I finally made the move from Chrome to Brave as my primary browser, making me dependent on one less Google service. However, while making the transition, I noticed something: my bookmarks were out of control. I had saved links spanning back years with no organization apart from the occasional folder.

So, I decided to try out a bookmark manager that I could use as a start page in my browser, saving me from sifting through links on my bookmarks bar and allowing me to save additional shortcuts in an organized way. I tried out a series of new tab extensions, but found that they didn't include all the bookmark features I needed or had drawbacks, like ads. Eventually, I got the best of both worlds by setting up Raindrop as my new tab page.

What is Raindrop.io?

A comprehensive bookmark manager

Raindrop.io is a bookmark management app that has cross-platform support and allows you to organize bookmarks in a number of ways. You can choose between a free and a paid plan, with the subscription including a few extra perks like reminders, annotations, daily backups, and a larger file upload quota.

However, even the free plan is robust. It includes unlimited bookmarks, collections, highlights, and devices. You can upload 100MB of files per month, and it supports over 2,600 integrations with other apps. The premium plan makes it easier to export your entire bookmark library, but you can still export individual collections on the free plan.

Other features include the ability to collaborate on bookmark collections with others, as well as automation and syncing through integrations with other apps. It also has a few customization settings you can tweak to adjust your view of bookmarks.

How to get started with Raindrop.io

Import, organize, build

If you just want to use Raindrop in your browser, the easiest way to get started is by creating an account on the website. However, I installed Raindrop as a browser extension so that I could save bookmarks more easily. You will need to sign up for an account, even if you are a free user.

After your account is set up, you can then import your bookmarks. I exported my Chrome bookmarks to an HTML file and imported them into Raindrop in Brave. Since my Chrome bookmarks were a mess, this is where the cleanup started. The imported bookmarks were all under the Unsorted collection. I created new collections and groups. Collections act as folders, while groups are subheadings for the left navigation bar. So, for example, I created a collection called XDA that I dragged to appear in the group for Work.

I deleted old bookmarks I no longer needed, then sorted the remaining bookmarks into different collections. I created groups for Work and Personal bookmarks, dividing them into categories like Tech Valkyrie, Android Authority, Taxes, General, Home lab, Read later, and Streaming.

As I browsed different sites throughout the week, I added them to my bookmarks if they weren't already there. The drawback of using Raindrop is that adding a bookmark through the dedicated browser button doesn't automatically add it to the app. However, you can right-click on a website and add it to your Raindrop account through the menu, or pin the Raindrop icon to your browser bar. Both options bring up a pop-up where you can edit the title and add the bookmark to a collection without having to open up Raindrop separately.

I tweaked my settings to allow me to easily add bookmarks to my Favorites. So that Raindrop could function as a start page and new tab page, I edited my browser settings to always open my homepage in my new tabs, with my homepage set to the Favorites filter in Raindrop.

Getting control over my bookmarks with Raindrop.io

More useful than a general start page

For a long time, I basically only used the bookmarks available on my bookmarks bar. Anything else I had saved was never accessed using my bookmarks menu or folder. But using Raindrop has allowed me to make my bookmarks less overwhelming.

This has encouraged me to actually start saving more bookmarks to make it easier for me to access pages for work or that come in handy during tax season. I even have a collection for my self-hosted services that includes shortcuts to the various web dashboards I use, but also important documentation. The Favorites filter allows me to set my most-used shortcuts as my start page, while also giving me room to access other bookmarks in different collections.

I do wish it were a bit more customizable, and that there were ways to add widgets, but functionality was more important to me than appearance — especially since other new tab extensions I had tried didn't help me get control over my chaotic bookmarks. But I am interested to see how the platform evolves over time and whether it will one day include additional functionality.

My bookmarks are more organized than ever

If you're overwhelmed by your bookmarks, setting a bookmark manager as your new tab page could help you get them under control. There are other dashboards you can try out if you want more customization and widgets, but the ones I tried lacked the features I needed to really sort my bookmarks.

If you prefer to host an app on your own server, there are also self-hosted bookmark managers that you can use, like Linkwarden and Karakeep.