Ybug vs MarkLayer: a free Ybug alternative

By Dean Rusin · Last updated: October 2026

At a glance#

About Ybug#

Ybug is a paid, EU-hosted feedback widget and browser extension that turns end-user and QA reports into annotated screenshots with console logs, browser data and tracker tickets.

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.

A widget on your site versus a link to any page#

Ybug starts from your own site. You paste a two-line script, add the NPM package or install the WordPress plugin, and a feedback button appears for visitors. A customer clicks it, the page is captured, they draw an arrow or black out an email address, and the report lands in Ybug with the URL, browser, OS, viewport and pixel ratio attached. Then it goes on to Jira, Linear, Slack or wherever the project sends it.

MarkLayer starts from a URL. Paste one into the web app and you are drawing on the live page, on your site or anyone else's. Share the link and the person on the other end sees the same marks and can add their own. Nobody embeds anything, and nobody signs up.

So the two answer different questions. Ybug asks "what is broken for the people using my site?" MarkLayer asks "what do we think of this page?" If you need the first, a share link won't collect it for you.

What Ybug captures that MarkLayer doesn't#

On Startup and Company, every Ybug report carries the reporter's JavaScript console and the fetch and XHR calls the page made, with status and timing. Basic records a limited console. The widget can also record the screen: the user picks a tab in the browser's own share dialog, walks through the bug with optional narration, and the video arrives in the same report as the logs.

MarkLayer has none of that. It records browser, OS and viewport width on comments left in the browser, and that is where its technical context stops. For a bug that only shows up on the third click of a checkout, Ybug's recording plus console log is the better report.

Reporters, replies and the team-only channel#

Ybug keeps two conversations apart. The team writes internal notes on a report that the client never sees. The reporter, who never made an account, gets an email when their report is received, updated or resolved, and can reply to it; the reply comes back into Ybug next to the screenshot. Both are configurable, and both are on Startup and Company.

MarkLayer has one channel. Everyone in the room sees every thread, every reply and every status change. That is right for a design review and wrong for an agency that wants to argue with itself before answering the client.

Live review in the room#

Ybug is report-shaped. Someone files, someone triages, someone fixes. Its site doesn't advertise live cursors or calls.

MarkLayer is built for being on the page together. Live cursors show who is looking where, a peer-to-peer voice or video call runs in the same tab, and the device view puts desktop, tablet and mobile side by side so a layout bug at one width is next to the other two. If your reviews are "hop on and look at this with me", that is the main reason to pick MarkLayer. If they are a queue of reports from strangers, it is no help.

The agent on the other end#

Both tools have an MCP server, and they point in different directions.

Ybug's is hosted at one address and signs in with OAuth, with no API key. It has 12 tools. Nine read: projects, members, tags, reports filtered by status or assignee, and a report's console and network logs. Those work on Basic. The other three set status, priority, type, assignee and tags, add an internal note or create a tag, and need Startup or Company. There is no delete tool, and the agent cannot file a report. The Free plan gets none of it.

MarkLayer's server is the share link itself, so claude mcp add --transport http marklayer https://marklayer.app/s/<id>/mcp is the whole setup, and it is free. The agent watches the room, acknowledges a thread so the reviewer sees it is in progress, resolves or dismisses it with a reason, and replies. It can also go first: read the page, leave its own comments anchored to elements, and propose exact text replacements the reviewer accepts as a diff. Ybug's agent works the reports your users send. MarkLayer's agent can also write some.

Who should not switch from Ybug#

Teams whose feedback comes from customers clicking a button on a production app, whose developers rely on the console log and the failed request, or whose reporters expect an email when the fix ships. That is the job Ybug's Startup plan is priced for, and €23 a month is fair for it.

Everyone else is choosing between a seat-capped reporting tool at €10 to €59 a month and a share link that costs nothing. The alternatives hub sorts the paid tools in this category by what they add.

Ybug's Startup plan is €23 a month billed yearly, or €29 monthly, for 7 projects and 7 team members (checked October 2026). That is where console and network logging, video recording and an MCP server that can change a report all start. MarkLayer costs nothing at any size, and every share link is already an MCP server.

When to choose MarkLayer#

• You want visual feedback that costs nothing and never stops at 1, 3, 7 or 15 team members.
• You review together: live cursors and a voice call on the same page, rather than reports read later.
• You need to mark up a page you don't own, like a competitor's pricing page, and send it to someone who has never heard of the tool.
• You want an AI coding agent on the link itself, free, that can leave annotations and propose exact text edits as well as close yours.
• You want open source you can read, audit or self-host.

When to choose Ybug#

• You want a feedback button on your own site or app that customers click to report a bug. That is what Ybug is built around, and it installs with two lines of JavaScript.
• Your developers need the reporter's console errors and failed network requests attached to every report. MarkLayer doesn't capture either.
• Some of your bugs only show up in motion. Ybug's widget records the screen, with console logs captured during the recording.
• You want the person who reported a bug to get an email when it's fixed, and you want internal notes they never see.
• Your tracker is GitLab, Asana, ClickUp, Zendesk or monday.com, or you need Zapier. MarkLayer files to Linear, GitHub, Jira and Trello only.
• You need your data hosted in the EU under a Data Processing Agreement, which Ybug lists on every plan.

Frequently asked questions#

Is MarkLayer a free Ybug alternative?

For a team annotating web pages and sharing them, yes, and nobody makes an account. It does not replace Ybug's embedded feedback button for end users, its console and network capture, its screen recording or its email replies to reporters.

How much does Ybug cost?

Per its pricing page on 11 October 2026: a free plan with 1 project, 1 team member and 50 screenshots a month; Basic at €10 a month billed yearly or €13 monthly for 3 projects and 3 members; Startup at €23 or €29 for 7 of each; and Company at €47 or €59 for 15 of each, with extra projects at €3 a month. Feedback and reporters are unlimited on every plan, and there is a 10-day free trial with no card.

Does Ybug have a free plan?

Yes. It covers one project, one team member, unlimited feedback and 50 screenshots a month, with basic email notifications. Integrations, the browser extensions and the MCP server need a paid plan. When the 10-day trial ends, Ybug moves the account to Free.

Do both tools work with Claude Code and Cursor?

Yes, both over MCP. Ybug's hosted server needs a paid plan and an OAuth sign-in; Basic gets nine read tools, and Startup or Company adds three that change status, assignee and tags or leave an internal note. MarkLayer's is every share link at its own address plus /mcp, free, and its agent can also leave its own annotations and suggest text edits.

Can I use Ybug on a site I don't control?

Yes, through its extension for Chrome, Firefox and Edge, on any paid plan. MarkLayer's web app opens any public URL with nothing installed, and its free Chrome extension covers pages behind a login and localhost.

How long does MarkLayer keep annotations?

A link is deleted 90 days after its last view, comment or edit, and any of those resets the clock. Ybug lists custom data retention on its Startup and Company plans; the pricing page doesn't give the default.

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.