Compare Weava and SetupVPN: Which Extension is the Best?
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. | SetupVPN offers a free VPN service with limited features. While it provides basic privacy protection, it has significant limitations and frequently ads. | |
| 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. | 7.0 Winner in this category | 6.3 |
| Total users Total active users across all major browsers: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari. | 200,000 | 1,738,957 Winner in this category |
| Total ratings Total number of user ratings received across all supported browsers. | 2,728 | 53,375 Winner in this category |
| Average rating Average user rating across all browsers, calculated from available store ratings. | 4.1 ⭐ | 4.4 ⭐ Winner in this category |
| 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. |  4.1 3.01 Average Chrome Web Store rating from the last 100 reviews 200.0K+Users | 4.7 1.47 Average Chrome Web Store rating from the last 100 reviews 1.0M+Users Winner in this category |
| Edge User rating and stats for the extension on Edge browser. | - |  4.0 4.19 Average Microsoft Edge Store rating from the last 100 reviews 664.8K+Users Winner in this category |
| Firefox User rating and stats for the extension on Firefox browser. | - |  4.4 3.15 Average Mozilla Firefox Add-ons Store rating from the last 100 reviews 74.1K+Users Winner in this category |
| Safari User rating and stats for the extension on Safari browser. | - | - |
| Features Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Features' aspect of each extension. | 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 Highlighter1. 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. Winner in this category | 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. |
| Performance Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Performance' aspect of each extension. | 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. Winner in this category | 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. |
| Design Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Design' aspect of each extension. | 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. | 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. Winner in this category |
| Value for Money Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Value for Money' aspect of each extension. | 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. Winner in this category | 6.0 In this category, the extension performs completely differently if you are looking for a free or premium extension. |
| Ease of Use Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Ease of Use' aspect of each extension. | 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. | 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. Winner in this category |
| Security & Privacy Tooltivity's expert score for the 'Security & Privacy' aspect of each extension. | 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. Winner in this category | 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. |
| Conclusion A summary of our findings and final thoughts for each extension. | 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. | 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. |
| Our Recommendation | In our comparison between Weava and SetupVPN, 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 Weava and SetupVPN 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.
If you want a quick recommendation, Weava is our top pick. But as always, the best choice depends on what matters most to you. | |
