Compare A Fine Start and Weava: Which Extension is the Best?

	A Fine Start	Weava
	A Fine Start is a minimalistic new tab page extension for Chrome, offering a clean list of links, customizable themes, and optional syncing for a streamlined browsing experience. New Tab Productivity	Weava Highlighter was once a popular choice, but now it’s filled with ads and has a poor user experience. Better options like Web Highlights do the job better without the hassle. Highlighter Note Taking
Key Features	Minimal Text Links: Presents links in a clean, simple list. Groups: Organize links into customizable groups. Drag-and-Drop Sorting: Easily rearrange links and groups. Group Folding: Collapse groups to save space. Dark Mode: Switch to a darker theme for low-light environments. Multiple Themes: Choose from various themes to suit your style. Restore Points: Save and restore your setup. Optional Syncing Account: Sync bookmarks across devices with a premium account.	Web & PDF Highlighting: Easily highlight text on web pages and PDFs using various colors. Annotations: Add detailed notes to your highlights for better reference and organization. Cloud Syncing: Seamlessly access your highlights and notes across multiple devices. Organize with Folders: Structure your highlights with folders and sub-folders for easy retrieval. Citation Creation: Automatically generate citations for your highlighted text, simplifying your research process.
Our Rating	8.7	7.0
Total users	1,602	200,000
Total ratings	52	2,728
Average rating	4.3 ⭐	4.1 ⭐
Entry Level Price	Free	Free
Chrome	4.9 19 ratings 1.0K+Users	4.1 2.7K+ ratings 200.0K+Users
Edge	3.4 5 ratings 368Users	-
Firefox	4.6 28 ratings 234Users	-
Safari	-	-
Features	8.0 A Fine Start offers features for users looking for a minimalist approach to managing their new tab. Organizing links into groups and sorting them via drag-and-drop allows for a tidy and efficient workspace to stay focused. Some functions must first be activated in the settings. For example, groups can be collapsed to hide sections that are not needed at the moment. In addition, all pages from an entire group can be opened simultaneously with one click. The optional sync account, available with the premium subscription, is a valuable addition for users working with multiple devices and ensures that their bookmarks are always up to date. Overall, the feature set is designed for minimalism. However, we still see potential here for a few more minimalist functions, such as a simple note-taking option.	8.5 Weava offers basic but functional features like web and PDF highlighting, annotations, and folder organization. The basic functionalities work great but the lack of innovative or advanced functionalities, especially compared to competitors, limits its appeal. Top 3 Features of Weava Highlighter 1. Highlight Websites and PDFs Similar to our favorite highlighter Web Highlights, you can highlight text on any website or PDF. Choose different colors to customize your highlights and make important information stand out. 2. Organize Research into Folders Weava lets you save your highlights and organize them into folders, making it simple to keep your research organized and find what you need fast. 3. Collaborate with Your Team Weava allows you to share folders with your team, making collaboration on research projects easy. Everyone can add and view highlights and notes all in one place.
Performance	9.7 In terms of performance, we did not notice any problems during the test. No slow loading times or anything similar were detected, even when opening groups with a high number of bookmarks, these were always opened immediately. Overall, A Fine Start offered impressive performance here.	7.0 Weava performs adequately when it comes to basic highlighting and syncing. However, the overall performance is marred by the intrusive ads and occasional bugs that make the experience less smooth than it should be.
Design	8.2 The design of A Fine Start is characterized by a clean and minimalist aesthetic that emphasizes focused work. The design is very intuitive and you can choose from basic themes, including dark mode. From our point of view, even though the design is meant to be minimalistic, it could be a little more customizable for the user. For example, it would be handy if you could move the groups around the website flexibly, as they can currently only be moved to certain predefined positions. A very rarely seen and positive aspect is a function in the settings. The extension offers the option of hiding the button for premium advertising and the footer on the New Tab page.	6.0 The design is where Weava really struggles. The interface is cluttered with ads, making it not only visually unappealing but also frustrating to use. Here's a screenshot showing one of their ads taking up nearly half the height of their sidebar: The overall design feels outdated and lacks the intuitive flow found in other tools. This poor design significantly hampers the user experience.
Value for Money	8.7 A Fine Start offers all functions in the free version, only the cross-device synchronization is an added value of the premium subscription. For most users, the price-performance ratio of the free version is therefore perfect. However, users for whom synchronization is important may wonder whether just this one function is worth the cost of the premium model. There is still potential here to include other minimalist functions such as those offered by competitors to offer even more added value.	6.8 The free version of Weava offers basic features, and their premium plan at $3.99/month is priced similarly to competitors. However, given the ads in the free version and the overall user experience, you can find better value in alternatives that provide more features and a cleaner interface for the same or even lower cost.
Ease of Use	8.3 A Fine Start offers a straightforward setup process. The drag-and-drop functionality for organizing links is intuitive, allowing users to quickly rearrange their bookmarks to suit their needs. Setting up the required bookmarks initially takes a little time, and a function for transferring bookmarks already in the browser could simplify the whole process. The additional functions that are initially somewhat hidden in the settings may also not be found directly by all users. Overall, the existing functions and the setup are easy to use, but there is still room for improvement.	6.5 Weava’s basic highlighting functionality is straightforward, but the poor design and mandatory account creation add unnecessary friction. The ads make navigation cumbersome, and while it’s not difficult to learn, using the tool effectively can be a challenge due to these barriers.
Security & Privacy	9.5 A Fine Start attaches great importance to security and data protection. The extension collects only minimal personal data and focuses only on what is necessary for the core functions. The privacy policy is transparent and makes it clear that data is not sold to third parties. The optional premium subscription requires an account, otherwise, not even an account is needed.	7.0 Weava does take steps to protect user data, and their privacy policy is clear about not selling personal information. However, the requirement to create an account and the potential for data collection through ads could be a concern for privacy-conscious users.
Conclusion	A Fine Start is a well-designed tool for anyone who just wants to have their bookmarks sorted on their new tab page. Its focus on privacy and user-friendly features makes it a perfect choice in this area. While the free version offers a wealth of features, the premium subscription adds little value. Overall, A Fine Start is a good choice for users who want to stay focused and have a New Tab page without a lot of distractions.	Weava Highlighter may still be a popular choice, but its current state leaves much to be desired. The overwhelming presence of ads and a clunky design significantly detract from the user experience, making it hard to justify its use when other tools offer a more polished and ad-free environment. If you’re serious about your productivity, it’s worth exploring alternatives like Web Highlights, which delivers all the benefits of Weava without the downsides.
	Install A Fine Start	Install Weava
Our Recommendation	In our comparison between A Fine Start and Weava, A Fine Start came out on top, scoring 8.7. Weava is the most widely used, with over 200k users and 3k+ reviews, but A Fine Start outperformed it in our review. User reviews for A Fine Start reflect our findings, while we rate Weava lower than users do. Notably, A Fine Start has the highest user rating in the Chrome Web Store at 4.32, which supports its strong performance in our review. There are big differences between these extensions, so it's important to look at the details below to find the best fit for your needs. Looking for the richest feature set? Weava stands out with a rating of 8.5. On the other hand, A Fine Start lags behind in this area with a rating of 8. Need top performance? A Fine Start stands out with a rating of 9.7. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 7. Design lovers, take note: A Fine Start stands out with a rating of 8.2. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 6. Want to get the most for your money? A Fine Start stands out with a rating of 8.7. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 6.8. If you hate complicated tools, A Fine Start stands out with a rating of 8.3. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 6.5. With privacy and security becoming ever more important, A Fine Start stands out with a rating of 9.5. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 7. If you want a quick recommendation, A Fine Start is our top pick. But as always, the best choice depends on what matters most to you.

Compare A Fine Start and Weava: Which Extension is the Best?

Top 3 Features of Weava Highlighter