Karakeep vs Workona (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Karakeep grades higher than Workona: 2.8 against 2.4 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 the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
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
Workona
Tab manager that groups tabs, docs and links into project spaces
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 Workona if
- Fits if you juggle several projects in your browser and want each kept apart
- Works for people whose tasks live in Asana, ClickUp or Trello
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free team plan, as free accounts are for individuals only
- Tight if you stay free, because spaces and sections are limited
- Watch out: prices read 'starting at' with no billing period, and a help article shows Team at $12 a user monthly
- Not for you if your team is over 25 people, since Team stops there and larger needs Enterprise
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAKarakeepGood | 2.4GPAWorkonaFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CPro is $7 a month and up, with the billing period not shown, on the dearer-quarter line for reading apps. Team is $8 a user with a 3-user minimum. |
| 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. | CFree forever for individuals, but with limits on spaces and on sections per space, and no free team accounts. |
| 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. | BSpaces, autosave, session backups, tab suspension, search, templates and team spaces. The listing names no gap in the core job. |
| 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. | CNo rating on record. You set up spaces and sections for each project. |
| 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. | BWeb and a browser extension, with Google Drive, Slack, Asana, ClickUp, Monday and Trello. No phone apps are listed. |
| Best for | self-hosted bookmarks that tag themselves | organizing browser tabs and cloud docs into project spaces |
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 Workona. 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. Workona starts at $7 a month and scores 2.7.
Karakeep scores higher and starts $3.67 a month lower. Of the other read-later and bookmark apps on the chart, 2 score higher than Karakeep for less, and 11 score higher than Workona 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 is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Karakeep also covers read later and highlights.
- Workona also covers templates and tasks.
At a glance
| Karakeep | Workona | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4 per month, or $40 per year (Pro, Karakeep Cloud) | $7 per month and up (billing period not shown) |
| 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. | Free account for individuals, with limits on spaces and on sections within a space; no free team accounts. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Localhost Labs Ltd | Workona Inc. |
| Price read from | karakeep.com | workona.com |
| 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.
Workona
- The pricing page shows entry prices as 'starting at' without stating whether they are monthly or annual billing.
- A help article's example shows the Team plan at $12 per user per month on monthly billing.
- Free accounts are limited in spaces and sections; free accounts are for individuals only.
- The Team plan is for up to 25 users; larger groups need Enterprise.
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.
Workona
- Spaces for each project
- Keep the tabs, docs and links for a project together and see only the current space's tabs, with the rest a click away.
- Autosave and backups
- Tabs in a space are saved automatically and can be restored after a crash; Pro keeps 90 days of session backups.
- Sync and tab suspension
- Spaces sync between computers, and idle tabs can be suspended to reduce browser memory use.
- Universal search
- A search shortcut finds tabs and spaces from anywhere in the browser, and the search bar can sit on the new tab page.
- Doc templates and automation
- Space and document templates can create Google Docs, Sheets and Slides and populate folders for a new project.
- Team spaces
- Shared spaces, viewer and editor sharing, and space presence let teammates work from the same set of resources.
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.
Workona
Free$0
For individuals, free forever, with limits on the number of spaces and sections per space.
Pro$7
per month and up, billing period not shown
Unlimited spaces and sections, 90-day session backups, space integrations and templates.
Team$8
per user / month and up, minimum 3 users
Everything in Pro plus shared spaces, team templates, centralized billing and priority support.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited users and teams, admin controls, SSO, auto-provisioning and domain restrictions.
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.
Workona
- Education
50% education discount
Users with school email addresses can get 50% off Pro and Team for two years after verification, via support.
- Nonprofit
50% nonprofit discount
Verified 501(c)(3) charities can get 50% off Pro, Team and Enterprise subscriptions by contacting support.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Karakeep or Workona?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Karakeep is cheaper to start with: $3.33 a month when paid by the year, against $7 a month for Workona. Karakeep starts at $4 per month, or $40 per year (Pro, Karakeep Cloud), and Workona starts at $7 per month and up (billing period not shown).
Which has a free plan, Karakeep or Workona?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Karakeep and Workona have a free plan.
Which platforms do Karakeep and Workona run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Karakeep lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app and a browser extension. 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.