Pinboard vs start.me

Pinboard

• People who want a fast, text-based bookmark archive without ads or trackers
• Users who keep most or all of their bookmarks private
• Developers who want an API and RSS feeds for their bookmarks

start.me

• People who want one visual homepage of links in every browser
• Teachers, researchers and OSINT analysts sharing curated link pages
• Teams that want a simple shared page of tools and resources

Pinboard

• There is no free plan and no free trial; a payment is refundable within seven days of signup.
• Stored page copies and full-text search require the $39 archival account.
• There are no native mobile apps: Pinboard offers a mobile website and relies on third-party apps.
• The archive crawler cannot save paywalled pages, and the FAQ says YouTube and Twitter links are not saved properly.

start.me

• The Free plan shows advertising and stops at 3 start pages with basic widgets only.
• Bookmark groups, broken and duplicate link detection, document uploads and AI features all require PRO.
• Team is billed annually and starts with 10 user licenses; SAML single sign-on is not part of the personal plans.
• The Android app on Google Play was last updated in November 2024.

Pinboard

Bookmarks, tags and privacy

Each bookmark has a title, URL, a description of any length and optional tags. Any bookmark can be private, and an account can default to private.

Read later

A read-later bookmarklet adds a page to an unread list without asking for details. Unread bookmarks are visible only to you until marked as read.

Archiving and full-text search

Archival accounts get a crawled copy of every bookmarked page that stays viewable if the original goes offline, plus search across page text.

Bookmarklets, extensions and email

Save with a bookmarklet, with browser extensions for Safari, Chrome and Firefox, or by emailing a URL to a personal Pinboard address.

API and RSS feeds

A full API modeled on version 1 of the Delicious API supports third-party clients, and every bookmark page has a matching RSS feed.

Notes, tab sets and tag bundles

Notes save snippets of text as bookmarks, tab sets store all open browser tabs for later, and tag bundles group related tags on one page.

start.me

Start pages built from widgets

A page combines widgets such as bookmarks, news feeds, notes, tasks, calendar, weather and embeds, arranged by dragging, and can be set as a browser homepage or new tab.

Bookmark management

Links are saved in one click from the browser extension or mobile app and organized into pages, widgets and groups. PRO adds broken and duplicate link detection.

News (RSS) widgets

An RSS widget follows a news source, blog or industry feed, and new articles show up on the page automatically.

Sharing and collaboration

Pages are private by default and can be shared through an open, password-protected or public link, or by inviting people as viewers or editors. Page collaboration needs PRO.

AI bookmark tools

On paid plans, AI features tidy bookmark titles, sort links into place and suggest useful sites to add.

Team workspace

The Team plan adds a shared workspace with member management, an admin console, a custom subdomain and branding, and SAML single sign-on.

Pinboard

• Regular account$22

  per year

  Bookmarks with tags, private bookmarks, read later, notes, tab sets, the API and RSS feeds. Refundable within seven days of signup.

• Archival account$39

  per year

  Everything in a regular account, plus a stored copy of every bookmarked page, full-text search and dead-link checks.

start.me

• Free$0

  For personal use: a maximum of 3 start pages, basic widgets only, and advertising on your pages.

• PRO$25

  per year, for one user license

  Unlimited start pages, no advertisements, 27 PRO features and widgets, and AI features.

• Team$25

  per month, billed annually; includes 10 users

  One team workspace with 10 PRO licenses, a custom subdomain and branding, SAML single sign-on and priority support. More users can be added.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Everything in Team, plus unlimited users, multiple team workspaces, a dedicated support manager and custom invoicing.

Pinboard

• Other savings

  Discounts for paying for several years

  The sign-up page says there are steep discounts for signing up for multiple years, chosen on the payment page. The amounts are not shown publicly.

start.me

• Education

  Discounted plans for schools and non-profits

  The pricing page's FAQ says discounted plans are offered to schools and non-profit organizations, arranged by contacting the sales team with details of the organization.