Boardmarks vs Raindrop
Compare Boardmarks and Raindrop.io for bookmark organization. Raindrop is strong for cross-platform libraries; Boardmarks is New Tab–native.
Raindrop.io and Boardmarks are both bookmark managers, but they optimize for different use cases. Raindrop is a cross-platform bookmark library with a rich web app, mobile apps, and advanced collection features — it is designed to be your central archive of everything you want to save, accessible from any device. Boardmarks is built specifically for the Chrome New Tab: visual boards you see every time you open a tab, combined with daily productivity tools. If you need a bookmark system that works across all your devices and platforms, Raindrop is likely the stronger choice. If you spend most of your day in Chrome and want bookmarks, tasks, and habits visible from your start page, Boardmarks fits that workflow better.
What Boardmarks offers
- Lives on Chrome New Tab as a Manifest V3 extension — no separate web app required
- Visual boards with drag-and-drop, resize, and color coding
- Quick Save from toolbar popup and all-tabs save for session capture
- Chrome bookmark import to migrate existing library into boards
- Productivity tools (todos, habits, notes, reminders) included on same New Tab
- Local-first storage — data stays in Chrome without sending to external servers
- Optional Google sign-in for licensing and manual cloud backup only
Choose Raindrop if…
Choose Raindrop if you need advanced cross-platform bookmark archiving and a dedicated bookmark library outside the New Tab — confirm features on Raindrop's site.
Choose Boardmarks if…
Choose Boardmarks if you want bookmarks, todos, habits, and reminders directly inside Chrome's New Tab with local-first storage and no external account required for daily use.
Cross-platform vs. Chrome-native
Raindrop's biggest strength is working everywhere: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, iOS, Android. If you save bookmarks on your phone and access them on your desktop, or if you switch between multiple browsers, Raindrop's cross-platform support is hard to beat. Boardmarks is Chrome-only by design — it is optimized to be the best possible Chrome New Tab experience, which means deeper integration with the browser (Manifest V3 New Tab override, Chrome storage API, Quick Save from toolbar) but no mobile app or multi-browser support.
Visual boards vs. collections and tags
Raindrop uses collections and tags as its primary organizing system — a hierarchical approach that scales well for large libraries with thousands of bookmarks. Boardmarks uses visual boards: a smaller number of boards you lay out and color-code on your New Tab. Boards work best for active working sets — the links you access regularly for current projects. For a deep archive of thousands of saved articles and resources, Raindrop's collection system may handle scale better.
Daily productivity tools
Raindrop is focused on bookmarks. Boardmarks adds a full layer of daily productivity on top: todos, habits, notes, and reminders, all on the same New Tab as your bookmark boards. If you currently use Raindrop for bookmarks and another app for task management, Boardmarks could replace both — though only if the Chrome-only limitation works for your device setup.
Fair notes
- Raindrop is widely known for rich bookmark collections across devices; Boardmarks does not claim feature parity with Raindrop's full cross-platform product.
- If your priority is a multi-platform archive accessible from iOS, Android, and multiple browsers, evaluate Raindrop directly.
- If your priority is the Chrome start page experience with integrated productivity tools, evaluate Boardmarks.
- Both tools can be used together — Raindrop for long-term archiving and Boardmarks for active working sets on the New Tab.
See also our visual bookmark manager and New Tab extension pages.
Add Boardmarks to Chrome — Free