The best self-hosted bookmark managers: Linkwarden, Karakeep, linkding and Shiori
Linkwarden is the best self-hosted bookmark manager for most people, and especially for teams. It saves a screenshot, a PDF and an HTML copy of every page, organizes links into collections and sub-collections, and lets you share collections with per-member permissions. It needs more running than the others: the app, PostgreSQL and a search engine.
Karakeep is a close second if you save more than links: notes, images, PDFs and videos, with AI tagging that can run on a local model. If you want the least to maintain, linkding is built to be minimal and runs from a single Docker container, and Shiori is a single binary that works with SQLite.
| # | Product | Saving and archiving ×3 | Organizing and finding ×3 | Setup and upkeep ×2 | Sharing and multiple users ×2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linkwarden | 9 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 8.4 |
| 2 | Karakeep | 10 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 8.1 |
| 3 | linkding | 7 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 6.9 |
| 4 | Shiori | 6 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 5.4 |
Scores are 0–10 per criterion; the total is the weighted average, computed from the cited evaluations.
1. Linkwarden — Best overall
Pros
- Saves a screenshot, PDF and single HTML file of every page
- Collections, sub-collections, tags and full-text search
- Shared collections with per-member permissions
- Browser extension and native iOS and Android apps
Cons
- The official Docker setup runs three services, the app, PostgreSQL and Meilisearch
Linkwarden treats every bookmark as something to preserve. Each saved page is captured as a screenshot, a PDF and a single HTML file, and you can also send it to the Wayback Machine. The reader view lets you highlight and annotate.
It is also the best choice for groups. Collections can be shared with other users, and you can set each member’s permissions. The cost is the setup: the official compose file runs PostgreSQL and Meilisearch next to the app. Local AI tagging is available but optional.
Who should skip it: Anyone who wants one container and nothing else to maintain.
2. Karakeep — Best for saving more than links
Pros
- Saves links, notes, images and PDFs, with full-page archival
- Full-text and semantic search
- AI tagging, including local models through Ollama
- Chrome, Firefox and Safari extensions plus iOS and Android apps
Cons
- Runs the app, a headless Chrome and Meilisearch
- AI tagging needs an OpenAI key or a local model
Karakeep (previously Hoarder) is built for people who save everything. Beyond links it stores notes, images and PDFs, archives full pages against link rot, and can archive videos. Search covers the full text of saved content and adds semantic search, and AI can tag and summarize what you save, with support for local models.
It ranks second because it is the heaviest to run. The compose file starts a headless Chrome and Meilisearch alongside the app, and its documentation calls configuring OpenAI for automatic tagging “optional though but highly recommended”. Sharing exists, with collaboration on lists, but there are no per-member permissions like Linkwarden’s.
Who should skip it: Anyone who wants a small, fixed feature set with no AI to configure.
3. linkding — Simplest to run
Pros
- Built to be minimal, fast and easy to run with Docker
- Firefox and Chrome extensions and a bookmarklet
- Archives pages as local HTML or on the Internet Archive
Cons
- Tags only, with no collections
- No official mobile app; the project points to community-made ones
linkding does the core job with very little to maintain. You organize bookmarks with tags, add Markdown notes, and mark links to read later. Pages can be archived as local HTML files or on the Internet Archive.
Sharing is limited to sharing bookmarks with other users or guests, and there are no collections, which is why it ranks below the two heavier options.
Who should skip it: Teams that need shared collections with permissions.
4. Shiori — Best for the command line
Pros
- A single binary that works with SQLite, PostgreSQL, MariaDB or MySQL
- Creates an offline archive of each page by default
- Works as a command line app or a web app
Cons
- Basic bookmark management only
- The browser extension is still in beta
- Its latest release, v1.8.0, is from September 2025, the oldest here
Shiori started as a simple clone of Pocket, and it stays simple: add, edit, delete and search, from the command line or a web interface. It parses the readable content of each page and keeps an offline archive.
It ranks last on features, not quality. Organization and sharing are minimal, and the latest release on GitHub dates from 26 September 2025.
Who should skip it: Anyone who needs sharing, collections or other users.
Frequently asked questions
Which of these keep a copy of the page if the site disappears?
All four. Linkwarden saves a screenshot, PDF and HTML file; Karakeep does full-page archival; linkding saves local HTML or uses the Internet Archive; and Shiori creates an offline archive by default.
Do I need an AI service?
No. Linkwarden’s AI tagging is optional and runs locally. Karakeep’s documentation calls AI tagging optional but highly recommended, and it works with OpenAI or a local model through Ollama.