Compare PDF & Web Highlighter and Poper Blocker: Which Extension is the Best?

With Web Highlights, you can easily highlight text on any website or PDF and create notes. It's free and easy to use without signing up. In our eyes the best online PDF and web highlighter extension.
Poper Blocker is a Browser extension that blocks pop-ups, ads, cookie requests, and more. With functions such as the social media content filter, it stands out from other competitors.
Key Features
  • Website Highlighting: Easily highlight text on any website.
  • PDF Highlighting: Mark up both online and local PDFs directly in your browser.
  • Multiple Colors: Use various colors to organize your highlights.
  • Note-Taking: Add notes to your highlights for better context.
  • Bookmarking: Save pages as bookmarks for quick access.
  • Tagging: Organize your highlights and notes with tags.
  • Cross-Device Sync: Sync highlights across devices via cloud.
  • Export Options: Export your highlights to Notion, Obsidian, HTML, Markdown, or as PDFs and HTML files.
  • Reminders: "Snooze" your bookmarks and get reminded about them by email
  • Flashcard learning: Begin a daily review session of your highlights to help move your research into long-term memory using a spaced repetition system.
  • Block all popups: Completely blocks any type of popup ad on any website.
  • Ad blocking on any site: Automatically hides endless ads on any website.
  • Hide ads on YouTube: Enjoy videos and music on YouTube without annoying ads.
  • Remove ads and sponsored content on social media: Block ads on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
  • Social Media Content Filter: Control your feed by hiding posts containing specific words.
  • Hide cookie consent requests: Removes cookie banners for a seamless browsing experience.
  • Remove advanced popups (overlays): Blocks disruptive overlays that hide content.
  • Block site notifications: Stops distracting site notifications automatically.
  • Customizable web interface: Hide any web element with a simple click.
  • Whitelist: Create a list of sites where popups are allowed.
Our Rating
9.8
8.4
Total users
112,723
2,039,064
Total ratings
3,860
81,432
Average rating
4.8 ⭐
4.3 ⭐
Entry Level PriceFreeFree
Chrome
Chrome Web Store logo
4.8
4.80
3.8K+ ratings
100.0K+Users
Chrome Web Store logo
4.8
3.78
81.4K+ ratings
2.0M+Users
Edge
Microsoft Edge Store logo
4.7
4.69
67 ratings
11.9K+Users
Microsoft Edge Store logo
3.9
3.57
19 ratings
39.1K+Users
Firefox
Mozilla Firefox Add-ons Store logo
5.0
5.00
24 ratings
795Users
-
Safari
-
-
Features
9.8

Web Highlights offers a range of features. In addition to its main function of highlighting text on websites and PDFs, it provides much more, making it the ideal tool for learning and self-improvement.

Top Features of Web Highlights

1. Highlighting websites & PDFs:

Highlight text using Web Highlights

Web Highlights excels at one thing better than any other tool we tested—highlighting websites and PDFs.

You don't even need an account. Just visit any site, highlight the text, and a marker icon will appear, letting you choose from different highlight colors.

Once highlighted, your highlights are visible on the website. And the best thing: Your highlights will also be visible on the website if you reload the page.

You not necessarily need the highlighter popup to mark up some text. In general, there are three ways to create a highlight:

  • clicking the highlighter popup
  • right-clicking the selected text
  • using a keyboard shortcut (Mac: ⌥ + S, Windows: ALT + S)

In our tests, we could easily highlight several websites, and those highlights were effortlessly restored when revisiting them. It works seamlessly with both online and local PDFs.

Highlighted website with Web Highlights

All of your highlights are not only visible on the page but also accessible through the sidebar, which gives you a good overview of your highlights made.

This is much like the highlighter sidebar which is common in PDF tools like Acrobat.

Here is how it looks:

Web Highlights Sidebar

The sidebar gives you an outline of your highlights on the current page.

2. Create Notes & Tags:

Taking notes made easy

You can either create tags & notes by using the sidebar or by clicking on a highlight on the page. This will open up a popup allowing you to add tags and notes to a specific highlight.

Any changes you make on the pages are also directly visible in the sidebar. Making it a perfect research tool to work with large articles.

Inside the sidebar you can then find all your highlights and bookmarks listed for the given tag.

3. Web App:

Web Highlights Dashboard

The best thing about Web Highlights is, that it can synchronize all your research to the corresponding web app at app.web-highlights.com.

The web app can be opened in your browser but works perfetly on your phone. If you have opened the website before, you can even access your research when you are offline.

The dashboard of the app shows all of your research in one place in a beautiful overview. You can also filter for specific tags or websites.

4. Save Bookmarks:

How to save bookmarks using Web Highlights

Web Highlights isn't just for highlighting text—it’s also great for saving pages as bookmarks. This way, you can either come back later to continue highlighting or easily find the page again.

5. Email reminders

Setting email reminders with Web Highlights

A standout feature of Web Highlights is its email reminder, which works a lot like "snoozing" emails.

You can set a reminder for a specific date and time by clicking the clock icon on a highlighted page. Web Highlights will then email you the article so you don’t forget to revisit it.

This feature is unique among competitors, and we use it daily to get reminders for websites we need to return to later.

6. Export to Notion, Markdown, and more

Export to Notion

Web Highlights gives you plenty of export options. With the Markdown export, you can easily send your research to any Second Brain or PKM tool you prefer.

On top of that, it directly integrates with Notion and Capacities through full API connections.

For instance, if you're on a highlighted page, just click the three dots in the sidebar and choose "Export to Notion." In seconds, a Notion page will be created. The same process works for Capacities.

9.0

Adblocking:

Poper Blocker completely blocks any type of advertising on any website. This includes any pop-ups, YouTube ads, and ads on social media. A whitelist can also be added for adblocking; adblocking is switched off on the websites. In our tests, the ad blocking worked, except for preventing web videos on YouTube.

ads blocking

Cookie blocking:

Currently, constant cookie consent requests interfere with web surfing. Poper Blocker removes cookie banners without any problems in our test.

cookie

Social Media Content Filter:

The social media filter is a very intuitive and easy-to-use tool for those who don't want to read about certain topics on social media. For example, if I no longer want to read about war in the world every day, I can enter “war” as a term here and it will be filtered out on social media so that it is no longer displayed to me.

social media content filter

Performance
10

The extension performs seamlessly, allowing you to highlight websites and PDFs without any lag or interruptions.

The full-text search functionality is quick and accurate, enabling you to find your highlights effortlessly. Additionally, the ability to sync your highlights across devices ensures that you can access your research from anywhere, enhancing your productivity.

The best part is that the web app works entirely offline. So, you can access your research from any device, even without an internet connection.

8.3

The extension blocks most types of pop-ups and ads well. In our tests, there were only problems with advertising videos from YouTube, which are not hidden. Also, some users in the reviews have reported problems with certain types of pop-ups that still get through.

Design
9.9

The design is clean and intuitive, making it easy to get started right away. We loved the customizable highlight colors and the overall look and feel of the sidebar.

What users love most is the intuitive sidebar and the well-organized web app. It’s super easy to navigate and quickly find what you need.

The web app also looks great on mobile devices, making it simple to access the articles you've read on your phone.

8.5

The design is clear and user-friendly. The various settings and functions are easy to navigate. The constant request to use the Pro version is always annoying when using the Basic version.

Value for Money
9.5

Web Highlights can be used for free without signing up, providing access to a wide range of offline features.

To fully enjoy the benefits of Web Highlights, including accessing your highlights and bookmarks from anywhere with automatic cloud-sync, you can upgrade to the PREMIUM or ULTIMATE version of the extension.

The pricing plans are affordable, making it a cost-effective solution for students, researchers, and avid online readers. No other tool gives you this much value for so little cost.

7.5

Basic version:
The free version has limited functions that may not be sufficient for all users. Especially due to the lack of comprehensive ad blocking on websites. Competitors offer more functions in free versions. Only the social media content filter tool is a unique selling point.

Pro Version:
The Pro version is a tool with extensive functions. The price plans are reasonable, especially the Lifetime plan as a one-time payment has a good price-performance ratio.

Ease of Use
9.5

We can’t think of a simpler Chrome Extension to start with than this one. The best part? It works seamlessly right out of the box, no account needed.

Installing it is a breeze, and you can easily add the extension to both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

Once installed, a highlighter pop-up appears whenever you highlight text on any website. The process is intuitive and easy to grasp.

If you need help, Web Highlights offers plenty of blog posts that guide you through its features.

With so many powerful features, Web Highlights might seem a bit overwhelming at first, but everything falls into place quickly. The tagging system, in particular, is easy to use and much simpler than traditional folders.

That’s why we rate it 9.5 out of 10. It’s extremely user-friendly, though some features might take a little time to fully appreciate.

9.0

Poper Blocker is easy to install and use. The user interface is intuitive, and the functions are easily accessible and configurable in the settings. Much attention has been paid to ensuring that anyone can use it, particularly with the social media content filter.

Security & Privacy
9.9

In the Security & Privacy category, we give Web Highlights a solid 10/10. The fact that you can use this tool offline without needing an account sets it apart from its competitors.

Even if you opt for cloud sync by creating an account, Web Highlights puts data privacy first. Your highlights, notes, and tags are visible only to you by default unless you decide to share them.

Your data isn’t sold to third parties, nor is it used or transferred for anything beyond the extension's core functionality. This dedication to data privacy ensures your information stays secure and confidential.

7.8

The tool does not block tracking on websites as other competitors do. In the tool, Poper Blocker uses modern encryption and security measures, but as with AdBlocker, the collection of personal data, even in anonymized form, and the use of third-party cookies can pose a certain data protection risk.

Conclusion

We have been using Web Highlights - PDF & Web Highlighter for years and can confidently say it’s a top-notch tool for anyone who spends a lot of time reading online.

Its user-friendly design and powerful features make it a must-have for students, researchers, and professionals alike. The free version is fantastic, but if you need more advanced features, the premium options are well worth the price.

If you’re serious about staying organized while reading online, we highly recommend giving Web Highlights a try.

Poper Blocker is a good tool for blocking various types of online distractions. With its extensive range of functions in the Pro version and its intuitive user interface, it is a powerful tool. The social media content filter was particularly impressive. This is currently a unique selling point of the tool.

In terms of performance, there are currently issues with certain types of pop-ups and YouTube's ad videos. The Basic version is also very limited and does not include normal ad blocking on all websites.

If you are looking for a comprehensive solution to block pop-ups, ads and prevent tracking, the Pro version is a good choice. As a free version, however, there are alternatives from competitors that offer more functions.

Our Recommendation

In our comparison between PDF & Web Highlighter and Poper Blocker, PDF & Web Highlighter came out on top, scoring 9.8.

Poper Blocker is the most widely used, with over 2 million users and 81k+ reviews, but PDF & Web Highlighter outperformed it in our review. User reviews reflect our findings.

Notably, PDF & Web Highlighter has the highest user rating in the Chrome Web Store at 4.83, which supports its strong performance in our review.

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, PDF & Web Highlighter is our top pick. But as always, the best choice depends on what matters most to you.