Karakeep
Saved pages, reader mode, highlights and full-text search, plus rather more machinery.
Technical Profile & Specs
verified 2026-08-11
- Cost
- $0 / forever (Open Source)
- License
- AGPL-3.0
- Hosting Model
- Local or hosted (your machine or their cloud)
- Platforms
- mobilewebself-hostedcliextensiondocker to self-host
- Installation
- Official Docker Compose stack for the free self-hosted route, or a hosted Karakeep Cloud signup
- Operational Setup
- The free route needs Docker Compose, persistent secrets and volumes, a browser worker/Chrome, Meilisearch, HTTPS, backups, and optionally an API key or Ollama for AI features.
- Where Your Data Lives
- Bookmarks and metadata live in SQLite under the persistent data directory; page screenshots, PDFs, readable text, and uploads live on local or S3-compatible storage, with Meilisearch indexes in its own volume.
- The Catch / Trade-off
- Karakeep is much heavier to operate and its mobile/offline reading, typography, highlight workflow, and distraction-free focus are less mature than Instapaper's.
Replaces 3 paid apps
up to $10.82/mo ($130/yr) in subscriptions
Karakeep FAQ
Common questions
Is Karakeep free and open source?+
Karakeep is an open-source tool licensed under AGPL-3.0 that runs on local or hosted. Saved pages, reader mode, highlights and full-text search, plus rather more machinery.
What paid software does Karakeep replace?+
Karakeep serves as a free replacement for 3 paid SaaS applications: Instapaper Premium, Pinboard, Raindrop.io, saving up to $10.82/month ($130/year) in subscription bills.
How do you install and set up Karakeep?+
Installation: Official Docker Compose stack for the free self-hosted route, or a hosted Karakeep Cloud signup. Setup notes: The free route needs Docker Compose, persistent secrets and volumes, a browser worker/Chrome, Meilisearch, HTTPS, backups, and optionally an API key or Ollama for AI features.
What is the catch or trade-off with Karakeep?+
Karakeep is much heavier to operate and its mobile/offline reading, typography, highlight workflow, and distraction-free focus are less mature than Instapaper's.