Compare SetupVPN and Weava: Which Extension is the Best?

SetupVPN offers a free VPN service with limited features. While it provides basic privacy protection, it has significant limitations and frequently ads.
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
  • Free Version: Access to five different countries.
  • Ease of Use: Simple interface suitable for beginners.
  • Basic Privacy: Provides basic privacy protection.
  • 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
6.3
7.0
Total users
1,738,957
200,000
Total ratings
53,375
2,728
Average rating
4.4 ⭐
4.1 ⭐
Entry Level PriceFreeFree
Chrome
Chrome Web Store logo
4.7
1.47
47.3K+ ratings
1.0M+Users
Chrome Web Store logo
4.1
3.01
2.7K+ ratings
200.0K+Users
Edge
Microsoft Edge Store logo
4.0
4.19
981 ratings
664.8K+Users
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Firefox
Mozilla Firefox Add-ons Store logo
4.4
3.15
5.1K+ ratings
74.1K+Users
-
Safari
-
-
Features
7.0

SetupVPN offers basic VPN functions with limited free access. With free access, you have the choice of 5 countries to log in to for 30 minutes at a time. When using the premium version, these limitations do not apply, but here too there is a lack of advanced security features like those offered by competitors.

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
4.5

SetupVPN offers basic performance for occasional use. The free version has limited server locations, but the premium version offers better speed and reliability.
Our tests included establishing a VPN connection to London and then using online services to try to localize the location. It turned out that in some cases the actual location was still localized and not London. From our point of view, a continuous secure connection is therefore not guaranteed.

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
7.0

The design of SetupVPN is simple and intuitive. However, the layout in the free version is very dubious and annoying due to the excessive number of advertisements.

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
6.0

In this category, the extension performs completely differently if you are looking for a free or premium extension.
The costs for the premium version are reasonable compared to the competition. However, it should be noted that many other providers have even more functions that can be used at the same time. Here you only get the VPN service.
With the free version, you have the option of selecting 5 different countries. Due to the presence of a lot of advertising and performance problems with the VPN, there are much better alternatives for free users.

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
8.0

Setting up the extension is straightforward. A connection can be established immediately after installation and you can even test whether the connection works. Nobody should have any problems here.

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
5.0

SetupVPN offers only basic privacy protection, with limited security features. However, the many advertisements in the free version raise concerns about data collection. Many who use a VPN want to use it precisely so that their data is not stored. From our point of view, a VPN service with such many advertisements is very dubious.

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

SetupVPN is a good choice for users who are only rarely looking for a simple, free VPN service. While it offers privacy features, it has strong drawbacks, such as dubious frequent advertising and limited free access. For those who need more robust privacy and security features, the premium version might be worth considering, but there should be better alternatives. Overall, we agree with the current reviews from other users that there are much better alternatives.

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 SetupVPN and Weava, Weava came out on top, scoring 7.

SetupVPN is the most widely used, with over 2 million users and 53k+ reviews, but Weava outperformed it in our review. We rate SetupVPN and Weava lower than users do.

Notably, SetupVPN has the highest user rating in the Chrome Web Store at 4.37, which is even higher than our rating of 6.3.

There are some noticeable differences between these extensions, so it's worth considering your priorities and the details below.


  • Looking for the richest feature set? Weava stands out with a rating of 8.5. On the other hand, SetupVPN lags behind in this area with a rating of 7.
  • Need top performance? Weava stands out with a rating of 7. On the other hand, SetupVPN lags behind in this area with a rating of 4.5.
  • Design lovers, take note: SetupVPN stands out with a rating of 7. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 6.
  • Want to get the most for your money? Weava stands out with a rating of 6.8. On the other hand, SetupVPN lags behind in this area with a rating of 6.
  • If you hate complicated tools, SetupVPN stands out with a rating of 8. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 6.5.
  • With privacy and security becoming ever more important, Weava stands out with a rating of 7. On the other hand, SetupVPN lags behind in this area with a rating of 5.

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