Considering purchasing Anybox - thought I would ask here first.
Edit: TL;DR summary. Was looking for advice on Anybox vs. Raindrop. I chose Anybox after trying them both, and it has been absolutely a fantastic choice, and I keep discovering more and more about it. I also picked up something called the Stash app. I'm using…
Edit: TL;DR summary. Was looking for advice on Anybox vs. Raindrop. I chose Anybox after trying them both, and it has been absolutely a fantastic choice, and I keep discovering more and more about it. I also picked up something called the Stash app. I'm using it for screenshots so I can keep Anybox pure for my canonical bookmarks. One awesome feature about Anybox is that it works with Hookmark. A huge bonus for me. Hint, hint, Stash app. --- I'd like to get a bookmark app and was seriously considering going with Raindrop. Then I found Anybox. Here are some thoughts about what I really want and what concerns me, and maybe someone has some ideas that might help me with this. I am 100% in the Apple ecosystem and don't need cross-platform support. Syncing needs to be smooth and effortless between iOS/iPad and Mac. Has that been resolved? I've seen a number of issues regarding this with Anybox. I am attracted to a one-pay app. I would probably start monthly until I'm sure it fits, but then I really like the idea of a one-pay capability. Raindrop does not have that. If I got the One Pay option, do I continue to still get updates? I have so many bookmarks in Firefox that I'd like to bring more order to it, even though they are very neatly organized. I'd like one app to use across all browsers, not having to just use the browser I'm currently using to find a site. Would Anybox solve that issue? I think it would, frankly. I am also deeply into the Alfred ecosystem and use it quite extensively. I'm attracted to the fact that Anybox has integrations directly from the company, not just user supported. Is it true that Anybox works with Hookmark? This would be a massive advantage because I use it quite significantly. Does it work seamlessly, fluidly, or is it janky and I have to use workarounds? This would be one of the primary reasons that I would choose Anybox, frankly. That and it working well with Alfred. I want an app that is under regular development, not abandonware. Is Anybox being regularly developed? I do value a visual experience. Is Anybox being improved to make it something that competes with Raindrop in that regard I guess I'm open to anything else that fits what I'm looking for. If there are other options that I'm missing, please let me know. Don't just throw out options, though. I want to make sure that anything recommended fits what I'm looking for above. By the way, if I didn't make it clear enough, I'm absolutely fine paying for apps, no problem at all, and love supporting developers. I like the idea of a one pay, but I'm willing to pay monthly or yearly if it's reasonable and the value is strong. Thanks in advance for ideas and comments.
Collected discussion
I am a user of Anybox and love it. I know someone offered you another alternative, but it looks like a screenshot organizer rather than a bookmark manager. Anybox does a great job of organizing bookmarks. Just create a tag (such as HEALTH or TRAVEL) and then drag the URL from the browser into Anybox. When installed on multiple Macs, everything shows up the same.
I have to say this came as quite a surprise. I don't think it's exactly what I was looking for, but it is something I think I need. I have a few questions if you wouldn't mind answering. Can the Mac app be used as the primary app? Right now I use CleanShot for my screenshots, and I do like that I can add things like arrows or underlines or something to my screenshots, but that's what I really like about it. That's about it. Otherwise, everything goes to die somewhere. This might be a silly question, but do you see that I could use your app to replace CleanShot and still send screenshots to my business partner and family. Any chance you might make it so that I could add arrows or underlines or some kind of simple things like that in the future? Do you see this as a replacement for Anybox? Does it have Dark Mode? Anything white or bright just kills my eyes. And a really big one: Will this work with Hookmark? That would seal the deal instantly. I'm going to download this and try it. Hopefully it works really well just on the Mac.
I am a big Obsidian user. Just never thought to use it to organize bookmarks. As far as I can tell, it does not have enough flexibility. If I put a whole bunch of bookmarks on one page, sending individual ones would still be something I'd have to search to find.
thank you. Have you by chance tried Hookmark with it?
I really want to like Anybox, but I keep reading such bad reviews about the sync and that kind of thing that I don't know. And Raindrop has really low ratings on the app store, 3.5. But good to hear it's working well for you. I will probably give it a try.
Yeah since I wrote the message, I tried them both and immediately chose Any box. Seems to be working very well for me
what is the app you use? How can I find it?
It looks really nice. I need something that is both on the Mac and for iOS. I'd love to know if you had both devices down the road.
Thanks for your response, and I could not agree more. I went with Anybox, and I am absolutely loving it. I also added the Stash app so I could put memes and visual things and use Anybox for bookmarks. I know Anybox could do all of it, but I just wanted to keep it cleaner.
Great idea. So far syncing has been really good with well over 300 links. I'll try exporting as well.
Thanks. I'm really impressed with it so far.
What I'm going to suggest doesn't have that specific focus, but I've found it to be richer than most solutions with that purpose. Unintentionally, I started using Obsidian for this. Its clipping extension is fantastic; it saves all the page data with just one click, you can organize it into groups, add tags, have offline content reading, add comments and information. I've been using Raindrop forever, but Obsidian won me over because I saw many advantages in using it—features that, when available in other solutions, are usually paid for.
Well, after a little bit of work, I got this up and running fantastically. For some reason, I had trouble with sync in the beginning, and I couldn't figure it out. But then I aimed Codex at it, and it spent a little time, and it's working like crazy now. Still says ubiquitous or something like that isn't quite right, but Codex says it's fine. And it's working perfectly across my iPad Pro, iPhone, and Mac. So here's what I'm doing... I'm using Anybox for my bookmarks. And I'm using Stash for visual things that I want to track. I know I could do it in Anybox, but I'm really using Anybox for my more canonical references and don't want to add all of the visual things that I like to keep (i.e., things I want to buy my son, t-shirt ideas, etc.) in Anybox. Instead, Stash works extremely well. I'm going to purchase in just a few minutes. Now that I'm getting the hang of it, I just love it. Fantastic implementation. I can't wait till I can get bigger fonts on the Mac and on the iPhone, but it's still working really nicely. By the way, I can take a screenshot in CleanShot on my Mac and just send it directly into Stash on my Mac, and it shows up immediately on my iPhone and iPad.
been using Anybox for about a year. the Alfred integration alone is worth it if you're already deep in that workflow. syncing has been solid for me across iPhone and Mac, no issues. the one-time purchase with continued updates is a rare thing these days
I purchased it and am thrilled with it. This is one to go check out.
What features are you needing from the paid version of Raindrop? I use the free version and it's working really well for me. Have not tried Anybox but if the pricing structure is the biggest pull to Anybox, definitely make sure there are actually paid features you need from Raindrop.
Started using Anybox a couple of years ago and simply never needed anything else. Not had an issue with sync myself but I use it fairly passively. I don’t save a link so that I can open it a moment later on iOS (I just use continuity if I need to). I use it as a bookmark manager and stuff I save is always there when I look for it. Not comfortable with the privacy situation on Raindrop and the UI was off putting.
I think it's a great choice, I also use one other app by the same developer for countdowns
Hey I'm not someone to try and promote my app over another's but reading your post hits the ideal mission that I have for my app. We've just crossed over 8,000 active users and it's pretty much become my full-time passion. I'm launching new features almost weekly and it's currently just a one-time $9.99 for lifetime across all your Mac devices. It might be worth you checking out! https://www.reddit.com/r/macapps/s/xARZYTi4xS
If the main focus is bookmarks manager, my vote is for Anybox without hesitation
Following. I’ve found GoodLinks to be fantastic for pulling content, but it’s not really a bookmark manager.
It’s pretty limited compared to raindrop. I got access to the beta for artifacts.app though and it’s pretty great, handled my 22,000 bookmark import a lot better than I thought it would.
If you value a visual experience, check out twig.tools! I created it personally - its a serious long term project for me. Bookmarks are managed in a colored grid format. I hope you like it :)
Anybox seems strongest if you want a native apple style bookmark library with tags, iCloud sync, Alfred integration, and a one-time payment.
honestly, Anybox is great if you want that native Apple feel and a onetime fee. But before buying the lifetime license, dump 100 links in there and actually test the sync and export.