The Diigo Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Diigo in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Diigo
The Insider’s Guide
Bookmarking with highlights and sticky notes on web pages and PDFs
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among read-later and bookmark apps, read from Diigo’s own pages.
Made by Diigo, Inc. · checked Oct 6, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Diigo’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Diigo’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 6, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.4
GPA, above 3 of the 36 other read-later and bookmark apps we grade
Diigo is a bookmarking and annotation service that has run since 2005. It saves web pages to a personal cloud library with tags, and its browser extension adds highlights and sticky notes to web pages and PDFs. Outliners arrange saved material into structured research, groups share a library with a class or team, and paid plans keep archived copies of bookmarked pages. The free plan is ad-supported and has low lifetime caps.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Diigo, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Most of the work happens in the browser extension, which marks up the page you're already on.
- 1
Best for marking up web pages and PDFs for research
Diigo is bookmarking for people who mark things up: highlights and sticky notes on web pages and PDFs, pulled into outlines or a shared group library.
- 2
Paid plans start at $3.33 a month when paid by the year
As its pricing page puts it: $40 per year (Standard).
- 3
There is a free plan
Free plan with ads, capped at 500 cloud bookmarks and 100 webpage and PDF highlights over the lifetime of the account.
- 4
It runs on 2 platforms
Web and iOS, with a browser extension too.
- 5
Bookmarks, tags and a personal library
Saved pages go into a cloud library and are tagged for later retrieval. Each item can be set as private or public.
- 6
Highlights and sticky notes
Highlight text and add sticky notes directly on web pages and PDFs while browsing; the annotations are still on the page when you come back to it.
- 7
Outliner
Arrange links, references and your own notes into a structured outline for a piece of research. Unlimited outliners are part of the Professional plan.
- 8
A 2.4 GPA, above 3 of 36
That is against the other read-later and bookmark apps we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Diigo you would be making a library of papers and sources to search. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Diigo at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $40 per year (Standard)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- The Business plan has a Try for free option; the pricing page does not state how long it lasts
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Browser extension
- Made by
- Diigo, Inc., since 2005
- Category
- Read Later & Bookmarks
- Our grade
- 2.4 GPA, fair
- Store rating
- 4.5 on the App Store, 561 ratings
The report card
Best for marking up web pages and PDFs for research
Diigo is bookmarking for people who mark things up: highlights and sticky notes on web pages and PDFs, pulled into outlines or a shared group library. The free plan shows ads and caps you at 500 bookmarks and 100 highlights for the life of the account, PDF storage and outliners need $59 a year, team features are $10 a user a month, and the Android app link led nowhere when checked.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Standard is $40 a year, which is $3.33 a month, the middle of this category to the penny, and it buys off the ads and the caps. Unlimited PDF storage and outliners wait for Professional at $59 a year, and team features are $10 a user a month. |
| Free plan and trial | C | Free forever with ads, and the caps are the mean kind: 500 bookmarks and 100 highlights for the whole life of the account, not per month. Teachers can apply for a free account with more in it. |
| Features | B | It covers the whole job for research reading: bookmarks with tags, highlights and sticky notes laid on web pages and PDFs that are still there when you return, outliners to arrange the findings, shared group libraries, cached copies on paid plans, plus import, export and an API. |
| Ease of use | C | 4.46 from about 560 App Store ratings, middling rather than good, and that rating is for the Diigo Browser app. Most of the work happens in the browser extension, which marks up the page you're already on. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, a browser extension, an iPhone app and an API. The wiring stops there: Kindle is the only integration listed, and the Android app linked from Diigo's tools page came up not-found on Google Play when the listing was checked. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Diigo is for
- Fits if you highlight and leave notes on web pages and PDFs as you research
- Works for teachers, who can apply for a free account that manages student accounts
Who it is not for
- Tight if you're staying free, with ads and only 500 bookmarks and 100 highlights, ever
- Skip it if you need an Android app, as the Google Play link on Diigo's tools page led nowhere when checked
- Pricey if all you want is unlimited PDF storage or outliners, since that's Professional at $59 a year
- Pricey if a team needs a shared library and group annotation, which is Business at $10 a user a month
- Watch out: Kindle is the only integration listed, and the Business trial's length isn't stated
Good to know
Good for
- Students and researchers who annotate web pages and PDFs
- Teachers running class groups with managed student accounts
- Teams building a shared, annotated library of sources
Worth knowing
- The Free plan shows ads and stops at 500 bookmarks and 100 highlights over the lifetime of the account.
- Cached pages and image storage start at Standard; unlimited PDF storage and outliners need Professional at $59 a year.
- Team library storage, collaborative annotation and the admin console are limited to Business at $10 per user a month.
- The tools page links to an Android app, but its Google Play listing returned a not-found page when checked.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$3.33
A month to start, paid by the year. There is a free plan too
Diigo has a free plan. Paid plans start at $40 per year (Standard).
Teachers can apply for a free account with more in it.
Free
$0
Ad-supported, with lifetime caps of 500 cloud bookmarks and 100 webpage and PDF highlights.
Standard
$40
per year
No ads, with unlimited bookmarks, highlights, image storage and cached pages, plus Kindle highlight import.
Professional
$59
per year
Everything in Standard, plus unlimited PDF storage and unlimited outliners.
Business
$10
per user / month (billing basis not stated)
Everything in Professional, plus an unlimited team library, collaborative web and PDF annotation in a team, and an admin console.
The free plan
Free plan with ads, capped at 500 cloud bookmarks and 100 webpage and PDF highlights over the lifetime of the account.
Trying it first
The Business plan has a Try for free option; the pricing page does not state how long it lasts
Read from diigo.com on Oct 6, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Education
Free teacher and student accounts
Teachers can apply for a free account with more capabilities than the normal free plan, including a Teacher Console for creating and managing student accounts. Schools can apply for an education domain.
Stated on diigo.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
3
Places it runs: Web, iOS and Browser extension
Bookmarking with highlights and sticky notes on web pages and PDFs. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, research, bookmarks, highlights.
Web, a browser extension, an iPhone app and an API.
- Bookmarks, tags and a personal library
- Saved pages go into a cloud library and are tagged for later retrieval. Each item can be set as private or public.
- Highlights and sticky notes
- Highlight text and add sticky notes directly on web pages and PDFs while browsing; the annotations are still on the page when you come back to it.
- Outliner
- Arrange links, references and your own notes into a structured outline for a piece of research. Unlimited outliners are part of the Professional plan.
- Groups
- A group builds a shared library for a class, team or company that members can add to, search and discuss through annotations on the page.
- Archived web pages
- Paid plans store cached copies of bookmarked pages with their annotations intact, so they stay readable if the original source goes offline.
- Import, export and API
- The tools page lists bookmark and Kindle highlight import, library and PDF export, saving by email, automatic publishing to a blog and the Diigo API.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Browser extension
What it works with
- Kindle
Diigo is made by Diigo, Inc., and has been around since 2005.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
3/36
Other read-later and bookmark apps it is graded above
Diigo's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 3 of the 36 other read-later and bookmark apps we grade, and level with 7.
It stands best on features (B, above 10 of 36) and worst on free plan and trial (C, above 2).
Its paid plans start at $3.33 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $3 for the category: 13 of the 24 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 5 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 37 read-later and bookmark apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. Diigo’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 6 of 36
- CFree plan and trialAbove 2 of 36
- BFeaturesAbove 10 of 36
- CEase of useAbove 4 of 36
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 10 of 36
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 33 read-later and bookmark apps. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Diigo is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Diigo you would be making a library of papers and sources to search. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 26 of the 36 other read-later and bookmark apps grade higher. It costs $40 a year.
What you could make
- Bookmarks and highlights: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- A library of papers and sources to search.
- A real app for iOS. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, Kindle among them, and has an API.
- Sharing with other people, which means accounts and invitations.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Diigo’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Raindrop.io, Pinboard, Glasp, Readwise and Linkwarden
The 5 tools Diigo is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 3.2GPA
Raindrop.io
Free plan · from $28/yr
Bookmark manager with collections, tags and highlights.
- Only Raindrop.io lists macOS, Windows and Android apps.
- Diigo also covers research.
- Raindrop.io also covers read later.
- 2.2GPA
Pinboard
From $22/yr
Paid bookmarking site with tags, privacy and page archiving.
- Diigo has a free plan. Pinboard does not.
- Only Diigo lists an iOS app.
- Diigo also covers research and highlights.
- 2.4GPA
Glasp
Free plan · from $12.50/mo
Social web highlighter with AI summaries of videos and articles.
- Only Glasp lists an Android app.
- Diigo also covers research and bookmarks.
- Glasp also covers transcription and read later.
- 3.0GPA
Readwise
Free trial · from $5.59/mo
Highlight library with a daily review and a read-later app.
- Diigo has a free plan. Readwise does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Readwise lists macOS, Windows and Android apps.
- Diigo also covers research and bookmarks.
- 2.8GPA
Linkwarden
Free plan · from $3/mo
Open-source bookmark manager that preserves a copy of each page.
- Only Linkwarden lists an Android app.
- Linkwarden is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Diigo also covers research.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
17
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Diigo free?
Diigo has a free plan. Free plan with ads, capped at 500 cloud bookmarks and 100 webpage and PDF highlights over the lifetime of the account.
How much does Diigo cost?
Diigo lists 4 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does Diigo work on?
Diigo is available on Web and iOS. It also has a browser extension.
Does Diigo offer any discounts?
Diigo publicly lists the following: Free teacher and student accounts.
How is Diigo rated?
Diigo's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.5 out of 5 from 561 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 6, 2026.
Does Diigo have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. Diigo is listed for Web and iOS.
Does Diigo have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. Diigo is listed for Web and iOS.
Is Diigo open source?
Diigo is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 6, 2026.
Does Diigo have an API?
Yes. Diigo offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Diigo integrate with?
Diigo's listing names Kindle. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Does Diigo have a student discount?
Free teacher and student accounts. Teachers can apply for a free account with more capabilities than the normal free plan, including a Teacher Console for creating and managing student accounts.
Does Diigo have a free trial?
Yes. The Business plan has a Try for free option; the pricing page does not state how long it lasts.
Who makes Diigo?
Diigo is made by Diigo, Inc. It dates from 2005.
What are the alternatives to Diigo?
The closest alternatives to Diigo in our directory are Raindrop.io, Pinboard, Glasp, Readwise and Linkwarden.
How does Diigo compare with other read-later and bookmark apps?
Diigo's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 3 of the 36 other read-later and bookmark apps we grade, and level with 7.
Is Diigo good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Diigo C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $3.33 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $3 for the category: 13 of the 24 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Diigo?
To replace Diigo you would be making a library of papers and sources to search.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Diigo’s own pages on Oct 6, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Diigo's own pages on 6 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-02-08.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Diigo, Inc. Prices change, so check diigo.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Diigo, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/diigo
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Diigo: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 6, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/diigo
Know someone choosing between read-later and bookmark apps?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/diigo/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded read-later and bookmark apps after Diigo, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Read Later & Bookmarks Insider's GuideEvery one of the 37 read-later and bookmark apps we grade, compared
- FeedFlow Insider's GuideFree, open-source RSS reader for mobile and desktop3.2 GPA
- Flipboard Insider's GuideFree news aggregator built around topics and shared Magazines3.2 GPA
- Miniflux Insider's GuideMinimalist open-source feed reader, self-hosted or hosted3.2 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Diigo’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Diigo is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Diigo, Inc. Prices and plans change: check diigo.com before you buy.