Burkmak vs Couch

Burkmak is a free, MIT-licensed, self-hosted read-it-later application for saving links, reading articles, highlighting passages, syncing with Kobo, and exporting notes to Obsidian. Its reader extracts articles into a clean view with highlights and notes, while tags, read states, favorites, and search organize per-user libraries. Links can be captured through the web app, Android share sheet, or desktop browser bookmarklet. Kobo support provides an OPDS catalog for EPUB and KEPUB downloads plus native store-protocol synchronization that writes reading state back. An Obsidian plugin transfers article notes, highlights, and metadata through Burkmak’s export API. Docker Compose deployment includes backend and web containers, a data volume, and amd64 and arm64 images; the volume stores the SQLite database, cached articles, images, and EPUBs. Product requirements state that server-fetched content remains on the self-hosted instance and no third-party analytics are used. Native Kobo synchronization requires HTTPS, physical-device support remains pending, and the architecture targets one instance rather than horizontal scaling or high availability.

Couch is a content-saving and reading app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Its free version includes unlimited saves and basic features. Saved items can be organized with tags, folders, and smart folders, and searched by title, tag, author, or website. Users can add highlights, comments, and summaries; highlights can also be exported. A built-in reader supports offline access. Couch syncs content across Apple devices through iCloud without requiring a separate account, and browser extensions are available for Safari, Firefox, Chrome, and compatible browsers. The app says it has no sign-up, tracking, or ads, and that user data is stored in iCloud rather than tracked, mined, or sold. Apple Intelligence summaries and tag suggestions are processed on-device. Pro unlocks advanced features through a one-time in-app purchase, but no price is listed for the plans. One reviewer reported paying an extra $2.99 for Pro; that report is not a listed plan price.