Karakeep vs LinkAce (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Karakeep grades higher than LinkAce: 2.8 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Karakeep grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Karakeep
Open-source bookmark app that tags saved links, notes and images
Which one is for you
Pick Karakeep if
- Fits if you keep links, notes, images and PDFs and want them in one searchable place
- Works for self-hosters, who get every feature free with no cap on bookmarks or storage
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you want it hosted and free, as Karakeep Cloud's Free plan stops at 50 bookmarks and 100 MB
- Skip it if Docker means nothing to you and you won't pay, because free here means running your own server
- Not for you if your team needs single sign-on on the hosted service, as that's the custom-priced Corporate plan
- Watch out: Pro is capped at 50,000 bookmarks and 50 GB, and it has a 7-day money-back guarantee rather than a trial
- Skip it if you want a desktop app, as it's web, phone apps and browser extensions
Pick LinkAce if
- Fits if you're comfortable running Docker on your own server and want bookmarks you control
- Works for people who want broken links flagged and pages archived
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want to look after a server, because install and updates are yours to do
- Not for you if you want help from the maker: he says he offers no free personal support or installation help
- Too light for people who want a browser extension, as saving is through a bookmarklet
- Watch out: the hosted version is a beta on a waitlist with no price, and prioritized support is for Patreon or GitHub sponsors
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAKarakeepGood | 2.0GPALinkAceFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFree only if you run it yourself, and that means a server and a Docker afternoon. Anyone else pays for Karakeep Cloud Pro: $4 a month, or $40 a year, which is this category's middle to the penny. The hosted free plan holds 50 bookmarks, so it isn't a way of using the thing. | CFree only if you host it yourself, which needs a server, so the real cost isn't on record. The hosted version is a beta with a waitlist and no price shown. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe free route one person could really live on is the self-hosted one, with the lot and no limits. Karakeep Cloud's free plan is only a taster at 50 bookmarks and 100 MB, and even AI tagging and full-text search are listed under Pro there. | BThe whole application is free to run, with no paid tier to be pushed into. The catch is the server you need to run it on. |
| Features | BIt covers the whole job: links, notes, images and PDFs tagged and summarised for you, full-text and semantic search with OCR reading the words inside screenshots, a reader view with highlights, full-page archives, rules, RSS feeds saved automatically, and an API, CLI and MCP server. Linkwarden does much the same. | CTags, lists, link monitoring, automatic archiving, SSO, a REST API and Zapier. Saving is through a bookmarklet rather than a browser extension. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record, but on Karakeep Cloud there's nothing to set up: sign up, start saving, and the tagging is done for you. Hosting your own copy is a Docker afternoon, which is a different proposition. | DNo rating on record. It's installed with Docker, Kubernetes or PHP and kept up to date by you. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android apps and browser extensions, with a REST API, webhooks, a command-line tool and a first-party MCP server, plus local models through Ollama if you self-host. No desktop app, which is what holds it to a B. | CWeb only, with a bookmarklet for saving and no phone or desktop apps listed. |
| Best for | self-hosted bookmarks that tag themselves | a bookmark archive you host on your own server |
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: Karakeep and LinkAce. How we grade
Price against what you get
Karakeep starts at $3.33 a month when paid by the year and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. LinkAce has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
Karakeep scores higher, and starts $3.33 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other read-later and bookmark apps on the chart, 2 score higher than Karakeep for less, and none scores higher than LinkAce for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Karakeep also covers read later and highlights.
At a glance
| Karakeep | LinkAce | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $4 per month, or $40 per year (Pro, Karakeep Cloud) | Free |
| Free plan | Karakeep Cloud's Free plan holds 50 bookmarks and 100 MB of storage. The self-hosted version is free with every feature and no cap on bookmarks or storage. | The whole application is free to run on your own server. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Localhost Labs Ltd | LinkAce (Kovah.de) |
| Price read from | karakeep.com | linkace.org |
| Checked | Nov 2, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Karakeep
- The free Karakeep Cloud plan stops at 50 bookmarks and 100 MB of storage, so regular hosted use needs Pro at $4 a month.
- On Karakeep Cloud, AI-powered tagging and full-text search are listed under Pro and not under the Free plan.
- Pro is capped at 50,000 bookmarks and 50 GB of storage; only the self-hosted version is unlimited.
- Single sign-on and user management on the hosted service are part of the custom-priced Corporate plan.
LinkAce
- You run and maintain it yourself; the maker says he offers no free personal support or installation help.
- It uses a bookmarklet for saving rather than a browser extension.
- An official hosted version is listed as a beta with a waitlist, with no price shown.
- The maker offers prioritized support to people who become a Patreon or GitHub sponsor.
Key features
Karakeep
- Links, notes, images and PDFs
- Save links, text notes, images and PDFs from any device. For links, the title, description and preview image are fetched automatically.
- AI tagging and summaries
- A language model tags and summarizes what you save. Self-hosted installs can run local models through Ollama; on Karakeep Cloud, AI tagging is listed under Pro.
- Full-text and semantic search
- Search covers the full text of saved content in keyword, hybrid or semantic mode, and OCR makes the text inside images and screenshots searchable.
- Reader view, highlights and archives
- Articles open in a reader view where passages can be highlighted, the mobile apps keep content for offline reading, and full-page archives protect against link rot.
- Rules, RSS feeds and shared lists
- A rule engine tags or files new bookmarks by conditions such as the URL, subscribed RSS feeds are saved automatically, and a list can be shared with editors or viewers.
- API, CLI and MCP server
- A REST API with scoped keys, webhooks, a command-line tool and a first-party MCP server let scripts and AI assistants search and save bookmarks.
LinkAce
- Tags and lists
- Tags categorize links without a fixed hierarchy, and lists bundle several links under one broader topic.
- Link monitoring
- Saved links are checked for availability on a schedule, and you are notified if a page moved or went offline.
- Automatic archiving
- After a link is saved, LinkAce notifies the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine so the page is backed up.
- Multiple users and SSO
- Several users can share links, lists and tags, with single sign-on through OAuth or OIDC.
- REST API and Zapier
- A REST API covers links, tags, lists and notes, and the app is available on Zapier for connecting other services.
- Guest mode and RSS
- Guests can view a collection with access set per link, tag or list, and latest links are published as RSS feeds.
Plans
Karakeep
Free$0
Karakeep Cloud for trying the product: 50 bookmarks and 100 MB of storage, with the mobile and web apps and browser extensions.
Self-HostedFree
Unlimited bookmarks and storage on your own server, with every feature and community support.
Pro$4
per month, or $40 per year
Karakeep Cloud with 50,000 bookmarks, 50 GB of storage, AI-powered tagging and full-text search. 7-day money-back guarantee.
CorporateCustom
Managed deployment for teams, priced per seat: everything in Pro plus a custom domain, single sign-on, user management and priority support.
LinkAce
Self-hosted$0
Free and open source; you install and host it yourself with Docker, Kubernetes or PHP.
Ways to pay less
Karakeep
- Annual discount
Save 17% with yearly billing
The pricing page lists Pro at $4 a month or $40 a year, and labels the yearly option as a 17% saving.
LinkAce
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Karakeep or LinkAce?
As of Nov 12, 2026, LinkAce is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $3.33 a month when paid by the year for Karakeep. Karakeep starts at $4 per month, or $40 per year (Pro, Karakeep Cloud), and LinkAce is free.
Which has a free plan, Karakeep or LinkAce?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Karakeep and LinkAce have a free plan.
Which platforms do Karakeep and LinkAce run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Karakeep lists iOS and Android apps and a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.