The closest free PageProofer alternative, plus 3 more picks
MarkLayer replaces PageProofer's core job, pinned feedback on a live site shared by link, for free and with no user count. It does not replace screen recordings, console error capture or custom branding. BugHerd, Marker.io and Pastel each cover part of that gap, at a price.
On this page
PageProofer alternatives compared
| Option | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| MarkLayer | Freelancer $39/month (5 users); Team $89/month (25 users); Agency $199/month (unlimited users, custom branding). Extra users $5/month. Unlimited sites on every plan. Annual billing gives two months free | Anyone who wants PageProofer's on-page feedback without the monthly bill, and teams that review together in real time. |
| BugHerd | No free plan. Standard $50/month (5 members); extra seats $8 each | Teams that want feedback to become tracked tasks and will pay per seat for it. |
| Marker.io | From $59/month ($39/mo billed annually, 3 team members) | Engineering teams whose reports need a stack trace more than a drawing. |
| Pastel | Free plan (1 user, 1 canvas); Pro $29–35/month; Team from $99/month + $24 per extra seat | Agencies running structured client review rounds who want a free plan to start on. |
Top free PageProofer alternatives
1. MarkLayer
Free and open source (Apache-2.0), with nothing to install for a public page: paste any URL at marklayer.app, draw, pin comments, highlight, then share a link. There is no user count and no plan. Live cursors and a peer-to-peer voice or video call run in the same room, a kanban board sorts threads by status, and every share link is also an MCP server, so Claude Code or Cursor can watch the room, resolve threads and leave annotations of their own. Pages behind a login need the free browser extension, on the reviewer's side as well as yours. An unclaimed link is deleted 90 days after its last activity; claiming it with a free account stops that clock.
2. BugHerd
The closest paid match to PageProofer's shape: a feedback tab on the site, each note becomes a task on a built-in kanban board, with browser and screen data captured automatically. There is no free plan. Standard is $50 a month, or $42 billed yearly, for five members, with extra seats at $8 a month. Jira and Linear sit on Premium at $150, or $125 yearly, for 25 members (checked October 2026).
3. Marker.io
Bug reporting with console logs and network requests attached to every report, which PageProofer partly covers with console errors and MarkLayer does not capture at all. Starter is $59 a month, or $39 billed yearly, for three users. Team is $199, or $149 yearly, for 15 users and adds Jira issue sync. Reporters are free and unlimited, and every plan has a 15-day trial (checked October 2026).
4. Pastel
A client-review workspace rather than a bug tracker: persistent canvases per site, version history and comment approvals. The free plan is one user and one active canvas, which PageProofer does not offer at all. Pro is $35 a month, or $29 billed yearly, for two users and three canvases; Team is $119, or $99 yearly, for five users with unlimited canvases (checked October 2026).
What PageProofer charges for
PageProofer is a feedback layer on your own site: notes pinned to the page, each with a screenshot, the element's selector, the browser and any console errors, plus screen recordings and a status for every note. All of that is on every plan. What the tiers change is the user count: five on Freelancer at $39, 25 on Team at $89, unlimited on Agency at $199, which also adds custom branding. There is no free plan and never has been. The 15-day trial is the only free window.
The head-to-head with PageProofer goes row by row. This page is for choosing between the alternatives.
Which one fits which job
MarkLayer is the free replacement for the part of PageProofer most people pay for: pin feedback on the live page and send a link. It adds live cursors, an in-room call and an agent on every link. It gives up screen recordings and console capture.
BugHerd is the paid tool shaped most like PageProofer, with a kanban board behind the feedback tab and tracker sync on its top plan. Marker.io is the pick when reports need console logs and network requests. Pastel is the pick for agencies who want a client-facing workspace with a free plan to start on. If the thing you would pay PageProofer for is unlimited users with custom branding, Agency at $199 is competitive with BugHerd's Premium at $150 for 25.
Sources
Prices come from each vendor's own pricing page, read on 11 October 2026:
Frequently asked questions
- What is the closest free PageProofer alternative?
- MarkLayer, for the live-page feedback PageProofer sells: pin a comment on the real page, share a link, no account on either side. It has no users to count. For screen recordings, console errors on every note or custom branding, none of the free options match PageProofer, and the paid tools above are the honest comparison.
- How much does PageProofer cost?
- Per its pricing page on 11 October 2026: Freelancer is $39 a month for five users, Team is $89 for 25 users, and Agency is $199 for unlimited users. Extra users are $5 a month each on Freelancer and Team. Annual billing gives two months free. There is no free plan; every plan starts with a 15-day trial and no card.
- Does PageProofer have a free plan?
- No. Its own FAQ says the service has to pay for itself. The trial lasts 15 days, then you pick a plan or lose access. MarkLayer has no plan to pick.
- Which of these capture console errors or screen recordings?
- PageProofer attaches a screenshot, the element's CSS selector and HTML, the browser and any console errors to every note, and can record the screen. Marker.io captures console logs and network requests. BugHerd records browser, OS and resolution. MarkLayer captures the element selector and a text snapshot for its agent handoff, but no console output and no recordings. Pastel does neither.
- Which ones connect to an AI coding agent?
- MarkLayer: every share link answers MCP with nothing installed, free, and the agent can watch, resolve, reply, create annotations and suggest text edits. PageProofer includes hosted MCP on every plan, and its homepage names Claude Code, Cursor and any MCP agent. Marker.io's MCP is open to every customer and BugHerd's is in beta. Pastel does not advertise one.
- Are any of these open source?
- MarkLayer is. PageProofer, BugHerd, Marker.io and Pastel are closed commercial SaaS.
Related comparisons
Try MarkLayer
Paste any URL at marklayer.app and annotate the live page in your browser. No install, no account, no sign-up. Recipients of your share links don't need to install anything either.
Annotate a page