Three tools are genuinely free without a catch for visual webpage annotation: MarkLayer (full product, no limits), Hypothesis (text-only annotation), and AnnotateWeb (deletes work after 2 minutes idle). Everything else on the market is a limited free tier or a trial. Markup.io, BugHerd, Marker.io, and Feedbucket have no permanent free plan at all.
Checked against each vendor's live pricing page, August 2026:
| Tool | Free forever? | What free actually includes | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| MarkLayer | Yes | Everything: any page, unlimited reviewers, drawing, comments, live cursors, MCP for AI agents | None. No account, no tiers |
| Hypothesis | Yes | Unlimited text annotation, groups | Text-only; no visual/UI markup |
| AnnotateWeb | Yes | Visual annotation via bookmarklet, 8 languages | Work deletes after 2 minutes idle |
| Pastel | Limited | 1 user, 1 canvas | Second canvas needs Pro ($29–35/mo) |
| Superflow | Limited | 1 project, 1 seat, 60 AI credits/mo | Second seat needs $24/seat/mo |
| Jam.dev | Limited | Bug capture with console/network logs | Built for dev bug reports, not design review |
| stagewise | Open source | Localhost toolbar for AI agent handoff | Developer-only, local dev apps only |
| Markup.io | No | 14-day trial | Free tier discontinued 2025; Pro $79/mo |
| BugHerd | No | Trial only | From $50/mo for 5 members |
| Marker.io | No | 15-day trial | From $59/mo ($39 annual) |
| Volley | Limited | Free Basic plan, no card, no expiry | Pro is $49/mo ($29 annual) |
| Feedbucket | No | 14-day trial | Then $49/mo ($39 annual) |
| Usersnap | Limited | First 20 feedback items, no time limit | Idle free accounts off at 90 days; Starter $59/mo ($49 annual) |
The free-tool question is really three questions.
Do reviewers need accounts? Whatever tool you pick, the person receiving your review link decides whether the workflow survives. MarkLayer requires no account on either side. Pastel, BugHerd, Marker.io, and Volley allow guest reviewers but require an account for the person running the review.
What happens to the work? AnnotateWeb is free and deletes everything after 2 minutes of inactivity, which rules out any review cycle longer than a call. MarkLayer keeps share links for 90 days from last access. Paid tools persist work as long as you pay.
What happens when pricing changes? Markup.io's 2025 change is the cautionary tale: teams that built client workflows on its free tier woke up to a $79/month bill. A tool that is free by open-source license rather than by current pricing policy cannot repeat that on you.
This page audits the free path only. For the whole category priced side by side, including the paid tools that start at $8 a month, see twenty-one website feedback tools compared. For head-to-head detail on any tool here, see the comparisons hub; for tools organized by what you're replacing, the alternatives hub.
Paste any URL at marklayer.app and annotate the live page in your browser. No install, no account, no sign-up. Recipients of your share links don't need to install anything either.
Annotate a page