Transparency Report

Building in
Public

One developer. Zero secrets. Here's exactly where backpocket stands, where it's headed, and how it plans to stay sustainable.

Last updated February 6, 2026

At a glance

Real-time

Sync via Convex

Offline-first

Mobile works anywhere

4 platforms

Web, iOS, Android, Chrome

Private

No tracking, no social

9 themes

Public space presets

Custom domains

Bring your own URL

WYSIWYG

Rich markdown notes

Free

No paid tier yet

Where backpocket wins today

Features where we're already ahead of Raindrop.io — the leading indie bookmark manager.

high impact

Offline-first mobile

Full SQLite caching. Works without network, auto-syncs when back online. Raindrop has zero offline support.

medium impact

Real-time sync

Convex provides instant updates across all devices. No polling, no stale data.

medium impact

Per-save visibility

Control public/private on every single save. Raindrop only does collection-level.

high impact

Themed public spaces

9 presets, custom colors, fonts, patterns, light/dark. Plus custom domains. Raindrop pages are plain.

medium impact

WYSIWYG notes

Novel-based editor with slash commands, floating toolbar, full markdown. Raindrop: basic text only.

medium impact

Pre-save duplicate detection

We warn you before you save a duplicate. Raindrop only finds dupes after the fact (and it's Pro-only).

Full comparison

An honest look at how we compare. We show where we lead and where we still need to catch up.

Saving & Organization

FeaturebackpocketRaindrop.ioNotes
Save any URLYesYes
Auto-extract metadataYesYes
Pre-save duplicate detectionYesProWe detect before saving; Raindrop finds dupes after
URL normalizationYesYesWe strip 40+ tracking params
TagsYesYes
Inline tag creationYesNoTypeahead autocomplete with smart suggestions
Smart tag suggestionsYesNoRanked by domain affinity and usage patterns
Nested collectionsYesYesUnlimited nesting with breadcrumbs
WYSIWYG notesYesNoFull markdown with slash commands
Per-save visibilityYesNo
Collection default tagsYesNoAuto-tag saves added to a collection
Bulk operationsDelete onlyFull
Import from servicesYesYesGuided wizard with source-specific instructions

Search & Discovery

FeaturebackpocketRaindrop.ioNotes
Title / URL searchYesYes
Tag & collection filterYesYes
Full-text content searchPlannedProTheir #1 Pro feature — we're building this
Semantic / AI searchPlannedPro
Advanced search operatorsNoYes
Broken link finderNoPro

Reading & Preservation

FeaturebackpocketRaindrop.ioNotes
Reader modeYesYes
Domain-specific extractorsYesNoCustom parsers for Twitter/X, Reddit, more planned
Permanent snapshotsYesPro
Re-snapshot on demandYesNo
Highlights & annotationsPlannedYes

Public Sharing

FeaturebackpocketRaindrop.ioNotes
Public space / pageYesYes
Custom subdomainYesNoyourname.backpocket.my
Custom domainYesNo
Theme customizationYesNo9 presets + full custom
Visitor counterYesNo
RSS feedYesYes

Platform & Ecosystem

FeaturebackpocketRaindrop.ioNotes
Web appYesYes
iOS & AndroidYesYes
Offline mobileYesNoFull offline-first architecture
Chrome extensionYesYes
Firefox extensionPlannedYes
Safari extensionPlannedYes
Desktop appsNoYesWeb app is sufficient for most folks
Public APIPlannedYes
2,600+ integrationsNoYes

The plan

What's coming next, organized by priority. The first group unlocks monetization; the rest differentiate and expand.

Priority 1— Monetization foundations

Full-text search

High effort

Search inside saved page content — the #1 paid feature everywhere

AI tag & collection suggestions

Medium effort

Smart organization powered by your usage patterns

Highlights & annotations

High effort

Select and annotate text on any saved page

Automatic cloud backups

Low effort

Daily exports to Dropbox or Google Drive

Priority 2— Differentiation

AI article summarization

Medium effort

Neither we nor Raindrop has this — first mover advantage

Public API

Medium effort

REST API for custom integrations and automation

RSS feed for public spaces

Low effort

Let people follow your curated finds

Priority 3— Platform expansion

Firefox extension

Low effort

Second most popular browser for power users

Safari extension

Medium effort

Apple ecosystem coverage

HTML & CSV export

Low effort

Standard formats for portability

Keeping the lights on

The plan is freemium — a generous free tier with a Pro upgrade for power features. No ads, no data selling, ever.

Freeforever

All core features — enough for most people.

  • Unlimited saves, tags, collections
  • Reader mode & snapshots
  • Public space with full theming
  • Custom subdomain
  • Offline mobile
  • Chrome extension
  • WYSIWYG markdown notes
  • Import from browsers & services
  • Data export
  • Duplicate detection
Planned
Pro$4/mo · $36/yr

Power features for heavy users and curators.

  • Everything in Free
  • Full-text content search
  • AI tag & collection suggestions
  • Semantic / natural language search
  • Highlights & annotations
  • Unlimited snapshots
  • Automatic cloud backups
  • Custom domains
  • Broken link monitoring
  • Reminders
  • Advanced search operators
  • Priority support

Why $36/yr vs Raindrop's $28/yr?

  • • Better offline story — offline-first mobile (they have none)
  • • Better public spaces — custom domains, theming, per-save visibility
  • • Better notes — WYSIWYG markdown vs. plain text
  • • AI summaries — a feature they don't have
  • • Real-time sync — instant updates vs. polling

Or we match at $28/yr to eliminate price as a switching factor. TBD.

The math

Honest revenue projections at different scales. Typical SaaS freemium conversion is 2–5%; niche tools can hit 8–12%.

UsersFreeProRevenue/yrat $36/yrRevenue/yrat $28/yr
1,00095%5%$1,800$1,400
5,00092%8%$14,400$11,200
10,00090%10%$36,000$28,000
50,00090%10%$180,000$140,000
100,00088%12%$432,000$336,000

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