BugSmash vs MarkLayer: a free BugSmash alternative

By Dean Rusin · Last updated: October 2026

At a glance#

About BugSmash#

BugSmash is a paid review and approval tool for creative teams and agencies, covering websites, video, audio, documents, design files and mobile apps.

About MarkLayer#

MarkLayer is a free, open-source web app for annotating any live webpage. Paste a URL atmarklayer.app and draw, comment, arrow, or highlight directly on the page in your browser — no install, no account, no sign-up. Share a single link and anyone can open the annotations in any browser. A free Chrome extension is available for the sites the web app cannot embed, such as pages behind a login, but it is optional and never required to view a share link. There is no paywall and no trial period.

Where BugSmash charges and MarkLayer doesn't#

BugSmash's free plan is generous on storage (5GB, 100MB per file) and tight on headcount: two projects and two users. A third client project, or a third person on your side, is where the $19 a month starts. MarkLayer counts neither. A share link is the whole unit, and you can make as many as you want.

The things BugSmash puts on Starter are mostly about control: private comments, password-protected sharing, approval status, due dates and exports to CSV, PDF, Markdown or JSON. MarkLayer has no private channel, so a team that needs to talk about a client's page without the client reading along should pay for BugSmash.

Many file types versus one live page#

This is the biggest difference between the two, and it favours BugSmash. Its review canvas takes websites, video, audio, images, PDFs, slide decks, documents, emails, 3D models, CAD files and mobile apps, with version comparison on every plan. An agency that ships a site, a launch video and a brochure can collect sign-off on all three in one workspace.

MarkLayer reviews live web pages, plus PDFs and images up to 25MB. It does not review video or audio. What it adds on the web is depth: drawing tools, ruler guides, a measure tool and an inspector that writes a Markdown block for an agent, with the element's selector, computed styles and the detected React, Vue or Svelte component.

The agent on the other end#

Both tools now speak MCP to Claude Code and Cursor, and both let the agent write back. BugSmash's server covers the workspace: sign in once with OAuth, and an agent can list projects, read comments, reply, resolve, and upload a new version for the client to approve. It is on the free plan, and an admin can turn the write tools off per workspace.

MarkLayer's server is scoped to one link instead, so claude mcp add --transport http marklayer https://marklayer.app/s/<id>/mcp is the whole setup, with no account to sign in to. The agent watches the room live, acknowledges a thread so the reviewer sees it is in progress, resolves or dismisses it with a reason, and replies. It can also leave its own comment pins and propose exact text replacements the reviewer accepts as a diff. It can never mark a thread approved; that stays with the human.

Live review versus async approval#

BugSmash is built around a file moving from first draft to approval, with comments read and answered over hours or days. Its site does not advertise live cursors or calls.

MarkLayer is built around the room. Live cursors show who is looking where, and a peer-to-peer voice or video call runs in the same tab, so a design review happens on the page instead of over a screen-share of it. Desktop, tablet and mobile sit side by side on one screen, and a kanban board sorts every thread by status.

Who should not switch from BugSmash#

Teams whose deliverables include video, audio, slides or CAD, whose client work needs private comments and a recorded approval, or who want AI reviewers checking every upload against a brand guide. Those are what BugSmash sells, and MarkLayer does not try to copy them.

If your reviews are web pages and the paid tier would only buy you a third project, MarkLayer does that part for free.

BugSmash's free plan is two projects and two users, and private comments start on Starter at $19 a month billed yearly (checked October 2026). MarkLayer has no plan to start, and every share link is also an MCP server an agent can join with one command.

When to choose MarkLayer#

• You review web pages and want it free, without a project or user count to outgrow.
• You review together: live cursors and a voice call in the same room, instead of comments read later.
• You want an AI coding agent on the link itself, with a single command and no workspace to sign in to.
• You want open source you can read, audit or self-host.

When to choose BugSmash#

• Your reviews include video, audio, slide decks, emails, 3D or CAD files, or a mobile app. MarkLayer covers web pages, PDFs and images.
• You need comments your client never sees. BugSmash's private comments start on Starter; MarkLayer has no team-only channel.
• You want versions you can compare and a formal approval status on each file.
• You want AI reviewers that check every upload for accessibility, copy and broken links, or against a client's own brand and tone rules.
• Your staging site sits behind basic auth and you want reviewers in it without installing anything.
• You need a white-label portal on your own domain, which is on the Agency plan.

Frequently asked questions#

Is MarkLayer a free BugSmash alternative?

For annotating a live web page and sharing a link, yes, and MarkLayer never asks for an account from the person who starts the review either. It does not replace BugSmash's video, audio, slide or CAD review, its private comments, its version comparison or its AI reviewers.

How much does BugSmash cost?

Per its pricing page on 11 October 2026: a free plan with two projects, two users and 5GB of storage; Starter at $19 a month billed yearly or $25 monthly, with 30 active projects and 50GB; Team at $49 a month yearly or $69 monthly, with unlimited projects, 10 users and 300GB; and Agency at $99 a month yearly or $129 monthly, with 25 users, 1TB and API access. Guest reviewers are unlimited on every plan.

Can my client comment on BugSmash without an account?

Yes. BugSmash lists no-login guest commenting on every plan. The difference is on the other side: setting up the project needs a BugSmash workspace, while on MarkLayer the person who pastes the URL has no account either.

Does MarkLayer work on a staging site behind a password?

With the free browser extension, yes: it runs in your own tab, where you are already past the password, and overlays the page there; a reviewer joins the room from their own extension the same way. The plain web-app link fetches the page from MarkLayer's server with no cookies or credentials, so a password-protected page shows the password prompt. BugSmash's URL review handles basic auth directly, and points localhost users to its feedback widget or extension.

How do the two MCP servers differ?

BugSmash's is one server for the whole workspace at api.bugsmash.io/mcp, available on the free plan, with OAuth sign-in and write tools you can switch off per workspace. An agent can list projects and comments, comment, reply, resolve and upload a new version for approval. MarkLayer's lives on each share link at /s/<id>/mcp with no sign-in. Its agent can watch a room live, acknowledge, resolve, dismiss or reply, leave its own comment pins, and propose exact text edits that the reviewer accepts as a diff.

Does MarkLayer integrate with Jira or Linear?

One way. MarkLayer files one Linear, GitHub or Jira issue, or one Trello card, from a thread, then posts the ticket URL back once, and it posts new annotations to Slack, Teams, Discord or a webhook for free. BugSmash connects to Jira, Linear, Trello, Asana, ClickUp, Monday, Notion and Airtable from the $19 Starter plan, and adds Zapier, Make, n8n and webhooks on Team.

What happens to a MarkLayer link if nobody claims it?

It is deleted 90 days after its last view, comment or edit, and any of those resets the clock. Claiming it with the free magic-link account removes the idle clock. BugSmash meters storage per plan instead, from 5GB on Free to 1TB on Agency.

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.

Or add the free Chrome extension for sites the web app cannot embed, such as pages behind a login.