AnnotateWeb
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy it for free, instant, throwaway markup on live pages . no signup, no install, no cost.
New check
Comparison
AnnotateWeb vs Hypothesis
AnnotateWeb and Hypothesis both land on Depends.
Hypothesis
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you teach LMS-based courses and want students annotating readings together.
| Compare | AnnotateWeb | Hypothesis |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Quick visual feedback on live pages | College courses with heavy readings |
| Who it's not for | Anyone needing annotations kept longer than 2 minutes | Business teams . use Google Docs or Notion comments |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.⁵ | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.16 |
| Support quality | No support evidence in sources | No support evidence in sources |
| Public sentiment | Users find it a genuinely free, easy way to markup live pages, but it suits quick feedback rather than lasting records.⁷ | G2 and Capterra listings exist, but reviewed snippets show no specific user sentiment; UCLA adopted it campus-wide. |
| Biggest gotcha | Everything is wiped after 2 minutes of inactivity . screenshot anything you must keep.² | Pay-by-seat costs scale with enrollment; large courses inflate invoices15 |
Pick AnnotateWeb when
- Quick visual feedback on live pages
- Freelancers sharing markup with clients
- Zero-friction, one-off annotations
When AnnotateWeb is not a fit
- Anyone needing annotations kept longer than 2 minutes
- Agencies running structured, tracked design review
- Enterprises requiring vendor security vetting
- Teams wanting threaded comments or task workflows
Pick Hypothesis when
- College courses with heavy readings
- LMS-integrated assignments
- Web and PDF annotation in class
- Replacing discussion boards
When Hypothesis is not a fit
- Business teams . use Google Docs or Notion comments
- Solo note-takers without a class cohort
- Buyers who need published per-seat prices upfront
Sources
- AnnotateWeb homepageannotateweb.comofficial
review
- Product security page (returns 404)annotateweb.comsecurity
- AnnotateWeb source code on GitHubgithub.comofficial
review
- Reddit r/SaaS . maker launch postreddit.comnews
- 15 Best Markup Tools in 2026 (BugHerd)bugherd.comreview
- AnnotateWeb Review (2026) . iTechGuidesitechguides.comreview
- Web Tools Weekly Issue #655webtoolsweekly.comnews
- SaaShub . Best Web Annotation Productssaashub.comreview
official
- Pricing Page : Hypothesisweb.hypothes.isofficial
- Pay-By-Seat Pricing for Education | Hypothesisweb.hypothes.isofficial
- Security | Hypothesis Data Protection & Safety Measuresweb.hypothes.issecurity