Raindrop.io vs Session Buddy (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 2.6.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Raindrop.io grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms. Session Buddy grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Raindrop.io
Bookmark manager with collections, tags and highlights
Session Buddy
Chrome extension for saving tab sessions and bookmark collections
Which one is for you
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
Pick Session Buddy if
- Fits if you keep hundreds of tabs open and want crash recovery
- Works for people who want tab data on their own device with no login
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want sync, as data lives on the device and never on a server
- Skip it if you use another browser, as the site links only to the Chrome Web Store
- Too light for reading later, since it saves links and tab state, not article text
- Watch out: pricing is not stated beyond a donation page
How we grade them
| 3.2GPARaindrop.ioVery good | 2.6GPASession BuddyGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | BFree use is inferred from a donation page, as the site states no pricing. |
| Free plan and 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. | BNo plan, cap or account, though the site does not say so outright. |
| Features | 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. | CIt saves sessions and tab state fully, which is a smaller job. It stores links, not article text. |
| Ease of use | 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. | BA Chrome extension you install and click, with no store rating read. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | CChrome only, with no sync between computers, phones or other browsers. |
| Best for | all-round bookmarking on every device | saving and restoring Chrome tab sessions |
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: Raindrop.io and Session Buddy. How we grade
Price against what you get
Raindrop.io starts at $2.33 a month when paid by the year and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Session Buddy has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
Raindrop.io scores higher, and starts $2.33 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, none scores higher than Raindrop.io for less, and none scores higher than Session Buddy 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
- Raindrop.io also covers read later and highlights.
At a glance
| Raindrop.io | Session Buddy | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $28 per year, or $3 per month | Free |
| Free plan | Unlimited bookmarks, collections, highlights and devices, with sharing and collaboration included. File uploads are limited to 100 MB a month. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Rustem Mussabekov | Session Buddy |
| Price read from | raindrop.io | sessionbuddy.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Session Buddy
- Data lives on the device, never on a server, so there is no sync between computers.
- The site links only to the Chrome Web Store for installing, with no other browsers named.
- It saves links and tab state, not article text, so it is not a read-later reader.
- Pricing is not stated on the site beyond a donation page, so free use is inferred from that.
Key features
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.
Session Buddy
- Save and restore sessions
- Store open tabs with one click and restore them to the original windows, one window or the current window, with pinned tabs and window positions kept.
- Tab history and crash recovery
- A timeline of past tab states lets you restore tabs after a crash or restart, with custom intervals and cleanup rules.
- Bookmark collections
- Group bookmarks by topic or project, color-code and pin collections, and detect duplicates.
- Unified search
- Search across open tabs, collections and tab history together, with query syntax and filters by item type.
- Import and export formats
- Copy or export tabs and bookmarks in more than 15 formats, including plain text, JSON, CSV, Markdown and HTML.
- Backups
- Automatic backups let you restore deleted items, and a manual one-click backup covers the whole library.
Plans
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.
Session Buddy
Session Buddy$0
Every feature is available without a login; the site asks for donations instead.
Ways to pay less
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.
Session Buddy
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Raindrop.io or Session Buddy?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Session Buddy is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $2.33 a month when paid by the year for Raindrop.io. Raindrop.io starts at $28 per year, or $3 per month, and Session Buddy is free.
Which has a free plan, Raindrop.io or Session Buddy?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Raindrop.io and Session Buddy have a free plan.
Which platforms do Raindrop.io and Session Buddy run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Raindrop.io lists a web app and macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list 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.