Pearltrees vs Raindrop.io (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Raindrop.io: it is first in our ranking of read-later and bookmark apps, and it grades higher too, 3.2 against 2.4.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Raindrop.io grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Pearltrees
Visual collections for organizing links, files and notes
Raindrop.io
Bookmark manager with collections, tags and highlights
Which one is for you
Pick Pearltrees if
- Fits if you gather research or links on one topic and like arranging them visually
- Works for teachers who share a collection with a class
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if your collections must stay private on a free account, as they're visible to everyone
- Pricey if you want pages archived: that starts on Advanced at $4.99 a month
- Skip it if you save from an iPhone browser, since the FAQ says the extension can't be installed on iPhone or iPad
- Watch out: the clipper is for Chrome and Firefox only, and AI use is capped per plan at 100, 500 or 1,000 a month
Pick Raindrop.io if
- Fits if you want one bookmark library on every browser, laptop and phone you own
- Works for people who share link collections or highlight passages in web pages, PDFs and EPUBs
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want full-text search or saved copies of pages without paying, as both are Pro
- Not for you if you want a desktop app on Linux, since the download page lists macOS and Windows only
- Not for you if you'd rather not build collections and tags, because sorting is the work it asks of you
- Tight if you annotate a lot, as notes on highlights need Pro and each bookmark holds at most 100 highlights
- Watch out: Pro's $28 a year is before tax, and the AI assistant is still in beta
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAPearltreesFair | 3.2GPARaindrop.ioVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPersonal is $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year, which works out to $2.50 a month, the cheaper-quarter line for reading apps. Page archiving needs Advanced at $4.99. | BPro is $28 a year, which is $2.33 a month, inside the cheapest quarter for reading tools here. For that you get full-text search, a saved copy of every page, reminders, daily backups, the AI assistant and 10 GB of uploads a month. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free account saves and organizes content, but the FAQ says collections are visible to everyone. Private collections are Premium, and there's no trial. | AUnlimited bookmarks, collections, highlights and devices, with sharing and collaboration thrown in. The caps are 100 MB of file uploads a month and 100 highlights per bookmark, and most people will never touch either. Plenty stay free for years. |
| Features | CMixed collections, a clipper, AI, offline mode and apps. Web page archiving is only from Advanced and the AI is capped at 100 generations a month on Personal. | BIt covers the whole bookmarking job: collections, tags and filters, four views, highlights in web pages, PDFs and EPUBs, shared collections and public pages that need no sign-up. Pro adds full-text search including YouTube transcripts, a web archive and a beta AI assistant. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. You build and arrange your own collections, which takes some setup. | C4.49 from 416 App Store ratings, which falls just under the 4.5 we want for a B, so middling it is. The work is yours as well: collections to build, tags to pick and a view to choose before the library looks like anything. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iOS, Android and a Chrome and Firefox clipper, with Facebook and Twitter sharing. No desktop app is listed. | AThe full set: web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android and browser extensions, with an API and hooks into Zapier, IFTTT, Make, n8n, Notion and Readwise. The one gap is Linux, as the download page lists macOS and Windows only. |
| Best for | collecting pages, files and notes into visual collections | all-round bookmarking on every device |
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: Pearltrees and Raindrop.io. How we grade
Price against what you get
Pearltrees starts at $2.50 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Raindrop.io starts at $2.33 a month when paid by the year and scores 3.0.
Raindrop.io scores higher and starts $0.17 a month lower. Of the other read-later and bookmark apps on the chart, 8 score higher than Pearltrees for less, and none scores higher than Raindrop.io 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
- Pearltrees also covers web clipper.
- Raindrop.io also covers read later and highlights.
At a glance
| Pearltrees | Raindrop.io | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $2.99 per month, or $29.99 per year | $28 per year, or $3 per month |
| Free plan | A free account to organize and share content; the FAQ says Premium adds advanced features and more storage. | Unlimited bookmarks, collections, highlights and devices, with sharing and collaboration included. File uploads are limited to 100 MB a month. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Pearltrees | Rustem Mussabekov |
| Price read from | pearltrees.com | raindrop.io |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Pearltrees
- The FAQ says collections are visible to everyone on a free account; private collections are a Premium feature.
- Web page archiving is listed only from the Advanced plan.
- The web clipper is offered for Chrome and Firefox only; the FAQ says the extension cannot be installed on iPhone or iPad.
- The AI assistant's 1,000 monthly queries for teachers is a separate allowance from the paid plans' generation counts.
Raindrop.io
- Full-text search, the web archive, reminders and the AI assistant are limited to Pro.
- Free accounts can upload 100 MB of files a month; Pro raises the limit to 10 GB.
- Notes on highlights require Pro, and each bookmark holds at most 100 highlights.
- The download page lists desktop apps for macOS and Windows only.
Key features
Pearltrees
- Collections of mixed content
- Add web pages, files, photos and notes to collections, then arrange them visually and set each one to public or private.
- Web clipper
- Add the page you are viewing to your account from the browser. The FAQ says the clipper is available for Chrome and Firefox on a computer.
- Mobile apps
- iPhone, iPad and Android apps can search the web from inside the app, and Android can add content through the Share button.
- Pearltrees AI
- Premium plans include monthly AI generations. The FAQ describes Pearltrees AI 1.0 as designed for teachers.
- Web page archiving
- The Advanced and Professional plans list archiving of web pages that you collect.
- Offline mode
- Listed on all three paid plans, alongside customization of how collections look.
Raindrop.io
- Collections, tags and filters
- Bookmarks are grouped into collections and classified with tags, then narrowed by type, tag or domain. Grid, headlines, masonry and list views are available.
- Highlights
- Save passages from web pages, PDFs and EPUBs in several colors, up to 100 per bookmark on any plan. Adding notes to highlights requires Pro.
- Full-text search
- On Pro, search covers the full content of saved pages, PDFs, EPUBs and YouTube transcripts instead of only titles and tags.
- Web archive and backups
- Pro keeps a saved copy of each bookmarked page in case the original changes or disappears, and runs automatic backups of the whole library.
- Sharing and public pages
- Invite members to a collection with per-collection permissions, or publish a collection as a public page that needs no sign-up. Both work on the free plan.
- Stella AI assistant
- A chat assistant, in beta for Pro users, that answers questions about saved content, summarizes it and helps organize collections.
Plans
Pearltrees
Free$0
Save web pages, files, photos and notes and organize them in collections.
Personal$2.99
per month, billed monthly ($29.99 per year)
100 AI generations a month, 10 GB of storage, public or private collections, full customization and offline mode.
Advanced$4.99
per month, billed monthly ($49.99 per year)
500 AI generations a month, 100 GB of storage, and archiving of web pages on top of Personal.
Professional$9.99
per month, billed monthly ($99.99 per year)
1,000 AI generations a month, 1 TB of storage, and professional security on top of Advanced.
Raindrop.io
Free$0
Unlimited bookmarks, collections, highlights and devices, sharing and collaboration, and 100 MB of file uploads a month.
Pro$3
per month, or $28 per year (before tax)
AI assistant, full-text search, web archive, reminders, annotations, duplicate and broken-link finder, daily backups and 10 GB of uploads a month.
Ways to pay less
Pearltrees
No public discounts listed.
Raindrop.io
- Annual discount
About 20% off with yearly billing
The pricing page marks yearly billing as 20% off, and the US prices it loads are $28 a year against $3 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Pearltrees or Raindrop.io?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Raindrop.io is cheaper to start with: $2.33 a month when paid by the year, against $2.50 a month when paid by the year for Pearltrees. Pearltrees starts at $2.99 per month, or $29.99 per year, and Raindrop.io starts at $28 per year, or $3 per month.
Which has a free plan, Pearltrees or Raindrop.io?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Pearltrees and Raindrop.io have a free plan.
Which platforms do Pearltrees and Raindrop.io run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Raindrop.io lists macOS and Windows apps. Both list a web app, iOS and Android apps 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.