Comparison

Pinmate for Pinboard vs Caliu

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

Head to head
About

Pinmate for Pinboard

This app acts as a fast and efficient companion for the Pinboard bookmarking service. It allows for quick sharing of URLs from any app, offline reading of cached content, and offers advanced tools for managing and checking your bookmarks.

Highlights
  • Share extension for any app
  • Offline access to cached feeds
  • Smart search and filtering
  • iCloud settings and favorites sync
  • Broken-link and metadata checker
  • Export bookmarks in multiple formats
  • macOS keyboard-friendly interface
Read full description

Pinmate is your fast bridge to Pinboard. Share any URL from Safari or other apps, fill in title, description, and tags, then save instantly. Your personal feed, popular links, and network are cached locally, so there's always something to read - even offline. New in 1.6: app language picker (restart required), new/unread summary chips with quick reset, card action buttons, relative time display, and an optional feed preload on login. Highlights: - Share extension: grab links from any app, auto-fill page metadata with a live status indicator, and gate saving until it's ready. - Smart filters: search title/URL/tags, filter unread, favorites, or private; FROM_ tags can open a user's feed or act as normal tags. - iCloud settings sync: optionally store settings (including API token) in iCloud and restore on a new device. - iCloud favorites sync: starred/pinned items are preserved across reinstalls. - Local network: build a local list of people from user feeds, merge it into your Network feed, and manage members in one place (with source badges). - Recent feed: a dedicated tab powered by Pinboard's recent RSS. - Broken-link checker: scan your own feed for 404s with a countdown, intensity (low/mid/high), delete in bulk with stop control and progress. - Metadata checker: pick fields (tags/description/title/all), scope (missing-only or all), intensity, optionally fill placeholders, and update per item or all at once with a countdown and stop control. - HTTPS upgrade tool: scan HTTP bookmarks, check if HTTPS works, upgrade one-by-one or all at once, and optionally delete links without a working HTTPS variant. - Export hub: from the Tools menu export all bookmarks to HTML, JSON, CSV, or Markdown (shared/toread included) with a progress banner and share sheet. - Feed summary: toggle the top card (last refresh + entry count) on/off, applied to all feeds (including user feeds). - Feed chips: new/unread counters in the summary card; tap to reset new items or mark all unread as read. - Card actions: quick unread/private/star buttons plus a menu for edit/share/copy/import. - App language: choose a preferred language in Settings (applies after restart). - User-Agent setting: choose Pinmate or Safari for metadata/tag fetching (used everywhere, including debug analysis). - One-tap pinning: mark favorites or reading list in a flash. - App icon badge: choose none, unread, or starred counts. - Offline cache: personal, popular, and network feeds stay available for quick access. - App group sync: shared links wait in the app, even when you open it later. - macOS: keyboard-friendly feeds with arrow scrolling, Enter to open, and Command-R refresh. - Languages: German, French, Norwegian, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, and Polish. For whom? Pinboard users who want speed, offline convenience, and a polished iOS and macOS experience. Pinmate keeps your bookmark inbox light, your favorites within reach, and makes sharing from iPhone, iPad, and Mac effortless.

About

Caliu

A minimalist markdown notes app designed for writers, offering a distraction-free writing experience with features like nested tags, reminders, and cross-device syncing. It allows for easy export and integration with external tools.

Highlights
  • Markdown writing with live formatting
  • Nested and colored tags for organization
  • Cross-device sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac
  • Reminders for notes
  • Export to various formats (Markdown, ePub, RTF)
  • REST API and MCP server for integration
  • Customizable themes
Features
Read full description

Caliu is a quiet place to write. Open it and start typing: no account, no setup, no clutter. Markdown takes shape as you type, everything works offline, and your notes stay on your device. When you want them everywhere, create a free account and they follow you across iPhone, iPad, Mac and the web. Sync is free, and it stays free. Writing comes first Headings, lists, tasks, quotes, code and links format as you write. There is no preview pane and no mode to switch: what you see is your note. The interface steps aside and leaves you with the page. Organised the way you think Tags instead of folders, because one idea can belong in many places. Nest them, colour them, and find any note in seconds. Link notes to each other and follow a thought from one to the next. Pin what matters now, and archive what you are done with without losing a word. There when you need it Native on iPhone, iPad and Mac, with a web app for everything else. Save things to Caliu straight from the share sheet, or add a thought from your Apple Watch. Yours, and only yours No ads. No tracking. Nothing you write is used to train AI. Your notes live on your device first and sync encrypted, and Caliu is built in the EU under GDPR. Export any note as Markdown or plain text whenever you like, share one as a public link when someone needs to read it, and delete your account at any time. Deleted means deleted. For tinkerers A full REST API and a built-in MCP server, so Claude, Cursor or your own scripts can read and write your notes, on your terms. Your first API key is free. Caliu Pro Writing, tags, sync and working offline are free. 50 notes free, forever, no account needed. Caliu Pro makes them unlimited and adds: • Version history: scroll back through any note and restore it in a tap • Every theme, font and app icon: 22 colour themes, each in light and dark, and 30 fonts • Drawing, right inside your notes • Unlimited attachments • More export formats: HTML, ePub, PDF, RTF and TextPack • Unlimited API keys, and connecting AI apps like Claude to your notes Subscribe monthly or yearly, or buy Pro lifetime once. Try it free before you decide. The monthly or yearly plan is an auto-renewing subscription: it renews unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and you can manage or cancel it anytime in your App Store account settings. Made with care by a small, independent team of one. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://caliuapp.com/privacy

Screenshots

Pinmate for Pinboard4 screens
Caliu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Caliu at Free against Pinmate for Pinboard's $3.99. Pinmate for Pinboard's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On review sentiment, update cadence, 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

Caliu is free to download; Pinmate for Pinboard costs $3.99 up front. Caliu sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Pinmate for Pinboard asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pinmate for Pinboard ships an update weekly, Caliu every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pinmate for Pinboard versus Caliu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPinmate for PinboardCaliu
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—5 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB210 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarco JanssenMarc Torrelles

Customer experience

Pinmate for Pinboard

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

Caliu

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Pinmate for Pinboard

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Caliu

Subscriptions2
  • Caliu Pro - Monthly3 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Caliu Pro - Yearly7 Days trial$17.991 Year

Questions

Is Pinmate for Pinboard free?
Pinmate for Pinboard costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Caliu free?
Caliu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Pinmate for Pinboard or Caliu have ads?
Neither Pinmate for Pinboard nor Caliu shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pinmate for Pinboard or Caliu?
Pinmate for Pinboard ships an update weekly, and Caliu every 9 days. Most recently, Pinmate for Pinboard was updated on October 13, 2026 and Caliu on October 16, 2026.

Other comparisons