Is MarkLayer a free Pastel alternative?

Yes. MarkLayer covers the core visual-feedback use case for free, with no sign-up and no project limits. It does not replicate Pastel's agency workflow features.

How much does Pastel cost?

As of August 2026: a free plan limited to 1 user and 1 canvas, Pro at $35/month billed monthly or $29/month billed annually (2 users, 3 canvases), Team from $99–119/month for 5 users plus $24 per extra user, and Enterprise at $450/month. All tiers allow unlimited reviewers.

Does MarkLayer support real-time collaboration like Pastel?

Yes. MarkLayer has live cursors and instant annotation sync via WebSockets, the same way Pastel does.

Can I switch from Pastel to MarkLayer?

If your team uses Pastel only for ad-hoc visual comments, MarkLayer is a drop-in replacement. If you depend on Pastel's project workspaces or integrations, you'll lose those.

Is MarkLayer self-hostable?

Yes. MarkLayer is open source and runs on Cloudflare Workers, D1, and Durable Objects. You can fork the repo and deploy your own instance.

MarkLayer

Pastel vs MarkLayer

By Vadym Rusin · Last updated: April 2026

MarkLayer and Pastel both let you annotate live websites and share feedback via a link. The trade-off: Pastel is a polished, paid platform optimized for agency-client workflows; MarkLayer is a free, open-source web app built for fast, install-free and sign-up-free visual feedback.

Bottom line

Choose MarkLayer if you want unlimited free visual feedback with no account and open-source code you can self-host. Choose Pastel if you run an agency that needs branded review canvases, integrations with Slack/Trello/Asana/Jira, and a paid SaaS workflow.

At a glance

Feature	MarkLayer	Pastel
Price	Free, no tiers	Free plan (1 user, 1 canvas); Pro $29–35/month; Team from $99/month + $24 per extra seat
Sign-up required	No	Yes
Works on live websites	Yes	Yes
Real-time live cursors	Yes	Yes
Drawing tools	Freehand, shapes, arrows, lines	Pin comments + draw tools
Recipient install	Not required	Not required
Project workspaces	No. Link-based, ephemeral	Yes. Persistent canvases per project
Integrations	Open source. Extend yourself	Slack, Trello, Asana, Jira, Zapier
Open source	Yes	No
Best for	Lightweight, friction-free feedback	Agencies running client review cycles

About Pastel

Pastel is a paid visual feedback platform built for design agencies and client review workflows.

About MarkLayer

MarkLayer is a free, open-source web app for annotating any live webpage. Paste a URL atmarklayer.app and draw, comment, arrow, or highlight directly on the page in your browser — no install, no account, no sign-up. Share a single link and anyone can open the annotations in any browser. A free Chrome extension is available for the sites the web app cannot embed, such as pages behind a login, but it is optional and never required to view a share link. There is no paywall and no trial period.

Pastel's polish and the Slack/Trello/Asana integrations are genuine, and that's the agency moat. The trade-off is the per-seat bill. MarkLayer covers the visual-feedback core for free; if you don't need auto-routing into a tracker, that's the saving.
Vadym Rusin, MarkLayer developer

When to choose MarkLayer

You want zero cost and zero sign-up friction.
You need ad-hoc feedback, not a persistent project workspace.
You prefer open source.
You collaborate occasionally rather than running a continuous review pipeline.

When to choose Pastel

You run an agency or studio with recurring client review cycles.
You need persistent project canvases, version history, and approvals.
You depend on Slack, Trello, or Jira integrations to feed feedback into your stack.
You need brand-customized share pages for client-facing reviews.

Frequently asked questions

Is MarkLayer a free Pastel alternative?: Yes. MarkLayer covers the core visual-feedback use case for free, with no sign-up and no project limits. It does not replicate Pastel's agency workflow features.
How much does Pastel cost?: As of August 2026: a free plan limited to 1 user and 1 canvas, Pro at $35/month billed monthly or $29/month billed annually (2 users, 3 canvases), Team from $99–119/month for 5 users plus $24 per extra user, and Enterprise at $450/month. All tiers allow unlimited reviewers.
Does MarkLayer support real-time collaboration like Pastel?: Yes. MarkLayer has live cursors and instant annotation sync via WebSockets, the same way Pastel does.
Can I switch from Pastel to MarkLayer?: If your team uses Pastel only for ad-hoc visual comments, MarkLayer is a drop-in replacement. If you depend on Pastel's project workspaces or integrations, you'll lose those.
Is MarkLayer self-hostable?: Yes. MarkLayer is open source and runs on Cloudflare Workers, D1, and Durable Objects. You can fork the repo and deploy your own instance.

Related comparisons

Free Pastel alternatives MarkLayer vs Markup.io MarkLayer vs BugHerd MarkLayer vs AnnotateWeb MarkLayer vs Jam.dev MarkLayer vs Marker.io MarkLayer vs Userback MarkLayer vs Ruttl MarkLayer vs Loom MarkLayer vs Hypothesis MarkLayer vs Usersnap MarkLayer vs stagewise MarkLayer vs Volley MarkLayer vs Superflow MarkLayer vs Feedbucket MarkLayer vs Figma

Try MarkLayer

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

Or add the free Chrome extension for sites the web app cannot embed, such as pages behind a login.