There's a lot to like about Raindrop.io. It's free, doesn't include ads, and it allows you to sort your bookmarks in a way that works for you. I originally set up Raindrop as my start page as a way to fix my chaotic bookmarks. But I didn't expect it to be much more than a simple start page.

Over the months that I've been using it, it has become my preferred method to store my bookmarks, especially after changing browsers. Here's why...

The visual format

Most browser bookmark tools are fairly limited

One of the big reasons I prefer Raindrop.io over my browser's built-in bookmarks is the ability to switch to a more visually oriented layout.

There are a variety of ways that you can choose to display your saved bookmarks in Raindrop.io, with two focusing on image previews: Card and Moodboard. I choose to display my favorite bookmarks as cards.

When you first add a link, the service will try to pull an image or logo that it can use as the preview. However, you can also upload an image or screenshot. I did this with many of my bookmarks to make them more visually distinctive and easy to sort through. For example, my NotebookLM, Spotify, and email bookmarks include the logos for the services.

The ability to use across different browsers and devices without syncing

I'm not locked into a particular browser

I found Raindrop.io particularly useful when I was switching to a different browser. While you can simply import bookmarks, maintaining them becomes difficult if you practice browser compartmentalization or don't sync your browser across devices.

I use Brave on my desktop and laptop, but also use Firefox on my laptop. While I was switching to Brave on my desktop, I was still using Chrome on my laptop. During this transition period, Raindrop was immensely helpful.

I mostly use Firefox to watch YouTube videos on my laptop and Brave for work. But I also want the freedom to try out different browsers without being inconvenienced every time I switch between them. Raindrop.io is a convenient way to keep my bookmarks consistent across browsers without needing to export and import them constantly.

I can use it with my phone

My bookmarks are mobile

Even though I use Brave on both my desktop PC and my smartphone, I don't sync my data across them. Right now, it's because I want to keep my browsing data separate, as this makes it a bit more manageable for me. For example, my PC browsing is heavily work- and tax-related, but my mobile browsing is for shopping, researching hobbies, and reading news.

I also have a bunch of tabs open on my phone that I don't want synced to my laptop and desktop, since I just got my tab chaos under control on those devices.

But occasionally I want to access something that I saved on my phone on my PC, and vice versa. This is where Raindrop.io comes in handy. If I discover a really useful site while browsing on my phone, I can save it to the Raindrop mobile app. Likewise, if I'm away from my PC but need to quickly access a specific saved link, I can just use Raindrop's app.

It has a more manageable interface

This means I actually use these bookmarks

The reason I tried out Raindrop.io in the first place is that my bookmarks had become unmanageable. I had essentially stopped using the feature while I was still using Chrome because there were so many old, unsorted links.

My bookmarks bar has limited space, so anything that doesn't make it there essentially becomes forgotten. It's kind of similar to when I put something in a drawer or cupboard and forget it exists (which is the whole reason I set up a self-hosted home inventory tracking platform).

Raindrop.io lets you organize bookmarks in a variety of ways, including with folders and collections. You can also assign tags. Overall, I find this more manageable than the bookmarks page in my browser, which has a much smaller UI.

Raindrop's sidebar is much larger, includes icons, and also has a default Unsorted section. Since I use its browser extension, it's also as simple as just clicking the cloud icon in my browser to save a page as a bookmark.

This also means I actually save more links than I used to, because it's not just an overwhelming text list in my browser. I've been able to organize those obscure but important links, like the style guides for sites I work for, and various files shared with me that I need to reference sporadically.

I've also used it to save shortcuts to my self-hosted services, as well as to create custom search shortcuts in my browser. Overall, it has made it easier to organize my bookmarks and shortcuts while also giving me the freedom to switch browsers easily in the future.

Sometimes, third-party services make browsers better

In general, I've kept my browser extensions to a minimum​​​​​​to preserve my privacy. But Raindrop.io is one of the few I've kept thanks to its privacy guarantees and usefulness.

If you're finding your own browser bookmarks a bit chaotic, I recommend trying out a dedicated bookmark manager. There are plenty of options out there, including self-hosted ones.