— Research Tool

Glasp

Last updated July 14, 2026 · Reviewed by ToolForge Editorial

Highlight, annotate, and summarize the web — and build a public knowledge base from everything you read.

★ 4.5/5 · 500K+ readers · Since 2020 · Free forever
$0 Free (Pro $8/mo)
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Turn passive reading into a searchable knowledge base

Glasp is a web highlighter with a social twist. Highlight any article or YouTube video, and your highlights become part of a public 'knowledge base' others can follow. It's the fastest way to capture what you read, get AI summaries, and build a second brain that compounds over time.

Who it's for: Knowledge workers, students, and content creators who read a lot online and want their highlights to be findable — and shareable.

Key features

Highlight Web + YouTube highlighter

Highlight any webpage or YouTube transcript directly in your browser. Glasp auto-syncs the surrounding text and timestamps.

AI AI summaries

One click generates a TL;DR of any page or video using GPT-4. Perfect for triaging long reads before committing.

Profile Public profile

Your highlights publish to a public Glasp profile. Follow other readers and inherit their curated knowledge bases.

Sync Kindle & Readwise import

Import Kindle highlights and sync with Readwise to unify every highlight you've ever made in one searchable place.

The honest take

✓ What works

  • Free tier is genuinely useful — no paywall on core highlighting
  • Public knowledge base is a unique, compounding advantage
  • Excellent YouTube transcript highlighting
  • GPT-4 summaries save hours on long reads
  • Clean export to Markdown, Notion, and Obsidian

✗ What doesn't

  • Pro plan ($8/mo) needed for unlimited highlights and advanced AI
  • Social feed can feel noisy if you follow too many people
  • No offline mode — it's a browser-first tool
  • Mobile experience is weaker than desktop
  • Privacy-conscious users may dislike public-by-default highlights

Verdict

Glasp is the best free way to actually retain what you read in 2026. Turn on the private option if you're shy, but the public knowledge base is where the magic is. Pair it with Zotero for citation-heavy work.

💡 Transparency: This review contains affiliate links. If you sign up through our link, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. We only recommend tools we use ourselves. Full disclosure.

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$0 Free (Pro $8/mo) · Free forever

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