LinkBuddy vs Ribbon
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
Ribbon
This app provides a native iOS interface for managing your self-hosted Linkding bookmarks. Browse, search, and save links with ease, keeping your data securely on your own server. Organize with tags and bundles, and leverage convenient features like share extensions and clipboard detection.
- Browse bookmarks with filter pills
- Search active and archived bookmarks
- Add bookmarks with prefill
- Save from Safari via share extension
- Clipboard URL detection
- Organize with tags and bundles
- Swipe actions for editing
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Ribbon is a native iPhone and iPad app for Linkding, the fast, self-hosted bookmark manager. Browse, search, and save your bookmarks from anywhere — your data stays on your server, always. Features - Browse your bookmarks with filter pills: All, Unread, Untagged, and Archived - Search across active and archived bookmarks simultaneously - Add bookmarks with automatic title and description prefill - Save from Safari or any app with the share extension - Clipboard detection — Ribbon offers to use a URL you already copied - Organize with tags and smart Bundles - Archive, edit, and delete with swipe actions or press-and-hold menus - Bulk actions — archive, delete, tag, or mark multiple bookmarks at once - Secure credential storage in the iOS Keychain Requirements Ribbon requires a running Linkding instance. Linkding is a free, open-source bookmark manager you self-host on your own server or NAS. Visit linkding.link to get started. Your Linkding API token can be found under Settings → API Access in your Linkding instance.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: LinkBuddy at Free against Ribbon's $2.99. LinkBuddy also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Ribbon's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and chart position (#175 vs unranked). On rating, ads, in-app purchases 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
LinkBuddy is free to download; Ribbon costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for LinkBuddy against 5.0 for Ribbon. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ribbon has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
LinkBuddy ships an update every 2 months, Ribbon weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LinkBuddy | Ribbon |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #175 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 22 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Peter To | Cory Dransfeldt |
Customer experience
LinkBuddy
Ribbon
In-app purchases
LinkBuddy
No in-app purchases
Ribbon
No in-app purchases









