Plexii vs Raindrop: bookmarks or a desk?
Raindrop keeps links for the long term; a Plexii desk keeps the pages a task needs beside the work. How to choose, and how to use both.
On this page 8 sections
Raindrop.io and Plexii both help with the same irritation: you found something useful on the web and you do not want to lose it. They answer it differently. Raindrop is a library. You save a page once, file it in a collection, and find it again later. Plexii is a workspace. A page you need for a task sits on that task's desk, next to the document it feeds.
These are not rivals for most people. A library and a workspace do different jobs, and plenty of people will want both. This guide helps you work out which job you actually have. Download Plexii free for Mac or Windows if you want to test a desk alongside your current bookmarks.
Details on Raindrop come from its help centre and pricing page, checked on 11 November 2026.
The short version
| Question | Raindrop.io | Plexii |
|---|---|---|
| Core idea | A bookmark manager: save, organise, rediscover | A desk per task, holding notes, tables, files and live web pages |
| Where saved things live | Collections (opens in a new tab), which can be nested, plus tags | On the desk for the task that needs them |
| Saving from the browser | Extension for Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox (opens in a new tab), plus mobile apps (opens in a new tab) | Drag a link or tab onto a desk to get a Browser work widget |
| Saving all open tabs | Yes, in one click, tagged with the date (opens in a new tab) | Drag the pages you need for a task onto its desk |
| Keeps a copy of the page | Web archive, on the paid plan (opens in a new tab) | Shows the live page; not documented as keeping a copy |
| Free to start | Unlimited bookmarks, collections and devices (opens in a new tab) | Free to download; see pricing |
What Raindrop does well
Raindrop's limits page (opens in a new tab) is refreshingly plain. On the free plan you get unlimited bookmarks, collections, tags and devices, and collaborators on a collection are unlimited too. The free plan has no time limit.
That makes it a good home for the stuff you collect across years: articles you want to read, references for a hobby, recipes, tools you might use one day. A few details are worth knowing.
- Collections nest, and every bookmark lives in one. Collections work like folders and can be nested, and a bookmark can only belong to one collection (opens in a new tab). Tags cover the cross-cutting cases.
- Save every open tab at once. The Save tabs (opens in a new tab) command puts all your open tabs into a collection, tagged with the date. It is a quick way to clear a crowded browser without losing the pages.
- Extras on the paid plan. According to Raindrop's subscription page (opens in a new tab), the paid plan adds full-text search, a web archive, reminders, annotations, a duplicate and broken-link finder, automatic backups and an AI assistant. Raindrop also says archived copies become inaccessible, and are deleted after about a month, if the subscription lapses, so keep your own export.
If your main need is "find that article again in two years", a library built for it is the right tool.
What a library does not do
A bookmark answers "where was that page?" It does not tell you what you were doing with it, or hold the document you were writing from it. If you are comparing suppliers, the quote spreadsheet, the brief and the five supplier pages are one piece of work. In a library they are scattered: the links are in Raindrop, the spreadsheet is in a folder, the notes are somewhere else.
That is the gap a desk fills. We cover the same distinction in why a saved folder of links can feel no better than the tabs it replaced: the tab's job matters more than its address.
Where a Plexii desk fits
A Plexii desk is one canvas for one piece of work. For this job you would use:
- a Browser work widget for each page you still need. It is a working browser on your desk that remembers the page it was on, so the desk opens where you left off.
- a file or link widget for single things the task depends on, such as a PDF, a contract or one link
- a table for the comparison, with Kanban, calendar and Gantt views of the same rows
- a Sticky or note to say why each source matters
- a document beside it for the output
Pages in a desk need an internet connection, as with any website, and a site's own sign-in rules still apply. A Plexii desk also does not replace a long-term library. It is organised by task, not by topic over years.
Using both
A workable split:
- Raindrop for keeping. Anything you might want in six months goes into a collection, tagged by topic.
- A Plexii desk for doing. When a task starts, pull the handful of pages you need onto its desk, with a note on what each is for.
- At the end, record the decision on the desk and, if a source deserves keeping, save it into Raindrop with a one-line reason.
This avoids the two common failures: a bookmark library nobody opens and a desk cluttered with years of old links.
A five-minute test
Pick one live task with web research in it.
- Write the outcome at the top of a new desk ("Choose the venue for the March training day").
- Drag the three or four pages you actually need onto it.
- Add a table or note saying what each page settles.
- Close the browser tabs. Open the desk tomorrow and see whether you can carry on without searching.
If the answer is yes, a desk suits that kind of task. If you mainly need to find things again later, keep using a library. For more on clearing tab clutter, see apps that organise browser tabs by task.
Download Plexii free and try the desk on one task this week.
Other comparisons
If you are weighing a visual canvas, read Plexii vs Milanote. More guides on organising work are in the work by task hub.
Common questions
Is Plexii a replacement for Raindrop? Not usually. Raindrop is built to store and rediscover links over the long term. Plexii is built to hold the pages, files and documents for one task together. Many people use a library for keeping and a desk for doing.
Is Raindrop.io free? Yes. According to its help centre, the free plan has unlimited bookmarks, collections and devices with no time limit. Full-text search, the web archive, reminders and backups are on the paid plan.
Can Plexii save a permanent copy of a web page? Plexii's browser widget shows the live page, and its help pages do not describe saving a copy of it. If a page may change or disappear and you need the original, Raindrop's web archive (a paid feature) is designed for that.
How do I get my links into a Plexii desk? Drag a link or a browser tab onto an open desk and it becomes a browser work widget at that page. You can also add a file or link widget for a single link with a preview.
Can I share a Plexii desk with someone who does not use it? Yes. A shared desk link opens a copy of the desk in a web browser with no account or install. Raindrop also lets you collaborate on a collection, and its help centre says that works on the free plan.
What if I only want to stop losing open tabs? Raindrop's one-click Save tabs is a quick answer. If tabs are piling up because they belong to unfinished work, sorting each tab by its job usually helps more than saving them all.