Pastel
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy Pastel if collecting client feedback on live websites is a weekly bottleneck for your agency or design team.
New check
Comparison
Pastel vs AnnotateWeb
Pastel and AnnotateWeb both land on Depends.
AnnotateWeb
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy it for free, instant, throwaway markup on live pages . no signup, no install, no cost.
| Compare | Pastel | AnnotateWeb |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Agencies collecting client website feedback | Quick visual feedback on live pages |
| Who it's not for | One-off reviewers . free no-signup tools suffice | Anyone needing annotations kept longer than 2 minutes |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.³ | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. |
| Support quality | No support evidence in reviewed sources. | No support evidence in sources |
| Public sentiment | G2 reviewers consistently praise Pastel, but reviewed snippets were too truncated for verbatim quotes.⁵ | Users find it a genuinely free, easy way to markup live pages, but it suits quick feedback rather than lasting records. |
| Biggest gotcha | Only price point found is $35/mo via a competitor comparison . verify current tiers on the official pricing page.⁶ | Everything is wiped after 2 minutes of inactivity . screenshot anything you must keep.14 |
Pick Pastel when
- Agencies collecting client website feedback
- Design teams reviewing live pages
- Freelancers juggling multiple client sites
- Marketing teams iterating on landing pages
When Pastel is not a fit
- One-off reviewers . free no-signup tools suffice
- Teams annotating PDFs or mobile apps, not websites
- Anyone wanting verified security audit evidence
- Price-sensitive users on tight budgets
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
Sources
official
- Pastel Pricing | Faster feedback and approvalsusepastel.comofficial
- Pastel product security pagepastel.issecurity
- Pastel Privacy Policyusepastel.comofficial
review
- dotts vs. Pastel Compareddotts.sereview
review
- 7 Best Pastel Alternatives in 2026feedbucket.appreview
- AnnotateWeb vs Pastel: Free, No-Signup Alternativeannotateweb.comreview
- 6 Best Pastel Alternatives in 2026simplecommenter.comreview
- Pastel company profile (Dealroom)app.dealroom.conews
- How Pastel found its first 25 customersuxdesign.ccnews
- AnnotateWeb homepageannotateweb.comofficial
review