abode vs Raindrop
Raindrop is a great bookmark manager: collections, tags, archiving and apps for every platform, with a generous free plan. abode is less about managing links and more about keeping everything you find — images, tweets, notes — and finding it again without filing it first.
the short answer
choose Raindrop if you mainly manage links and like folders, archives and apps for every platform.
choose abode if you save a mix of images, tweets and notes, and would rather search than file.
side by side
- pricing
abode · hosted: invite-only early access. self-hosted: free
Raindrop · free with unlimited bookmarks. pro: $3/mo or $28/yr
- open source
abode · yes — AGPL-3.0, every line on github
Raindrop · the apps are open source; the server isn't
- self-hostable
abode · yes — Postgres + Supabase is all it needs
Raindrop · no
- how you organise
abode · no folders or filing — search, plus rooms (hand-picked or auto-filled by filters)
Raindrop · folder-first — nested collections, tags and filters
- AI & search
abode · AI titles, descriptions, tags and OCR; full-text + semantic search; similar images
Raindrop · AI tag and collection suggestions, semantic search and an AI assistant (pro); full-text search of pages and PDFs (pro); no OCR
- what you can save
abode · links, images, articles, tweets, instagram posts, videos, products, books, notes
Raindrop · links, articles, videos, highlights, notes, uploaded files (images, video, audio, PDFs, epub)
- sharing
abode · public profile and public rooms, share links for single items
Raindrop · public collection pages and a public profile; invite collaborators to collections
- ads & feeds
abode · no ads, no feed, no algorithm
Raindrop · no ads, no trackers, no feed
- apps
abode · web (installable); browser extension coming soon
Raindrop · web, iOS, android, macOS, windows; chrome, firefox, safari and edge extensions
- getting your data out
abode · one-click export of everything — coming soon. self-hosted, the database is yours; API + personal access tokens
Raindrop · export everything any time as HTML, CSV or TXT (uploaded files as a ZIP)
| feature | abode | Raindrop |
|---|---|---|
| pricing | hosted: invite-only early access. self-hosted: free | free with unlimited bookmarks. pro: $3/mo or $28/yr |
| open source | yes — AGPL-3.0, every line on github | the apps are open source; the server isn't |
| self-hostable | yes — Postgres + Supabase is all it needs | no |
| how you organise | no folders or filing — search, plus rooms (hand-picked or auto-filled by filters) | folder-first — nested collections, tags and filters |
| AI & search | AI titles, descriptions, tags and OCR; full-text + semantic search; similar images | AI tag and collection suggestions, semantic search and an AI assistant (pro); full-text search of pages and PDFs (pro); no OCR |
| what you can save | links, images, articles, tweets, instagram posts, videos, products, books, notes | links, articles, videos, highlights, notes, uploaded files (images, video, audio, PDFs, epub) |
| sharing | public profile and public rooms, share links for single items | public collection pages and a public profile; invite collaborators to collections |
| ads & feeds | no ads, no feed, no algorithm | no ads, no trackers, no feed |
| apps | web (installable); browser extension coming soon | web, iOS, android, macOS, windows; chrome, firefox, safari and edge extensions |
| getting your data out | one-click export of everything — coming soon. self-hosted, the database is yours; API + personal access tokens | export everything any time as HTML, CSV or TXT (uploaded files as a ZIP) |
where Raindrop shines
- classic bookmark management at scale — nested collections, duplicate and broken-link finding, standard import and export
- permanent web archive copies and full-text search of pages, PDFs and YouTube transcripts
- apps for every platform, including windows and firefox, and unlimited bookmarks for free
where abode fits better
- you'd rather not file things at all — search and smart rooms instead of folders
- you save lots of images and screenshots: abode reads the text in them and finds similar ones
- you want to run the whole thing yourself, server included
questions
- can I organise abode with folders?
- not folders as such — rooms do that job. a room can be hand-picked, or a smart room that fills itself from a search, like every tweet tagged design.
- can I bring my Raindrop library to abode?
- not yet — a Raindrop importer is next on the roadmap. for now, you save things one by one.
- is abode free?
- self-hosting is free, forever — the code is AGPL-3.0 on github. the hosted version is in invite-only early access: join the waitlist to get in.
- can I run abode myself?
- yes. it needs Postgres and Supabase; everything else, like AI descriptions and image search, lights up when you add its key. the self-hosting docs are still evolving.
- is what I save private?
- yes, unless you choose otherwise: things are private until you put them in a public room or share them, and public pages stay out of search engines unless you opt in.