Comparison

LinkBuddy vs Clover

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

Head to head
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

About

Clover

Access and manage your self-hosted knowledge base on mobile. Read notes offline, search extensively, and write with a rich-text editor. Offers advanced features like AI chat and widgets with a Pro upgrade.

Highlights
  • Offline reading and writing
  • Full-text search
  • Rich-text editor
  • Voice-to-text input
  • Share extension
  • AI chat integration
  • Widgets
Features
Read full description

Clover is a third-party iOS client for TriliumNext Notes, designed reading-first: bring the knowledge base on your self-hosted server to your phone — readable offline, fully searchable. All core features are free. Clover Pro (one-time purchase or subscription): multiple servers, unlimited AI chats, alternate icons, home and lock screen widgets (today's journal, continue reading, quick capture), and Spotlight search. No ads. No server yet? Start with the built-in Local Vault and upload everything with one tap once you connect a Trilium server. Reading • Native typography with adjustable paper colour, font and size • Continuous multi-chapter reading for book notes, progress remembered • Images, PDF, Office documents, code highlighting, Mermaid, math • Full-text search that works for any language, including CJK Writing • Rich-text editor fully compatible with desktop Trilium • Journal: one note per day, capture fast; voice-to-text input • Share extension: save web pages, text and images from any app • Every write is queued first — nothing is lost offline, conflicts never overwrite Sync & security • Same login session as the Trilium web UI, with TOTP, SSO and Cloudflare Access • Incremental sync + live updates (foreground WebSocket), low-power and Wi-Fi-only policies • Face ID lock; protected notes unlock separately and never touch the disk • AI chat is powered by your own server — Clover stores no API keys Multiple accounts / servers, three-column iPad layout, localised in English, 简体中文, 繁體中文 and 日本語. Clover is an independent third-party client, not affiliated with the TriliumNext project. Syncing requires a TriliumNext server (0.99+); local-only use works without one. English Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ 简体中文 使用条款(EULA):https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ 繁體中文 使用條款(EULA):https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ 日本語 利用規約(EULA):https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

LinkBuddy4 screens
Clover4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Clover at weekly against LinkBuddy's every 2 months. LinkBuddy's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for LinkBuddy against 5.0 for Clover. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LinkBuddy ships an update every 2 months, Clover weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
LinkBuddy versus Clover: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLinkBuddyClover
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB32 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperPeter To郑 陶

Customer experience

LinkBuddy

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

Clover

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

LinkBuddy

No in-app purchases

None

Clover

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LinkBuddy free?
LinkBuddy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Clover free?
Clover is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, LinkBuddy or Clover?
LinkBuddy and Clover are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do LinkBuddy or Clover have ads?
Neither LinkBuddy nor Clover shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LinkBuddy or Clover?
LinkBuddy ships an update every 2 months, and Clover weekly. Most recently, LinkBuddy was updated on September 21, 2026 and Clover on October 24, 2026.

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