Free website annotation tools compared
Plenty of tools say "free" on the homepage. Fewer let you run a real client review without paying. Here is what each free plan allows, who has to sign up, and what you have to install, checked on each tool's own pricing page and help docs on 13 and 14 November 2026.
Free plans at a glance
| Tool | Free plan allows | Reviewers need | Installed |
|---|---|---|---|
| HTMLAnnotate | 3 projects, unlimited pages and comments, links up to 14 days | Name and email, once | Nothing |
| Pastel | 1 user, 1 active canvas, responsive tester, deadlines | Name and email, no account | Nothing for public pages |
| ruttl | 1 project, 5 pages, 10 comments | Depends on a share setting | Nothing for public pages |
| Userback | 2 sites, 2 seats, feedback visible 7 days | Nothing | Widget or extension |
| Atarim | 1 project, 200 one-time AI credits | Name and email | Nothing for public pages |
| Superflow | 1 project, 1 team seat | Sign-in on the free plan | Not confirmed |
| Hypothesis | Free, no limits listed | A free account | Extension or bookmarklet |
From each tool's pricing page and help docs, checked on 13 and 14 November 2026. Free plans change often, so check before you rely on one.
What to look for in a free plan
- The real limit. Projects, canvases, pages or comments. A 10-comment cap is a demo; 3 projects is enough for small client work.
- What the client has to do. Every account or extension you ask for loses some reviewers.
- How long feedback stays. Some free plans hide or delete older feedback.
- What happens when you outgrow it. The next plan's price, and whether it charges per person.
1. HTMLAnnotate
This is our own tool, so weigh this entry accordingly. Paste a link to a live page, or upload an HTML file or a PDF, and send the review link. Reviewers click anything to comment, with nothing installed and no account; they give a name and email once. Desktop, tablet and phone comments stay separate.
Free plan: 3 active projects with unlimited pages, reviewers and comments. Links last up to 14 days when you're signed in, and uploads are up to 1 MB. Next step up: Pro at $10 a month for two people, with links that never expire.
2. Pastel
The most feature-rich free plan here. It includes the responsive tester, feedback deadlines and reminders, approvals, labels and assigning. Guests comment with a name and email, and Pastel says that doesn't create an account for them. It also reviews images, PDFs and video.
Free plan: 1 user and 1 active canvas; archive a canvas to start another. Next step up: Pro at $35 a month ($29 yearly) for 2 users and 3 canvases.
3. ruttl
Reviews live websites, web apps, images, PDFs and mobile apps, with an edit mode for changing text and images on the page. The free plan is tight: 1 project, 5 pages and 10 comments, and ruttl's billing help says edit mode is free for two days. Its pricing page gives two different user limits for the free plan, and its help pages disagree on whether guests must log in to comment, so test with a colleague first.
Next step up: Pro at $18 per user a month ($15 yearly).
4. Userback
A feedback widget with screenshots and video, built mostly for product teams collecting feedback from their own users. Reporters never need an account. The free plan covers 2 sites and 2 seats, but feedback is only visible for 7 days, which is short for a client project.
Next step up: Team at $49 a month ($39 yearly) for 5 seats.
5. Atarim
Atarim started as a website feedback tool and now leans towards an AI web agency product. The free plan has 1 project and 200 AI credits that don't renew. Reviewers give a name and email, which it remembers for 90 days.
Next step up: Pro at $67 a month.
6. Superflow
A feedback layer for websites and web apps with internal comments on every plan. Its free Starter plan has 1 project and 1 team seat with unlimited guests, but its own plan details list guest commenting without signing in only on the Scale and Enterprise plans.
Next step up: Growth at $29 per seat a month ($24 yearly).
7. Hypothesis
A free, nonprofit annotation tool, built mainly for higher education and research. Everyone who annotates needs a free account and the browser extension (or a bookmarklet in Firefox and Safari). It is excellent for discussing an article, but it has no assigning, resolving or screen-size comments, so it is not built for client sign-off.
Free trials, not free plans
- Markup.io: 14-day trial, then from $79 a month for unlimited users.
- BugHerd: free trial, then from $50 a month for 5 members.
- Marker.io: 15-day trial, then from $59 a month ($39 yearly) for 3 members.
- Feedbucket (14 days), zipBoard (14 days) and Webvizio (7 days) also offer trials only.
Filestage has a free plan too, but it is a proofing tool for files and documents rather than comments on a live website: 1 active project and up to 5 new files a month.
Which free tool should you pick?
- Client reviews on a few sites at once: HTMLAnnotate, for the 3 projects with unlimited comments.
- One site at a time, with deadlines and approvals: Pastel.
- A quick test before paying: ruttl, within its 10 comments.
- Feedback from your own product's users: Userback.
- Annotating articles with a class or research group: Hypothesis.
For what each tool costs once you outgrow the free plan, see the cheapest website feedback tools, or work out your own team size with the cost calculator.
Questions
Is there a free website annotation tool?
Yes. HTMLAnnotate, Pastel, ruttl, Userback, Atarim, Superflow and Hypothesis all have free plans for annotating websites. Their limits differ a lot, from 10 comments in total (ruttl) to unlimited comments on 3 projects (HTMLAnnotate). Checked on 13 and 14 November 2026.
Which free annotation tool doesn't need an extension?
HTMLAnnotate, Pastel and ruttl load a public page from a link, so nothing is installed. Userback uses a widget on the site, and Hypothesis uses a browser extension or bookmarklet.
Do my clients need an account to annotate?
Not with HTMLAnnotate (name and email once) or Pastel (name and email, no account). Hypothesis needs a free account for everyone who annotates. ruttl's own help pages disagree on whether guests must log in, and Superflow lists guest commenting without sign-in only on its higher plans.
Does Markup.io have a free plan?
No. Markup.io has a 14-day free trial; paid plans start at $79 a month. BugHerd and Marker.io also offer trials rather than free plans.
Is Hypothesis good for client website feedback?
Hypothesis is free and good at what it was built for: annotating articles and readings, mostly in education. Every annotator needs an account and the extension, and it has no assigning or resolving, so it is a poor fit for client review rounds.
Annotate a website free: paste a link, send it to your client, and they comment with no account. 3 projects, no card needed.
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