Compare Obsidian Web Clipper and GPT Reader: Which Extension is the Best?
Obsidian Web Clipper is a browser extension that lets you save, highlight, and organize web content to your Obsidian vault with templates, hotkeys, metadata extraction, and local storage. | ||
| Key Features A summary of the most important features offered by each extension. |
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| Our Rating Tooltivity's expert review score for each extension, based on hands-on testing and research. | 8.5 | 9.0 Winner in this category |
| Total users Total active users across all major browsers: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari. | 278,335 Winner in this category | 9,543 |
| Total ratings Total number of user ratings received across all supported browsers. | 526 Winner in this category | 86 |
| Average rating Average user rating across all browsers, calculated from available store ratings. | 4.7 ⭐ Winner in this category | 4.2 ⭐ |
| Entry Level Price The minimum price required to start using the extension. "Free" means a free tier is available. | Free | Free |
| Chrome User rating and stats for the extension on Chrome browser. |  4.8 4.83 Average Chrome Web Store rating from the last 100 reviews 200.0K+Users Winner in this category | 4.5 4.45 Average Chrome Web Store rating from the last 100 reviews 8.0K+Users |
| Edge User rating and stats for the extension on Edge browser. |  4.4 4.38 Average Microsoft Edge Store rating from the last 100 reviews 50.6K+Users Winner in this category | - |
| Firefox User rating and stats for the extension on Firefox browser. |  4.9 4.89 Average Mozilla Firefox Add-ons Store rating from the last 100 reviews 27.7K+Users Winner in this category | 3.9 3.83 Average Mozilla Firefox Add-ons Store rating from the last 100 reviews 1.5K+Users |
| Safari User rating and stats for the extension on Safari browser. | - | - |
| Features Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Features' aspect of each extension. | 8.7 The extension offers a comprehensive set of features that cover all essential web clipping needs. The templating system is particularly powerful, allowing for automatic metadata extraction and custom formatting. The highlight feature works well, though we noticed some issues with certain websites. The ability to save different types of content (full page, selection, main content) provides flexibility. The hotkey system is well-implemented and customizable. | 9.2 The functional scope of GPT Reader is designed for a wide range of users and demonstrated many useful functions in the test. The voice quality is surprisingly good and offers a natural-sounding output. We particularly liked the comprehensive format support, which seamlessly processes everything from PDFs to web content. The control of the playback is also well implemented, making it easy to adjust the speed directly and individually. However, the function for downloading audio files stood out the most in the test. In theory, entire books can be converted and then downloaded as audio books. However, this was the only area where we had to make deductions, as the free ChatGPT version had limitations when processing longer texts or documents. Winner in this category |
| Performance Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Performance' aspect of each extension. | 6.5 The direct clipping to Obsidian did not work properly in the test. Only the headline was saved; the rest was not. However, with the intermediate step, Clip to Clipboard and then paste, it works. The clipping process can be slow on certain websites. The highlight feature sometimes lags on content-heavy pages. The extension uses minimal system resources. | 8.3 The performance tests showed a mixed picture. For shorter texts and paragraphs, GPT Reader processes content quickly and delivers a smooth rendering. The application is fast and reliable for typical use cases such as articles or short documents. Here we tested self-written summaries for learning purposes. However, we encountered significant limitations with larger files, as it is not possible to complete processing due to the limited number of requests. The option of pausing and then resuming would help here. In addition, the process takes a very long time for larger files; the extension needed around 40 minutes for around 75 pages of a PDF. The limitations of the ChatGPT API particularly affect the processing of longer documents such as entire books. This is currently only possible with a premium version of ChatGPT. Winner in this category |
| Design Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Design' aspect of each extension. | 8.9 The interface is clean and intuitive, following Obsidian's design language. The popup menu is well-organized and easy to navigate. The highlight interface is straightforward and user-friendly. The settings page is logically structured, though some advanced options could be better documented. The visual feedback during clipping operations is clear and helpful. | 9.0 The design of GPT Reader is clean and professional, with an intuitive layout that makes navigation effortless. The fact that there is even a dark as well as a light mode shows that the different user preferences have been taken into account. The controls are logically arranged and easily accessible. Even though the extension is designed for functionality, the design is not forgotten. Winner in this category |
| Value for Money Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Value for Money' aspect of each extension. | 9.7 The extension is completely free with all features included. There are no premium tiers or paid versions. The feature set is comprehensive and well-implemented. The value proposition is excellent compared to paid alternatives. Winner in this category | 8.9 Currently, GPT Reader offers a very good price-performance ratio, as all functions are available completely free of charge. We found no hidden costs or unexpected limitations in the free version.  At the moment, however, it is a very good offer in the text-to-speech sector. |
| Ease of Use Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Ease of Use' aspect of each extension. | 8.0 Basic usage is straightforward - just click the extension icon and select what to save. The highlight feature is intuitive and works well. However, setting up custom templates requires some technical knowledge. The learning curve for advanced features can be steep. The documentation could be more comprehensive for new users. | 8.7 In terms of user-friendliness, GPT Reader scores very well. Users of all technical levels should have little problem simply converting text to audio. The user interface is self-explanatory, and all functions are displayed immediately. Winner in this category |
| Security & Privacy Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Security & Privacy' aspect of each extension. | 9.5 The extension maintains excellent privacy standards. All data is stored locally in your Obsidian vault. No data is collected or shared with third parties. The extension doesn't require any special permissions. The code is open source, allowing for community review. The developer has a clear privacy policy. | 9.7 In our security analysis, GPT Reader showed a strong commitment to protecting user privacy. The extension only collects data from user-reported bugs and feedback. We appreciated the transparent privacy policy, where the user can read specific points. Winner in this category |
| Conclusion A summary of our findings and final thoughts for each extension. | The Obsidian Web Clipper is a powerful, privacy-friendly tool for saving web content. Its integration with Obsidian makes it particularly valuable for users of the note platform. The current focus is still on issues with clipping certain content types and occasional performance issues, which need to be resolved. The robust features and commitment to privacy make it a top choice for storing web content once the issues are resolved. For Obsidian users looking to improve their web research workflow, this extension is a must-have tool that delivers on its promise while maintaining user privacy and data control. | GPT Reader is a promising text-to-speech extension based on ChatGPT voices. The easy-to-understand voices, combined with the fact that it is completely free, set it apart from conventional TTS tools. The extension can process various document formats. Both PDFs and copied web articles can be converted, but it has its limitations with longer texts. For example, a 300-page PDF was only partially converted in the text due to ChatGPT's limitations, which still resulted in about 2 hours of audio. The tool is very user-friendly and supports multiple languages. This extension is a must for anyone who wants to listen to texts. |
| Our Recommendation | In our comparison between Obsidian Web Clipper and GPT Reader, GPT Reader came out on top, scoring 9. Obsidian Web Clipper is the most widely used, with over 278k users and 526+ reviews, but GPT Reader outperformed it in our review. User reviews reflect our findings. Notably, Obsidian Web Clipper has the highest user rating in the Chrome Web Store at 4.69, which supports its strong performance in our review. In the end, the differences between these extensions are minimal, so your choice may come down to personal preference or specific features.
If you want a quick recommendation, GPT Reader is our top pick. But as always, the best choice depends on what matters most to you. | |
