Comparison

Wallabag Reader vs LinkBuddy

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Wallabag Reader

Save web pages for later reading with this self-hostable application. It offers a free and open-source solution for bookmarking content. Requires a separate wallabag instance to function.

Highlights
  • Save web pages
  • Self-hostable
  • Open source
  • Free (as in freedom)
  • Offline reading
Features
Read full description

Save web articles and read them later—on your terms. Wallabag Reader is the open-source companion for wallabag. Connect to your self-hosted server or a compatible hosted wallabag account, sync your reading list, and keep your archive available on iPhone and iPad. SAVE FROM ANYWHERE • Send pages from Safari and other apps with the Share extension • Add a URL manually or from your clipboard • Sync article content to read without an internet connection READ COMFORTABLY • Enjoy a clean article reader with adjustable text size and light or dark themes • Highlight passages and create, edit, or delete annotations • Listen to articles with built-in text-to-speech • Open the original page or share it with others ORGANIZE YOUR ARCHIVE • Search and filter unread, archived, and starred articles • Sort by date, reading time, or identifier • Add and remove tags, mark articles as read, and favorite what matters • Rediscover short reads, random picks, and tags from the Discover tab YOUR WALLABAG, YOUR CHOICE wallabag is free and open source. This app connects to an existing wallabag instance; it does not create or host one for you. Self-host wallabag on your own server or use a compatible hosted provider. WALLABAG PLUS Core reading and organization features remain available without Plus. An optional auto-renewing wallabag Plus subscription unlocks AI-powered summaries and tag suggestions. Available plans, duration, price, and renewal terms are shown before purchase and may vary by region. Manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings. Privacy policy and terms of use: https://district-web.fr/wallabag-reader/privacy/

About

LinkBuddy

This is a free, open-source client for a self-hosted bookmark management service. It allows users to add, edit, archive, and search bookmarks, with support for a share sheet extension and an in-app browser. It's privacy-focused and ad-free.

Highlights
  • Add, edit, archive, delete bookmarks
  • Search bookmarks (active, archive, unread, untagged, shared)
  • Share sheet extension for external app sharing
  • In-app browser with Safari Reader View
  • Dark and light mode themes
  • iPad compatible
  • Privacy focused and ad-free
Features
Read full description

LinkBuddy is a free and open source client for linkding, a selfhosted bookmark management service. NOTE: This does not work without a selfhosted instance of linkding and an associated API access token. Please see more information about setting up linkding here: https://linkding.link/ Features: - Add, edit, archive and delete bookmarks - View and search your active, archive, unread, untagged, and shared bookmarks - Supports share sheet extension to share URLs from other apps into LinkBuddy - Open and view links in in-app web browser - Supports Safari Reader View via in-app web browser - Supports dark mode and light mode themes - iPad compatible - Privacy focused - this app doesn't store or track any personal user information, logs, or display any ads - Free and open source: https://github.com/peterto/LinkBuddy

Screenshots

Wallabag Reader2 screens
LinkBuddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: LinkBuddy at 5.0 against Wallabag Reader's 3.4. LinkBuddy also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Wallabag Reader's advantage is ratings volume (38 vs 1) and update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Wallabag Reader sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. LinkBuddy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

LinkBuddy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Wallabag Reader has 38 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Wallabag Reader ships an update every 4 weeks, LinkBuddy every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Wallabag Reader versus LinkBuddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWallabag ReaderLinkBuddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (38 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews43.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings38 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB22 MB
Age rating4+17+
Developermaxime marinelPeter To

Customer experience

Wallabag Reader

All ratings38 ratings
Positive60.5%
Neutral5.3%
Negative34.2%
Written reviews78 reviews
Positive43.6%
Neutral15.4%
Negative41.0%

LinkBuddy

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Wallabag Reader

Subscriptions2
  • Wallabag Plus$2.991 Month
  • Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Tips$0.99
None

LinkBuddy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Wallabag Reader free?
Wallabag Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is LinkBuddy free?
LinkBuddy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Wallabag Reader or LinkBuddy?
LinkBuddy is rated higher. Wallabag Reader averages 3.4 out of 5 from 38 ratings, while LinkBuddy averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Wallabag Reader or LinkBuddy have ads?
Neither Wallabag Reader nor LinkBuddy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Wallabag Reader or LinkBuddy?
Wallabag Reader ships an update every 4 weeks, and LinkBuddy every 2 months. Most recently, Wallabag Reader was updated on November 1, 2026 and LinkBuddy on September 21, 2026.

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