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Last checked November 12, 2026

Free alternatives to Are.na

Are.na is a place to save blocks and group them into channels. A block can be a link, an image, text, or another channel. Charles Broskoski's editorial on November 2, 2026 says Supporter rises from $120 a year to $150 a year on December 1, 2026, and the tier is renamed Plus Plus. Premium monthly and yearly prices do not change. Upgrading to Supporter before December 1 locks a year of Plus Plus at the old price. The same post says multi-select, a custom profile URL, and higher API rate limits are already on for this tier. The billing help says Guest is free and limited to 200 connections. The help page still describes Guest, Premium, and Supporter, and it says a channel download is under More, then Download channel. It does not name the file type.

IndividualsSmall teamsPrice checked

What you pay for Are.na

Supporter goes from $120 a year to $150 a year on December 1, 2026, and is renamed Plus Plus. Premium prices stay put.

Checked November 12, 2026. https://www.are.na/editorial/supporter-to-plus-plus, by Charles Broskoski on November 2, 2026, says the new price starts December 1, 2026. Supporter and Plus Plus API limits in that post are 600 reads a minute, 120 writes a minute, and 3,000 writes an hour. Free is 120 reads a minute, 30 writes a minute, and 300 writes an hour. Premium is 300 reads, 60 writes a minute, and 1,500 writes an hour. Guest is 30 reads a minute. Education discounts were not allowed on Supporter. From December 1 they apply to Plus Plus at 50 percent off for a student or a teacher. The free Are.na Annual perk becomes a $30 Gift Shop discount. https://help.are.na/docs/account/billing-and-subscriptions still lists Guest, Premium, and Supporter. This check used the editorial for the dollar figures.

Are.na website·Price page

For individuals and small teams. Its price on file: Supporter goes from $120 a year to $150 a year on December 1, 2026, and is renamed Plus Plus. Premium prices stay put. It is in the Read later group.

How to switch

The closest free app on the checklist is Linkwarden. Cost and details. Move from Are.na to Linkwarden.

A collection of links, or a cleaned article

These scores are from the checklist on this page. A full score means it matches our checklist. It is not a drop-in replacement. We check each app against public docs and price pages.

Linkwarden is #1 (72). Readeck is #2 (62). wallabag is #3 (62).

Linkwarden

#1 · Closest

7 of 7 checked features. A full score means it matches our checklist. It is not a drop-in replacement.

What you give up: a public page for a collection. You only get part of: save a link, an image, or a piece of text and put one save in more than one collection.

Readeck

#2

7 of 7 checked features. A full score means it matches our checklist. It is not a drop-in replacement.

What you give up: a public page for a collection. You only get part of: save a link, an image, or a piece of text, group those saves in a named collection, and put one save in more than one collection.

wallabag

#3

7 of 7 checked features. A full score means it matches our checklist. It is not a drop-in replacement.

What you give up: a public page for a collection. You only get part of: save a link, an image, or a piece of text, group those saves in a named collection, and put one save in more than one collection.

Where they differ

  • Group those saves in a named collection

    Worth 10 points. Linkwarden does all of it. Collections are the organizing tool on the homepage. Readeck does part of it. Labels group saves. They are not an Are.na channel. wallabag does part of it. Tags organize articles. They are not an Are.na channel of mixed blocks.

Linkwarden, Readeck, and wallabag do all of these: search what you saved, download what you saved, and runs on a server you control.

Readeck (#2) and wallabag (#3) score 62 with the same share of the checklist checked. The order follows that tie.

Gather

No score

A phone app in the Are.na help docs that can sync channels. Not scored on this checklist.

How close is it?

How this works

A full score means it matches our checklist. It is not a drop-in replacement. #1 is the closest free app that did not pay us. An ad, when one is sold, is marked and sits after #1. Paying does not change the score. Open source means you can use, change, and share the code. Run it yourself means the app can live on a computer you control.

  1. #1 · ClosestOpen sourceNotes on the review

    Linkwarden

    A self-hosted bookmark manager that keeps a copy of the page.

    7 of 7 checked features. A full score means it matches our checklist. It is not a drop-in replacement.

    What you give up: a public page for a collection. You only get part of: save a link, an image, or a piece of text and put one save in more than one collection.

    Last checked November 2, 2026 · License: AGPL-3.0

    WebRun it yourself
    Cost and detailsHow to switchWebsite
  2. #2Open sourceNotes on the review

    Readeck

    A self-hosted reader with official phone apps and a Pocket file import.

    7 of 7 checked features. A full score means it matches our checklist. It is not a drop-in replacement.

    What you give up: a public page for a collection. You only get part of: save a link, an image, or a piece of text, group those saves in a named collection, and put one save in more than one collection.

    Last checked November 2, 2026 · License: AGPL-3.0

    WebiOSAndroidRun it yourself
    Cost and detailsWebsite
  3. #3Open sourceNotes on the review

    wallabag

    A read-it-later archive you can host, with a Pocket CSV import.

    7 of 7 checked features. A full score means it matches our checklist. It is not a drop-in replacement.

    What you give up: a public page for a collection. You only get part of: save a link, an image, or a piece of text, group those saves in a named collection, and put one save in more than one collection.

    Last checked November 2, 2026 · License: MIT

    WebiOSAndroidRun it yourself
    Cost and detailsWebsite

Feature by feature

Full means it does the whole job. Partial means it does some of it. Missing means it does not. Not checked counts as zero. The number under each feature is how much it counts. A bigger number moves the score more.

Scroll sideways to see every app.

Feature comparison. Full, partial, missing, or not checked.
FeatureLinkwarden#1 · 727 of 7 checked featuresReadeck#2 · 627 of 7 checked featureswallabag#3 · 627 of 7 checked features
Save a link, an image, or a piece of textCounts for 10PartialThe homepage is links and a saved copy of the page. It does not lead with a text block or an image block the way an Are.na channel does.PartialThe homepage saves articles, videos, and pictures into a cleaned reader. It is not a board of text blocks and links.PartialThe project site saves an article and removes the layout. That is not an image block or a text block.
Group those saves in a named collectionCounts for 10FullCollections are the organizing tool on the homepage.PartialLabels group saves. They are not an Are.na channel.PartialTags organize articles. They are not an Are.na channel of mixed blocks.
Put one save in more than one collectionCounts for 6PartialCollections exist. This review did not confirm that one link can sit in two collections.PartialA save can have more than one label. That is not one block in two channels.PartialAn article can carry more than one tag. That is not one block connected into two channels.
A public page for a collectionCounts for 6MissingThe homepage checked for this listing does not describe a public channel page.MissingThe pages checked for this listing do not describe a public collection page.MissingThe pages checked for this listing do not describe a public channel.
Search what you savedCounts for 5FullThe homepage documents search across collections.FullThe homepage says you can search the saved content.FullThe Pocket migration page says the imported list stays searchable.
Download what you savedCounts for 5FullThe homepage says you can import and export from settings. It does not name an Are.na file.FullThe homepage documents ebook export, and the docs document a full backup zip. Neither page names an Are.na file.FullThe docs list ePUB, PDF, JSON, and CSV downloads. They do not name an Are.na channel file.
Runs on a server you controlCounts for 8FullThe project is built to run on a server you control.FullDocker Compose is documented.FullThe docs cover a PHP app and a database you run.

What it costs

Linkwarden

Free plan
The code is free to run. We have not checked whether the homepage sells a separate hosted plan.
They host it
No hosted price on file.
Run it yourself
Setup: medium. The project is built to run on a server you control. We have not checked a monthly server price.

Readeck

Free plan
You run the server. We have not checked a hosted price because this page did not find a public hosted plan.
They host it
No hosted price on file.
Run it yourself
Setup: medium. Docker Compose is documented. Backups use the export and import commands on the docs site.

wallabag

Free plan
The server is free to run. wallabag.it is a hosted option. We have not checked its price.
They host it
No hosted price on file.
Run it yourself
Setup: medium. The docs cover a PHP app and a database. The project site also points at wallabag.it if you do not want to run it.

Did you switch?

If you left Are.na, tell us if it worked and how long it took. Notes stay private until we approve them. Nothing is shown until at least five are approved.

How did it go?

Closest pair

Move from Are.na to Linkwarden

Download each Are.na channel from More, then Download channel. The help page does not name the file type. Linkwarden does not document an Are.na import.

Read how to switch

Related alternatives

Read later alternatives

Switch guides

Free apps in this group

Questions

When does the Supporter price change?
December 1, 2026. Charles Broskoski's November 2, 2026 editorial says the price goes from $120 a year to $150 a year, and the name becomes Plus Plus. Premium does not change. An upgrade before December 1 locks a year at $120. A student or teacher discount of 50 percent starts on Plus Plus that same day. It was not offered on Supporter.
What is the closest free app?
Linkwarden. It keeps links, a copy of the page, and collections, and you can run it. It is a bookmark archive, not a board of text and images. Readeck and wallabag save a cleaned article. Neither one is an Are.na channel. Gather, the phone app in Are.na's help, is not scored.
Can I download a channel?
Yes. Are.na's help says to open the channel, then More, then Download channel. The same help page does not name the file type. The account FAQ says to download channels before you delete an account. Do that while the account still signs in. Linkwarden's homepage says settings can import and export. This guide did not open a sample Are.na file to see if that import accepts it.
What stays on the paid tier?
Multi-select, a custom profile URL, the higher API limits, batch import, twice-yearly company reports, and the profile badge are the Supporter perks the editorial carries over to Plus Plus. The three apps on this list do not include those. The billing help still says Guest is free and limited to 200 connections.