Burkmak vs Freezetab

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.

Freezetab saves and organizes links, articles, RSS and Atom feeds, and quotes from websites. Saved articles can be edited in a rich text editor, and content can be highlighted and searched in full text. Filters for time period, tags, sites, and data type help narrow a collection. It is available as a browser extension, on iOS, and on the web; an iOS or iPadOS shortcut can save links and quotes. The free extension supports local use without an internet connection and can be used without logging in, with data kept on the user's machine. Privacy controls let users mark saved data private so it is not sent to Freezetab’s servers, or enable privacy mode for new saves. Freezetab Pro adds cloud backup, syncing across browsers and devices, web access, saving links without the extension, and mobile link saving. Pro costs $2.99 a month after a 7-day free trial. Freezetab says its security measures include HTTPS, firewalls, IP allowlists, VPNs, and encrypted backups. Stripe handles billing information; Freezetab says card numbers and security codes are not stored on its servers.