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

Weava logoWeava
New Tab Draft logoNew Tab Draft
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
New Tab Draft transforms your new tab into a distraction-free writing space, perfect for quick notes and to-dos. It's simple, effective, and completely free, but lacks advanced features.
New Tab Writing
Key Features
  • 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.
  • Simple Note-Taking: Create, pin, and lock multiple notes directly on your new tab page.
  • Local Storage: Ensures privacy by saving notes locally, not on the cloud.
  • Customization: Options to customize font and background.
  • Additional Tools: Includes calculations, auto-backup, and more.
  • Privacy Protection: No data is uploaded to any server.
Our Rating
7.0
8.2
Total users
200,000
13,006
Total ratings
2,728
1,176
Average rating
4.1 ⭐
4.7 ⭐
Entry Level PriceFreeFree
Chrome
Chrome Web Store logo
4.1
3.01
2.7K+ ratings
200.0K+Users
Chrome Web Store logo
4.8
4.44
1.2K+ ratings
9.0K+Users
Edge
-
Microsoft Edge Store logo
4.6
4.53
16 ratings
4.0K+Users
Firefox
-
-
Safari
-
-
Features
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.

6.0

New Tab Draft offers basic note-taking functionality, local storage for privacy, and some customization options. However, it lacks advanced features like rich text formatting and cloud sync.

Performance
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.

8.5

The extension is fast and efficient, with minimal lag or performance issues.

Design
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.

7.5

The design is simple and clean, with options for customization. However, it's not particularly aesthetic or modern.

Value for Money
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.

8.5

As a completely free tool, it offers good value for those who need basic note-taking features.

However, even though it's free, we don't see too much value in this tool. As there are similar free New Tab extensions out there, we can not give the highest rating.

Ease of Use
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.

9.0

The tool is very straightforward with a minimal learning curve. Its simplicity is both a strength and a limitation.

Security & Privacy
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.

9.5

All notes are stored locally, ensuring high privacy. There are no concerns about data being uploaded to the cloud.

Conclusion

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.

New Tab Draft is great for those who prefer a simple, no-frills note-taking tool. While it may not offer much beyond basic note-taking, its privacy features and ease of use make it a solid choice, especially since it's free.

User reviews are very good with an average of 4.8 stars in the Chrome Web Store. Many users love its simplicity and effectiveness. However, it might not provide enough value for those looking for more advanced features.

In our tests, we weren't fully convinced and found ourselves leaning toward more aesthetically pleasing New Tab Extensions that offer a few basic features.


Install Weava
Install New Tab Draft
Our Recommendation

In our comparison between Weava and New Tab Draft, New Tab Draft came out on top, scoring 8.2.

Weava is the most widely used, with over 200k users and 3k+ reviews, but New Tab Draft outperformed it in our review. We rate Weava and New Tab Draft lower than users do.

Notably, New Tab Draft has the highest user rating in the Chrome Web Store at 4.68, which is even higher than our rating of 8.2.

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, New Tab Draft lags behind in this area with a rating of 6.
  • Need top performance? New Tab Draft stands out with a rating of 8.5. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 7.
  • Design lovers, take note: New Tab Draft stands out with a rating of 7.5. 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 Draft stands out with a rating of 8.5. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 6.8.
  • If you hate complicated tools, New Tab Draft stands out with a rating of 9. 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 Draft 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, New Tab Draft is our top pick. But as always, the best choice depends on what matters most to you.