Compare New Tab Notes and Weava: Which Extension is the Best?

Transform your new tab into a distraction-free notepad with New Tab Notes. Offering rich text formatting, auto-sync, and customization, it's a handy tool for seamless note-taking.
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.
Key Features
  • Rich Text Formatting: Use markdown and shortcuts for easy text styling.
  • Auto-Sync: Notes are saved and synced across devices without an account.
  • Customization: Adjust fonts, zoom, and toggle between dark/light themes.
  • Export Options: Download notes as Markdown, HTML, or plain text.
  • 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
8.6
7.0
Total users
1,232
200,000
Total ratings
16
2,728
Average rating
4.7 ⭐
4.1 ⭐
Entry Level PriceFreeFree
Chrome
Chrome Web Store logo
4.4
4.62
15 ratings
1.0K+Users
Chrome Web Store logo
4.1
3.01
2.7K+ ratings
200.0K+Users
Edge
Microsoft Edge Store logo
5.0
5.0
1 ratings
232Users
-
Firefox
-
-
Safari
-
-
Features
8.7

New Tab Notes offers a range of functions for quickly and effectively storing information and ideas in a structured manner. Headings are generally used to achieve a clear structure of the notes so that you can return to the notes you are looking for on the note sheet, which is always updated.

Overview

The Markdown and shortcut support are particularly worth mentioning here, as they allow users to format the notes effectively and quickly. Anyone who already has experience with Notion, for example, will find it easy to use. However, new users may miss out on this function, as the markdowns are not described again in the extension itself and must be learned on the website. A small manual at the beginning should help new users to be able to use them as well. In addition to the headings, formats such as bullet lists, numbered lists, and codes can also be embedded.

Headings

Other functions such as highlighting notes or integrating links can also be very helpful. For advanced users, a few functions may still be missing here, for example, to highlight them visually using different font colors.

links

The automatic synchronization by the browser is used by the extension to synchronize data across devices. A big difference from other competitors is that the data is not stored on separate servers. Furthermore, the saved notes can be exported in various file formats so that they can be sorted and saved elsewhere later if necessary.

export

Overall, the extension offers all the essential functions for general users to create structured notes. For advanced users, however, additional organizational tools could be beneficial.

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

Highlighting text with Weava

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

Organize in 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

Share folders with your co-workers

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
8.8

In our tests, New Tab Notes works reliably and without any significant noticeable reduction in browser performance.
When opening a new tab, the extension loads quickly and smoothly. There may be short delays with large notes that need to be synchronized, but these are hardly noticeable.
Overall, the performance should be sufficient for most basic users without any performance problems, although there could still be room for improvement for advanced users.

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
8.5

The design of New Tab Notes is clean and minimalistic. It creates a distraction-free environment where you can easily take structured notes without getting distracted.
Since the design is specifically meant to be distraction-free, this is good. However, there could be a few more customization options, especially when it comes to the color design, including the notes. Overall, the design fulfills its purpose, but it does not win a beauty award.

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:

Ads are covering half of the 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

As a free extension, New Tab Notes offers excellent value for money. For the basic user, the range of functions should be sufficient, considering that it is a free tool. For advanced users, there are still a few functions missing that other providers already have. If these were also added free of charge, the price-performance ratio would be unbeatable.

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
8.5

New Tab Notes was easy to install in the test and the learning curve was very fast. Even Basic users should have no problems finding and using most of the functions straight away. However, one suggestion for improvement would be a small tutorial for new users on advanced features such as markdowns and shortcuts. Everyone who installs but doesn't see the website with instructions may not know about these features.

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
8.2

New Tab Notes is an extension that stores all data exclusively via the browser. This approach is ideal for the user, as it eliminates the need for an account and reduces the risk of data breaches associated with other external cloud storage. This was apparent to us in our tests, but it is not clear whether the basic user is aware of this, as we were unable to find a privacy policy from the provider either in the store or on the website.

This would be an important point of improvement to allow every user to read the extension's guidelines.

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

With New Tab Notes, ideas, and information can be quickly and easily noted and saved directly in the browser without distractions.

Text formatting features such as headings and the accompanying markdowns and shortcuts make it quick and easy to write them down in a structured way. The design is very user-friendly, but the extension could still benefit from additional export options and possibly more advanced functions.

Overall, it is the perfect choice for anyone looking for a simple and effective solution to quickly save notes.

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.

Our Recommendation

In our comparison between New Tab Notes and Weava, New Tab Notes came out on top, scoring 8.6.

Weava is the most widely used, with over 200k users and 3k+ reviews, but New Tab Notes outperformed it in our review. User reviews for New Tab Notes reflect our findings, while we rate Weava lower than users do.

Notably, New Tab Notes has the highest user rating in the Chrome Web Store at 4.70, 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? New Tab Notes stands out with a rating of 8.7. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 8.5.
  • Need top performance? New Tab Notes stands out with a rating of 8.8. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 7.
  • Design lovers, take note: New Tab Notes stands out with a rating of 8.5. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 6.
  • Want to get the most for your money? New Tab Notes 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, New Tab Notes stands out with a rating of 8.5. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 6.5.
  • With privacy and security becoming ever more important, New Tab Notes stands out with a rating of 8.2. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 7.

If you want a quick recommendation, New Tab Notes is our top pick. But as always, the best choice depends on what matters most to you.