Shelfy vs Raindrop.io: Complete Comparison for Link Management (2025)
Shelfy vs Raindrop.io: Complete Comparison for Link Management (2025)
Detailed comparison of Shelfy and Raindrop.io for link management. Compare features, pricing, collaboration tools, and find which bookmark manager is right for you.
Choosing between Shelfy and Raindrop.io? Both are powerful link management tools, but they serve different needs and philosophies.
The short answer: Raindrop.io is a visual bookmark manager with beautiful screenshot previews. Shelfy is a link collection platform with unlimited free features, team collaboration, and public sharing capabilities.
This guide breaks down every difference to help you choose the right tool for your workflow.
Quick Comparison
Feature
Shelfy
Raindrop.io
Pricing
Free forever (all features)
Free (limited) / $28/year Pro
Collections
Unlimited
Unlimited
Collaboration
Free (unlimited members)
Pro only (limited)
Custom Domains
Free
Not available
Public Sharing
Yes (shareable pages)
Yes (public collections)
API Access
Free (1,000 req/hr)
Pro only
Visual Previews
Link cards
Full-page screenshots
Browser Extension
Yes
Yes
Mobile Apps
Web-based
Native iOS/Android
Nested Folders
Categories + Tags
Nested collections
Best For
Teams, public collections, free power users
Visual bookmarking, research, personal use
Platform Philosophy
Shelfy: Link Collections for Sharing
Shelfy approaches link management as shareable collections—think curated resource pages you can publish and share with others.
Core philosophy:
Links are meant to be shared, not just saved
Teams need collaboration without paywalls
Professional features should be free
Public collections build audience
Strengths:
Team collaboration with no limits
Public-facing collection pages
Custom domains for branding
API access for automation
Community voting on links
Raindrop.io: Visual Bookmark Manager
Raindrop.io approaches link management as personal/team bookmarking—focused on saving and organizing content with visual previews.
Collection: Marketing Resources
├── Category: SEO Tools
│ └── Links with tags: #free, #analytics
├── Category: Content Marketing
│ └── Links with tags: #writing, #research
└── Category: Social Media
└── Links with tags: #scheduling, #analytics
Features:
Unlimited collections (separate pages)
Categories within collections
Cross-cutting tags
Custom ordering (drag-and-drop)
Search across all collections
Best for: Creating multiple distinct resource pages, each with its own URL and organization.
Raindrop.io
Organization model: Nested Collections (folders within folders)
Collection: Marketing
├── Sub-collection: SEO
│ ├── Sub-collection: Tools
│ └── Sub-collection: Articles
├── Sub-collection: Content
└── Sub-collection: Social
Features:
Unlimited nesting depth
Collection icons and colors
Smart collections (auto-filter)
Multiple sort options
Filters by type, date, domain
Best for: Deep hierarchical organization, especially for research and personal knowledge management.
Winner: Depends on use case. Raindrop for deep personal organization. Shelfy for multiple shareable collections.
Visual Experience
Shelfy
Link display:
Card layout with title, description, favicon
Optional thumbnail images
Clean, functional design
Custom descriptions
Customization:
Collection themes/colors
Custom branding
Profile images
Layout options
Raindrop.io
Link display:
Full-page screenshot previews
Multiple view modes (cards, headlines, moodboard)
Automatic favicon extraction
Cover images for collections
Customization:
Collection icons (custom or library)
View mode per collection
Dark/light theme
Accent colors
Winner:Raindrop.io for visual browsing. The screenshot previews make it easy to recognize pages at a glance—especially useful for design inspiration and visual research.
Collaboration
Shelfy
Free tier:
Unlimited team members
Role-based permissions
Shared collections
Activity tracking
Comments on links
How it works:
Invite members to your workspace
Create shared collections
Set permissions (view, edit, admin)
Everyone contributes
Team features:
No per-seat pricing
Unlimited collaborators
Real-time updates
Raindrop.io
Free tier:
Share collections (view only)
No editing collaboration
Pro tier ($28/year):
Up to 3 collaborators per collection
Edit permissions
Team library
Limitations:
Maximum 3 editors per collection
Can't add more collaborators without workarounds
Pro required for any real collaboration
Winner:Shelfy by far. Unlimited free collaboration vs. Raindrop's 3-person Pro limit. For teams, this isn't close.
Public Sharing
Shelfy
Public collections:
Each collection gets a unique URL
Fully branded pages
Custom domains (free)
SEO-friendly
Embed on websites
Visitor analytics
Use cases:
Resource pages for audiences
Curated lists for clients
Public knowledge bases
Link-in-bio alternatives
Example:links.yourbrand.com/resources
Raindrop.io
Public collections:
Shareable public link
Read-only access
Basic Raindrop branding
RSS feed available
Embed widget
Limitations:
No custom domains
Limited branding
Less polished public view
Winner:Shelfy for public sharing. Custom domains, branding, and purpose-built public pages make it the clear choice for sharing with audiences.
Search & Discovery
Shelfy
Search capabilities:
Full-text search (titles, descriptions)
Filter by collection, category, tag
Search across workspace
Discovery:
Browse by category
Filter by tags
Community voting surfaces best links
Raindrop.io
Free search:
Title and URL search
Filter by collection, type, date
Pro search:
Full-text search (page content)
Search inside PDFs
Duplicate detection
Broken link checker
Permanent copies (Pro):
Saves page content
Search within saved content
Access even if original goes offline
Winner:Raindrop.io Pro for search power. Full-text search of actual page content is powerful for researchers. Free tiers are comparable.
API & Automation
Shelfy
API access: Free
Capabilities:
1,000 requests/hour
Full CRUD operations
Webhook support
Bulk operations
Use cases:
Automated link saving
Integration with other tools
Custom workflows
Programmatic collection management
Raindrop.io
API access: Pro only
Capabilities:
REST API
OAuth authentication
Standard operations
Integrations:
Zapier
IFTTT
Raycast
Alfred
Winner:Shelfy for API accessibility. Free API access vs. Pro-only is significant for developers and automation enthusiasts.
Mobile Experience
Shelfy
Mobile access:
Responsive web app
Mobile browser support
Share sheet integration (via browser)
Limitations:
No native apps
Requires browser
Raindrop.io
Mobile access:
Native iOS app
Native Android app
Offline access
Share sheet integration
Widget support
Features:
Full feature parity
Fast and polished
Background sync
Winner:Raindrop.io for mobile. Native apps provide a significantly better mobile experience than web-based alternatives.
Browser Extension
Shelfy
Extension features:
One-click save
Collection selector
Tag assignment
Custom description
Quick access to collections
Supported browsers:
Chrome
Firefox
Edge
Raindrop.io
Extension features:
One-click save
Highlights and annotations
Auto-suggest collections
Mini app mode
Right-click save
Supported browsers:
Chrome
Firefox
Safari
Edge
Opera
Winner:Raindrop.io slightly ahead. Highlights/annotations and Safari support give it an edge, though both extensions are solid.
Pricing Breakdown
Shelfy
Plan
Price
Features
Free
$0/forever
Everything
What "everything" includes:
Unlimited collections
Unlimited links
Unlimited team members
Custom domains
API access (1,000 req/hr)
Analytics
Public sharing
No branding
No paid tier exists. Shelfy is genuinely free with no feature gates.
Winner:Shelfy on pure value. Everything free vs. $28/year for Pro features. However, if you specifically need Raindrop's Pro features (full-text search, permanent copies), the $28/year is reasonable.
Use Case Recommendations
Choose Shelfy If You...
1. Need team collaboration
Unlimited team members free
No per-seat pricing
Real collaboration, not just sharing
2. Want public-facing collections
Custom domains
Branded pages
Audience-facing resources
Link-in-bio alternative
3. Need API access without paying
1,000 requests/hour free
Build automations
Custom integrations
4. Want everything free
No feature gates
No "upgrade to unlock"
Professional features at $0
5. Manage multiple distinct collections
Separate URLs per collection
Different audiences/purposes
Not just one big bookmark folder
Ideal users:
Content creators sharing resources
Teams curating knowledge bases
Agencies managing client resources
Educators sharing course materials
Anyone avoiding subscription fatigue
Choose Raindrop.io If You...
1. Value visual browsing
Screenshot previews
Moodboard view
Design inspiration
Visual recognition
2. Need deep hierarchical organization
Unlimited nesting
Complex taxonomy
Research organization
Personal knowledge management
3. Want native mobile apps
iOS/Android apps
Offline access
Better mobile UX
4. Need full-text search
Search page content (Pro)
Find within PDFs
Research retrieval
5. Want permanent copies
Pages saved even if original dies
Archive important content
Research preservation
Ideal users:
Designers collecting inspiration
Researchers organizing sources
Personal knowledge managers
Heavy mobile users
Anyone needing content archival
Migration: Switching Between Tools
From Raindrop to Shelfy
Export from Raindrop
Settings → Export → HTML or CSV
Download all collections
Import to Shelfy
Create collections in Shelfy
Use bulk import feature
Reorganize as needed
What transfers:
URLs
Titles
Descriptions (if exported)
Basic organization
What doesn't transfer:
Screenshot previews
Highlights/annotations
Permanent copies
Nested structure (flatten or recreate)
From Shelfy to Raindrop
Export from Shelfy
Collection settings → Export
Download as HTML or CSV
Import to Raindrop
Settings → Import → Upload file
Auto-creates collection
What transfers:
URLs
Titles
Descriptions
What doesn't transfer:
Categories/tags (need to retag)
Team permissions
Custom domain setup
Voting data
Head-to-Head Scenarios
Scenario 1: Marketing Team Resource Library
Need: Central place for marketing tools, templates, articles. 5 team members contributing.
Shelfy: Create "Marketing Resources" collection with categories. Invite all 5 team members free. Share public link with contractors. Add custom domain.
Raindrop: Create collection, but only 3 people can edit (Pro). Others are view-only. No custom domain for sharing.
Winner: Shelfy
Scenario 2: Design Inspiration Collection
Need: Save designs, UI patterns, color palettes. Browse visually. Personal use.
Shelfy: Save links with descriptions. Card view shows thumbnails but no full screenshots.
Raindrop: Full-page screenshots in moodboard view. Visual browsing. Filter by color.
Winner: Raindrop.io
Scenario 3: Research Project Organization
Need: Organize 500+ sources for thesis. Deep categorization. Search within saved content.
Shelfy: Create collection, use categories and tags. Search titles/descriptions.
Raindrop: Nested collections for chapters/themes. Full-text search of actual page content (Pro). Permanent copies for citation access.
Winner: Raindrop.io Pro
Scenario 4: Client Resource Delivery
Need: Share curated resources with clients. Branded, professional presentation.
Shelfy: Custom domain (resources.agency.com), no Shelfy branding, professional public page, analytics on what clients view.
Raindrop: Shareable link with Raindrop branding, less polished public view.
Winner: Shelfy
Scenario 5: Personal Bookmarks
Need: Save articles to read later. Basic organization. Mobile access.
Shelfy: Works well, but web-based mobile experience.
Raindrop: Native apps, offline access, quick mobile saving, widget.
Winner: Raindrop.io
Feature Comparison Table
Feature
Shelfy
Raindrop Free
Raindrop Pro
Unlimited links
✓
✓
✓
Unlimited collections
✓
✓
✓
Browser extension
✓
✓
✓
Tags
✓
✓
✓ (nested)
Custom descriptions
✓
✓
✓
Public sharing
✓
✓
✓
Screenshot previews
Limited
✓
✓
Full-text search
Titles only
Titles only
✓
Nested collections
Categories
✓
✓
Team collaboration
✓ (unlimited)
View only
3 editors
Custom domains
✓
✗
✗
API access
✓
✗
✓
Native mobile apps
✗
✓
✓
Permanent copies
✗
✗
✓
Highlights/annotations
✗
✗
✓
Broken link checker
✗
✗
✓
Community voting
✓
✗
✗
Analytics
✓
✗
✗
Price
$0
$0
$28/year
The Verdict
Shelfy Wins For:
Teams (unlimited free collaboration)
Public sharing (custom domains, branded pages)
Budget-conscious users (everything free)
API/automation (free access)
Creators (audience-facing collections)
Raindrop.io Wins For:
Visual bookmarking (screenshot previews)
Deep organization (nested hierarchy)
Mobile users (native apps)
Researchers (full-text search, permanent copies)
Personal use (polished solo experience)
Overall Recommendation
If you're choosing one tool:
Choose Shelfy if you collaborate with others, share publicly, or want maximum features at zero cost. The free tier is genuinely unmatched.
Choose Raindrop.io if you're a solo user who values visual browsing, native mobile apps, or needs Pro features like full-text search and permanent copies. At $28/year, Pro is reasonably priced.
Many users use both:
Raindrop for personal bookmarking and visual collections
Consider Pro for full-text search and collaboration
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use both Shelfy and Raindrop.io?
Yes, many users do. Use Raindrop for personal visual bookmarking, Shelfy for team collaboration and public sharing. They serve different purposes well.
Is Shelfy really free forever?
Yes. Shelfy has no paid tiers. All features—custom domains, API, team collaboration, analytics—are free forever. They monetize through optional enterprise services, not individual subscriptions.
Is Raindrop.io Pro worth $28/year?
If you need full-text search, permanent copies, or collaboration beyond view-only sharing, yes. For basic bookmarking, free tier is sufficient.
Which has better search?
Raindrop.io Pro searches actual page content. Shelfy searches titles and descriptions. For research retrieval, Raindrop Pro wins. For most use cases, both are adequate.
Can I import my bookmarks from browsers?
Both support HTML bookmark import from Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.
Which is better for link-in-bio?
Shelfy—it's designed for public-facing collections with custom domains and professional presentation. Raindrop is more focused on personal bookmarking.
Do either work offline?
Raindrop's mobile apps have offline access. Shelfy is web-based and requires internet connection.