Overview

Social Archiver is a personal archive for retaining public posts, your own posts, and other material you have permission to keep. It is a strong fit for people who want searchable records across social and web sources, particularly those who prefer to keep archives on their devices. Its range of capture and client options is appealing, but source-specific limits and the free tier’s monthly cap matter.

Key features

Profile crawling and scheduled subscriptions can keep an archive current without relying entirely on individual saves. A searchable timeline, advanced search, tags, places, and collections give sizeable libraries useful structure. The guide spans 21 sources, including social networks, podcasts, newsletters, and RSS blogs, but support differs by source; the total is not a promise of uniform capture.

Archives may include rich metadata and images or video where supported. The Obsidian client can create Markdown output, and Markdown and ZIP exports make records more portable. This is a good combination for people who want to preserve material in reusable formats, though media capture depends on the source.

Web, iOS, Android, Chrome extension, and Obsidian clients accommodate different ways of collecting material. The extension handles supported URLs and web-page clipping. The mobile app connects with Immich, Raindrop, Notion, Readwise Reader, and Karakeep; Karakeep is beta, and some integrations depend on rollout or build availability.

Storage is local-first: saved posts, notes, and media are primarily kept on-device. That is a meaningful advantage for personal collections, but enabling sync or web sharing sends related content and metadata to Social Archiver’s servers. AI comments can use desktop CLI tools, Apple’s on-device model, or Cloud AI. Cloud AI handles summaries, glossaries, translation, and tag suggestions, but sends the archive text needed for the task to the service and requests consent the first time. Very long archives can exceed its length limit; other comment types need desktop tools or supported Apple Intelligence.

The service is intended for lawful personal archiving, not access to private accounts, credentials, devices, or restricted data. That boundary makes it a personal preservation tool, not a way around account permissions.

Pricing

The free plan is free, billed forever, and allows 10 successful archives per month. Failed attempts and duplicate saves do not use the quota. It includes local browsing and search plus mobile, browser extension, and Obsidian access, making it a sensible starting point for occasional archiving. Frequent collectors will likely find the cap restrictive.

Premium Monthly costs 3.99 USD per month, billed monthly. Premium Annual costs 39.99 USD per year, billed yearly, about $3.33/month. Both remove the monthly archive limit while active and include sync support across signed-in devices and monthly Cloud credits for AI and supported paid cloud services. Premium still has rate limits, so it is not unlimited in every respect.

Lifetime costs 69.99 USD per once, billed one-time, with no subscription renewal and no monthly archive limit. It also includes monthly Cloud credits, subject to fair-use and acceptable-use rules. It suits someone committed to long-term use who prefers to avoid recurring subscription charges; monthly credits remain part of the offer rather than an unrestricted cloud allowance. Web checkout questions go to support by email; App Store and Google Play purchases follow their respective refund processes.

Platforms

Social Archiver runs on Android, iOS, macOS, the web, and through a browser extension. The separate Obsidian client adds a route for users who want Markdown-based archives.

Who it's for

Choose it if you personally collect material from multiple public sources and value local storage, searchable organization, and portable exports. It is less suitable for anyone who needs identical capture across every source, wants to archive restricted material, or expects cloud sync and AI processing to remain entirely on-device.

Pros and cons

Pros: A broad set of 21 sources, with profile crawling and scheduled subscriptions for ongoing collection.
Pros: Local-first storage, advanced search, and Markdown and ZIP exports support private, organized, portable archives.
Pros: The permanent free plan includes core clients and search, with duplicate saves excluded from its 10-archive monthly quota.
Cons: Capture capabilities and media preservation vary by source, so coverage is not consistent across the catalog.
Cons: Sync, sharing, and Cloud AI involve sending related content or metadata to Social Archiver’s servers.
Cons: Free users face a monthly archive cap, and Premium remains subject to rate limits.

Alternatives

Social Media Archiving Software is a useful starting point for comparing options in this category. For organizations focused on email controls, Proofpoint Email DLP and Encryption is a paid alternative available on mobile, web, and Windows. If self-hosting matters, Aleph Archives offers web and self-hosted access, paid plans, and a free trial. For account-based social media archiving, MessageWatcher Social Media Compliance offers paid per-account plans and a free trial. Jatheon Cloud is another paid option, with unlimited storage and no exit egress fees. Archive Intel may suit buyers seeking a paid platform with 1TB storage included and no minimums. OpenText Core Email Message Privacy is another paid web option. Smarsh Archive is a paid option with web and API platforms. For SaaS backup with custom pricing tailored to storage, user count, and budget, consider CloudAlly SaaS Backup, which also offers a free trial.

Verdict

Social Archiver is the right choice for individuals building a searchable, portable personal archive across social and web sources, especially when local-first storage is a priority. Its main advantage is the combination of broad capture, organization, and client choice. Look elsewhere if you need consistent capabilities across sources or cannot accept server transfers when enabling sync, sharing, or Cloud AI.

	Shield Data Hub	Social Archiver
Free plan		Yes
Paid from		$3.33/mo
Platforms	Web	Android, extension, iOS, macOS, Web
Retention options	configurable	permanent
Legal hold	Yes
Free plan		Yes
Social sources		21
Advanced search		Yes
Export formats		Markdown, ZIP

Shield Data Hub vs Social Archiver

Shield Data Hub

Social Archiver