Chromium browsers such as Edge, Brave and Arc use the Chrome extension.
- Folders, tags and pins
- Links are organized into folders and tags, with suggested tags to start from, and the links, folders and tags used most can be pinned to the top.
- Reminders
- A reminder can be set on any link so that it resurfaces inside Plinky at a chosen date and time, without a separate to-do app.
- Reader Mode
- Links can open in Safari's Reader Mode without leaving Plinky, either for every article by default or through a swipe or long-press action.
- Widgets and customization
- Widgets for the Home Screen, Lock Screen and Control Center show recent or pinned links or the contents of a folder or tag, and the colors and layout of links, tags and folders can be changed.
- Shortcuts, URL schemes and API
- Shortcuts actions cover what the app itself can do, and URL schemes and a developer API let other tools save, update and manage links.
Plans
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.
Plinky
Free$0
Save and organize links with capped numbers of links, tags, folders, reminders and pins. The caps are not stated on the listing.
Plinky Pro$3.99
per month, or $39.99 per year (US App Store)
Unlimited saved links, tags, folders, reminders and pinned links on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Plinky Lifetime Unlock$159.99
one-time payment that never renews
The same unlimited features as Plinky Pro for a single payment instead of a subscription.
Ways to pay less
GoodLinks
No public discounts listed.
Plinky
- Annual discount
About 16% off with the annual subscription
The US App Store listing gives Plinky Pro as $3.99 a month or $39.99 a year, so a year paid up front costs about 16% less than twelve monthly payments.
- Lifetime license
Lifetime unlock for $159.99
The App Store listing offers a lifetime option with one payment of $159.99 that never renews, as an alternative to subscribing to Plinky Pro.
- Other savings
50% off for Unread Premium subscribers
Unread Premium subscribers can get a yearly Plinky Pro subscription at 50% off through Apple's contingent pricing, and the discount lasts while both subscriptions stay active.
