PageProofer vs MarkLayer: a free PageProofer alternative

By Dean Rusin · Last updated: October 2026

At a glance#

About PageProofer#

PageProofer is a paid visual feedback and bug reporting tool for agencies and development teams, embedded on the site and managed from a dashboard.

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 PageProofer charges and MarkLayer doesn't#

PageProofer has no free plan, and its FAQ says why: the company needs revenue to keep supporting the product. Freelancer is $39 a month for five users. The sixth user is $5 a month, or the jump to Team at $89 buys 25. Agency at $199 removes the user cap and adds custom branding. Sites are unlimited on every plan, which is unusual and worth noting against tools like SureFeedback that count them. The trial is 15 days with no card.

MarkLayer has no seat count or plan. A share link is the whole unit and you can mint as many as you want. What you give up is the dashboard: tags, due dates, an overdue filter, and an activity tab that shows what an agent changed. MarkLayer has a kanban board with status columns per link and nothing more.

The embed in the footer#

PageProofer runs on a script in the site's footer, or a plugin on WordPress and Craft CMS. The Chrome and Edge extension is a convenience for your own team and does not replace the embed. The help page is direct about it: clients, guests and website visitors still need the embed code to see PageProofer. So someone with deploy access adds the script before a client can comment.

MarkLayer fetches the page from its own server and overlays the canvas, so a public URL needs nothing at all. A page behind a password or a login needs the free browser extension, which annotates in the tab where you are already signed in. Neither route touches the site's code. The embed does buy PageProofer something real: because its script runs inside the page, every note arrives with the browser, OS, screen size, recent console errors and failed network requests. MarkLayer captures the element's selector and markdown and your screenshot, and that is it. For a developer chasing a bug, PageProofer's note is the better bug report.

The agent on the other end#

Both tools talk to Claude Code, Cursor and other MCP clients, and both include it without an extra fee. PageProofer hands the agent a full note, console errors included, lets it reply, and routes a fixed note to Review so a person signs off. That human gate is a sensible default.

MarkLayer's is free and needs no plan or key. Every share link is itself an MCP server, so claude mcp add --transport http marklayer https://marklayer.app/s/<id>/mcp is the whole setup. 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 leave its own comment pins and propose exact text replacements the reviewer accepts as a diff. It can never mark a thread approved. If you want other picks, see PageProofer alternatives, or the BugHerd and Marker.io pages for two other bug-report-first tools.

Sources#

Prices and features come from the vendor's own pages, read on 11 October 2026:

• PageProofer homepage
• PageProofer pricing
• PageProofer features
• PageProofer embed options
• PageProofer browser extension

PageProofer's Freelancer plan is $39 a month for five users, and its FAQ says plainly that there is no free plan because the company needs revenue (checked October 2026). MarkLayer costs nothing. The difference is not just the bill: a PageProofer guest needs the embed code on the site, while a MarkLayer guest needs a link.

When to choose MarkLayer#

• You want visual feedback that costs nothing, with no user count to outgrow.
• You don't control the site you're reviewing, or you don't want a script in its footer just to collect comments.
• You review together: live cursors and a voice call in the same room, instead of notes read later.
• You want an AI coding agent that can leave annotations and suggest edits as well as resolve yours, free.
• You want open source you can read, audit or self-host on your own Cloudflare account.

When to choose PageProofer#

• Your developers want console errors and failed requests attached to every bug, without asking the reporter.
• Reviewers prefer recording a narrated walkthrough to typing a comment.
• You need notes your client never sees. PageProofer locks them to Admins and Members; MarkLayer has one channel per room.
• You want the feedback button to live on the client's site permanently, in your own branding on the Agency plan.

Frequently asked questions#

Is MarkLayer a free PageProofer alternative?

For annotating a live page and sharing a link, yes, and nobody on either side makes an account. It does not replace PageProofer's recorded video notes, console capture, locked notes or custom branding. I build MarkLayer, so read the rows above for what it lacks.

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, and Agency is $199 for unlimited users plus custom branding and priority support. Extra users are $5 a month or $50 a year. Every plan has unlimited sites, screenshots, attachments and storage. Annual billing gives two months free, but the annual figures are not printed. There is no free plan, only a 15-day trial with no card, and non-profits get 25% off.

Does the site I'm reviewing need anything installed?

On PageProofer, yes for guests. Its help pages say clients, guests and website visitors still need the embed code or a CMS plugin to see PageProofer; the Chrome and Edge extension is for your signed-in team only. On MarkLayer, no: paste the URL and the page is fetched and overlaid. For a page behind a login, the free MarkLayer browser extension annotates it in your own signed-in tab, still with nothing added to the site.

How do the two MCP servers differ?

PageProofer's is hosted and included on every plan. An agent reads the note's page, element selector and HTML, screenshot, browser and console errors, replies on the note, and moves a fixed note to Review so a person approves it. MarkLayer's is free with no plan at all: every share link answers MCP at /s/<id>/mcp. An agent can watch a room live, acknowledge, resolve, dismiss or reply, leave its own comment pins and propose exact text edits the reviewer accepts as a diff. MarkLayer does not capture console errors, so an agent gets the selector and markdown, not the browser state.

Does either tool sync with Jira or GitHub both ways?

No. PageProofer's features page says its Trello, Asana, Basecamp, Slack, Jira and GitHub integrations push a notification when a note or comment is created. MarkLayer files one thread as a Jira, Linear or GitHub issue and posts new comments to Slack, Teams, Discord or a webhook. Neither reads status back.

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. PageProofer keeps notes as long as your subscription does; its pricing page says you own your data and does not state a retention period.

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.