Chrome bookmarks alternatives once the bar runs out
Chrome's bookmark manager stores a URL, a title and a folder, and that is all it has ever done. It stops working at a few hundred links because a title from a page you skimmed once tells you nothing later. Move to Raindrop.io for a bigger searchable archive, to Kyurations if the links are a collection you would show someone, to Readwise Reader if they are reading material, or to Karakeep if you want to host it yourself. Raindrop, Readwise Reader, Karakeep and Kyurations all read a Chrome bookmarks export; Kyurations rebuilds your folders as draft lists, so the structure survives without anything arriving as a collection you are supposed to have curated.
Why people are looking
Chrome bookmarks sync between your own devices and nowhere else, so nothing you save can be shown to another person.
One link, one folder. That decision is fine for forty links and impossible for four hundred.
No previews, no notes, no automatic tags. Six months on, a bookmark is a title you do not recognise.
The picks
The bookmark bar, scaled up properly.
Best for: People who like folders and want them to keep working.
Strong at- Unlimited free bookmarks with covers
- Nested collections, tags and fast search
- Apps on every platform, so it is not tied to one browser
Weak at- Shared collections read as folders
- Organising is still manual
For links that were meant to become a collection.
Best for: People who save with intent and want the result to look like it.
Strong at- Cover, author, platform, tags and a gist arrive with the save
- One item can live in several lists, because most things do
- Anything long enough to read opens in the app rather than sending you back out
- Publish any list as a page
Weak at- Not a folder tree
- Installs from the browser rather than from an app store, and there is no native app
If most of your bookmarks are things to read.
Best for: People with a reading backlog rather than a link archive.
Strong at- Best-in-class highlighting and review
- Articles, PDFs and newsletters in one queue
Weak at- Paid only
- Private by design
Self-hosted, so no vendor to outlive.
Best for: People who run their own things.
Strong at- Open source
- Full-text search over archived pages
Weak at- You maintain and back it up
Exporting your Chrome bookmarks
Open chrome://bookmarks, use the menu at the top right, and choose Export bookmarks. You get a single HTML file containing every link, folder and date.
That file is the universal format for this category. Every tool listed here reads it, and so does Safari, Firefox and Edge if you ever go back.
Questions people ask
- What is the best replacement for Chrome bookmarks?
- Raindrop.io if you want the same idea done properly and free, Kyurations if the links are a collection you would publish, Readwise Reader if they are a reading list, Karakeep if you want to self-host.
- How do I export bookmarks from Chrome?
- Go to chrome://bookmarks, open the menu at the top right, and choose Export bookmarks. It saves one HTML file, which Raindrop, Readwise Reader, Karakeep and Kyurations all read. In Kyurations you drop it into Settings and your folders come back as draft lists.
- Will I lose my bookmarks if I switch?
- No. Export first, import into the new tool, and leave the Chrome copy where it is until you are sure. Nothing about importing removes the originals.
- Is there a bookmark manager that works across browsers?
- All four here do, because they store your links on their own service rather than inside one browser profile. That is usually the second reason people move.