SureFeedback vs MarkLayer: a free SureFeedback alternative

By Dean Rusin · Last updated: October 2026

At a glance#

About SureFeedback#

SureFeedback is a paid client feedback tool from Brainstorm Force, formerly ProjectHuddle, sold as a self-hosted WordPress plugin or a managed Cloud service.

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 SureFeedback charges and MarkLayer doesn't#

SureFeedback has no free plan. Cloud starts at $199 for the first year and $299 after that, which buys five sites and five mockups. The sixth client site moves you to Professional, $349 then $499. The self-hosted plugin is cheaper at $99 to $119 a year, though you also pay for the WordPress hosting it runs on and the time spent keeping it updated.

MarkLayer has no site count, mockup count or seat count. A share link is the whole unit and you can mint as many as you want. What you give up is the structure around them: organizations, workspaces, roles, and a dashboard listing every client's site.

The script on the client's site#

This is the practical difference most people hit first. SureFeedback works by putting its widget on the page. On WordPress that is a connector plugin; elsewhere you copy a script and paste it before the closing </body> tag. Once it's there, anyone with the access link can comment on the real site. The catch is that someone with deploy access has to add it.

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.

Self-hosting means two different things here#

SureFeedback's self-hosted plugin keeps every comment inside your own WordPress database. Its comparison page is plain about it: if feedback data must stay on your server, pick the plugin. For agencies under a client contract that says so, that settles it.

MarkLayer is Apache-2.0 open source, and you can run the whole thing on your own Cloudflare account. That is data ownership too, but on Cloudflare rather than inside WordPress. If your stack is already WordPress, SureFeedback's version is the shorter path.

Private comments, approvals and branding are SureFeedback's#

Three things SureFeedback sells have no MarkLayer counterpart. Internal-only comments let your team argue about the client's font choice where the client can't see it; MarkLayer has one channel per room. Page approvals give a client a formal sign-off button and a request-changes loop. And the self-hosted plugin is white label, so clients see your agency's name instead of SureFeedback's.

MarkLayer has an Approved status on each comment, which only a person can set, but nothing like a per-page sign-off with an audit trail.

The agent on the other end#

Both tools now talk to Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients. SureFeedback's server needs a Cloud account and an API key, and an agent with write access can create, update, resolve and delete comments. That is broad access, so the per-key read, write and delete scopes matter.

MarkLayer's is free and needs no 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.

Live review versus client sign-off#

SureFeedback is built around the agency handing a client a link and collecting comments and approvals over days. MarkLayer has that async mode too, but it also has the room: live cursors show who is looking where, and a peer-to-peer voice or video call runs in the same tab. Desktop, tablet and mobile widths sit side by side on one screen. SureFeedback doesn't advertise any of the three.

One limit runs the other way. MarkLayer is desktop only today, and a phone will tell you so. SureFeedback's plugin page says it works on any mobile device.

Who should not switch from SureFeedback#

WordPress agencies whose clients sign off page by page, who need a private back-channel, or who must keep feedback on their own server. Those are what SureFeedback is built for. Everyone else is choosing between $99 to $999 a year and a share link that costs nothing.

SureFeedback Cloud's Starter plan is $199 for the first year and renews at $299, for five sites (checked October 2026). The self-hosted plugin starts at $99 to $119 a year for one dashboard site. MarkLayer costs nothing, and the page you review needs no script pasted before its closing body tag.

When to choose MarkLayer#

• You want visual feedback that costs nothing, with no site or mockup count to outgrow.
• You don't control the site you're reviewing, or you don't want to paste a script into it just to collect comments.
• 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, free, that can leave annotations and suggest edits as well as resolve yours.
• You want open source you can read, audit or self-host on your own Cloudflare account.

When to choose SureFeedback#

• Your feedback data has to stay on your own server. The self-hosted plugin keeps every comment inside your WordPress install.
• You need comments your client never sees. SureFeedback has internal-only comments on every plan; MarkLayer has one channel per room.
• You want a client portal in your own branding. The self-hosted plugin is white label; MarkLayer is not.
• Your clients sign off page by page, and you want a formal approval and request-changes flow with an audit trail.
• Your team already runs everything from a WordPress dashboard and would rather keep it there.

Frequently asked questions#

Is MarkLayer a free SureFeedback alternative?

For annotating a live page and sharing a link, yes, and nobody on either side makes an account. It does not replace SureFeedback's private comments, white label branding or page approval workflow, and it does not run inside WordPress.

Is SureFeedback the same as ProjectHuddle?

Yes. Brainstorm Force acquired ProjectHuddle in 2021 and announced the rename to SureFeedback on 7 November 2023. The client site plugin on WordPress.org still carries the old slug, projecthuddle-child-site. SureFeedback Cloud, a managed version, now sits alongside the original plugin.

How much does SureFeedback cost?

Per its pricing pages on 11 October 2026. Cloud: Starter is $199 for the first year and renews at $299, with 5 sites and 5 mockups; Professional is $349, renewing at $499, with 20 of each; Business is $699, renewing at $999, with no cap. Every Cloud plan includes all features and up to 200 team members. The self-hosted plugin is priced per dashboard site: $99 to $119 a year for one, $139 to $159 for three, $169 to $199 for five. There is a 7-day Cloud trial and a 7-day refund on purchases, not renewals.

Should I pick SureFeedback Cloud or the self-hosted plugin?

SureFeedback's own answer: self-hosted if feedback data must stay on your server and you are happy maintaining WordPress, Cloud if you review Shopify or custom sites too and want nothing to maintain. It says the plugin is not being discontinued but that Cloud is where new development goes. Both list private comments and page approvals. Cloud adds the MCP server and the kanban board; the plugin adds white label.

Does the site I'm reviewing need anything installed?

On SureFeedback, yes. A WordPress site gets the connector plugin and any other site gets a script pasted before the closing body tag, so someone with deploy access has to add it. 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?

SureFeedback's is hosted at api.surefeedback.com/mcp, needs a Cloud account and an API key scoped to read, write or delete, and lets an agent list, create, update, resolve and delete comments, reply and assign. MarkLayer's is free with no key: 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. It can never mark a thread approved.

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. SureFeedback keeps feedback as long as your subscription or your WordPress server does.

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.