Karakeep vs linkding
We give Karakeep a 3.4 GPA and linkding a 3.0, out of 4.0. Karakeep grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. linkding grades higher 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
Free plan · from $4/mo
How we grade them
| 3.4GPAKarakeepVery good | 3.0GPAlinkdingVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPro on Karakeep Cloud is $4 a month or $40 a year, about typical for a reading app. It holds 50,000 bookmarks and 50 GB, with AI tagging and full-text search, and comes with a 7-day money-back guarantee. Self-host it and you pay nothing. | AFree and open source under the MIT licence, with no paid plan. Your only cost is the server it runs on. Managed hosting exists, but it's sold by third parties the documentation lists, not by the project. |
| Free plan and trial | BKarakeep Cloud's Free plan is a taster: 10 bookmarks and 20 MB, with AI tagging and full-text search listed under Pro. The real free version is the self-hosted one, with every feature and no caps, if you have a server to run it on. | AThe whole thing is free for as long as you like, with nothing kept back for payers. One instance takes several users too, so a household can share it. |
| Features | ALinks, notes, images and PDFs in one place, tagged and summarised for you. Search covers the full text, and OCR reads the words inside screenshots. There's a reader view with highlights, full-page archives, rules, RSS feeds saved automatically, and an API, CLI and MCP server. | BSolid basics, kept minimal on purpose: tags, automatic titles and icons, Markdown notes, bulk editing, sharing between users and page snapshots. Saving snapshots as local HTML needs the bigger latest-plus image, and the maintainer says larger features that don't fit the minimal goals may be declined. |
| Ease of use | BThere's no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is as high as we go. On Karakeep Cloud you sign up and start saving, and the tagging is done for you. Hosting your own copy is a Docker job, which is a different afternoon. | DYou host it yourself, normally with Docker. It's a single container with SQLite by default, which is about as light as self-hosting gets, but it's still a server for you to run. Local snapshots want at least 1 GB of RAM. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, iPhone and Android apps and browser extensions, with a REST API, webhooks, a command-line tool and a first-party MCP server. Self-hosted installs can run local models through Ollama. | BA web app that installs as a Progressive Web App, with Firefox and Chrome extensions, a bookmarklet and a REST API. There are no official mobile or desktop apps. The Android, iOS and macOS clients are community projects. |
| Best for | self-hosted bookmarks that tag themselves | a small bookmark manager 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 linkding. How we grade
Where they differ
- Karakeep starts at $4 per month, or $40 per year (Pro, Karakeep Cloud). linkding is free.
- Only Karakeep lists iOS and Android apps.
- Karakeep also covers highlights.
In commonFree planWebBrowser extensionOpen sourceSelf-hostablePublic APIRead laterBookmarks
At a glance
| Karakeep | linkding | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 10 bookmarks and 20 MB of storage. The self-hosted version is free with every feature and no cap on bookmarks or storage. | Free and open source under the MIT license, run on your own server. Managed hosting is sold only by third parties that the documentation lists. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Localhost Labs Ltd | Sascha Ißbrücker |
| Price read from | karakeep.app | github.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Karakeep
- People who keep links, notes, images and PDFs in one collection
- Self-hosters who want a bookmark manager with no feature limits
- Anyone who prefers automatic tagging to filing bookmarks by hand
linkding
- Self-hosters who want a small, quick bookmark manager
- People replacing browser bookmarks with a tagged, searchable archive
- Families or small groups sharing bookmarks on one instance
Worth knowing
Karakeep
- The free Karakeep Cloud plan stops at 10 bookmarks and 20 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.
linkding
- It has to be self-hosted, normally with Docker; the project lists third-party managed hosts but runs no service of its own.
- There are no official mobile or desktop apps; the Android, iOS and macOS clients are community projects.
- Local HTML snapshots need the latest-plus image, which bundles Chromium, needs at least 1 GB of RAM and is not built for ARM v7.
- The maintainer says he may decline larger feature contributions that do not fit the project's minimal goals.
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.
linkding
- Tags and a readable interface
- Bookmarks are organized with tags in an interface optimized for readability, with features that can be switched on or off and a number of display settings.
- Automatic metadata
- linkding fetches the title, description, icon and preview image of each bookmarked website automatically.
- Archiving
- Snapshots of bookmarked pages can be created automatically, either as local HTML files with the larger latest-plus Docker image or on the Internet Archive.
- Read later, notes and bulk editing
- Bookmarks support read-it-later use and Markdown notes, and any operation can be applied to a selection of bookmarks or the whole collection.
- Multi-user sharing and SSO
- One instance supports multiple users, who can share bookmarks with other users or guests. Single sign-on works through OIDC or an authentication proxy.
- Extensions, PWA and REST API
- Firefox and Chrome extensions and a bookmarklet add and search bookmarks from the browser, the site installs as a Progressive Web App, and a REST API supports scripts and third-party apps.
Plans
Karakeep
Free$0
Karakeep Cloud for trying the product: 10 bookmarks and 20 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.
linkding
linkding$0
The complete bookmark manager as a Docker image for your own server, using SQLite by default or PostgreSQL.
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.
linkding
No public discounts listed.
