How to choose a clipper
Start from the object you need tomorrow, not from the extension that used to be installed. A vault note with highlights is one product. A Markdown file you paste into a chat is another. A ZIP of many URLs is a third. A text-based PDF on disk is not a clipping problem at all. Naming that object first keeps you from installing a second Chrome extension that cannot write where the file has to live.
A browser clipper reads the tab you already opened. That is the right tool for a page behind a login, a paywall you can already see, or a client-rendered app that looks empty to a plain HTTP fetch. WebInk’s extension does that on the open tab: it extracts the article, converts the HTML, and can add a table of contents, a template, a ZIP of images, or a send to ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, or Grok. The URL to Markdown tool is the no-install path for a public link. It does not include your cookies, and it does not add the extension’s table of contents.
Skip a clipper when you already hold the bytes. PDF to Markdown reads a text-based PDF in the browser and does not run OCR. Word to Markdown reads a .docx the same way and refuses legacy .doc. A spreadsheet file and a JSON payload have their own pages on the tools index. Those pages do not open Chrome, and the extension does not open those files from disk.
MarkDownload and Obsidian Web Clipper
The two cards above were checked against public sources in October 2026. They answer different questions. The MarkDownload alternative is about a clipper that left the Chrome Web Store. The Obsidian Web Clipper alternative is about a clipper that is still the official way to file a note in a vault. People mix them up because MarkDownload’s old Obsidian hook and the official clipper both mention Obsidian. The jobs are not the same.
MarkDownload, by deathau, converted the open page with Readability and Turndown, showed a popup, and downloaded Markdown. It had title templates, front matter, and a hook that approximated an Obsidian save. The last tag recorded on that page is 3.4.0, dated 23 August 2024. As of October 2026 the Chrome Web Store listing is gone, and the project is treated as unmaintained. Pull requests discuss a Manifest V3 port. That is not a store build. Send to an AI chat was not in the last release, and a generated table of contents was not in the user guide. A leftover copy is useful for reading an old template. It is a poor install for someone starting now.
Obsidian Web Clipper, at obsidian.md/clipper, is the official extension. It highlights text, applies a template, and writes Markdown into a vault folder with properties. Variables cover title, author, date, selection, and highlights. Site rules can pick the template. Interpreter runs a model you configure inside the note. The comparison pages are explicit that Interpreter is not a button that opens ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. The Chrome Web Store listing cited there shows about 1 million users as of late 2026. Version 1.7.1 shipped in July 2026, and the extension also runs on Firefox, Safari, and Edge. An automatic table of contents was not observed on the help pages checked in October 2026. A no-install public URL page was not observed on obsidian.md/clipper either. With no vault, it has nowhere to write.
| Question | MarkDownload | Obsidian Web Clipper |
|---|---|---|
| Status in Oct 2026 | Delisted from the Chrome Web Store. Last tag 3.4.0 (23 Aug 2024). | Official extension. About 1 million Chrome users. Version 1.7.1 in July 2026. |
| Where the note goes | A downloaded Markdown file, plus an Obsidian hook on the old build. | A vault folder, with properties, templates, and highlights. |
| ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini | Not in the last release. | Not those buttons. Interpreter runs a model you configure and stores the result in the note. |
| Automatic table of contents | Not in the user guide. | Not observed on the help pages checked in October 2026. |
| Public URL, no install | Extension only. | Not observed. It is an extension for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. |
WebInk sits beside that table rather than inside either column. The extension converts one open tab, including a logged-in page, and can put an automatic table of contents in the file. That table of contents is extension-only. The side panel’s built-in send presets are ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Grok. The public URL tool can open ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity with the prompt on the query string, and it copies the prompt when you choose Gemini, because that tool has no Gemini query template. WebInk does not write the note into an Obsidian vault, and it does not turn a list of URLs into one ZIP. Download .zip in the side panel packages one note and the images that downloaded. It does not check a subscription. A Notion export button is not currently in the side panel. Many people keep the official clipper for the vault and WebInk for the chat copy. The Obsidian use case is the filing walkthrough, and the webpage to Markdown guide is the conversion walkthrough.
When each tool fits
Choose Obsidian Web Clipper when you use Obsidian and the note must be filed with highlights, a template, and properties. Choose the MarkDownload page only to understand what that old clipper did, or to copy a template off a machine that still has it. Choose WebInk when the next reader is a chat, when a long doc needs a generated table of contents, or when you want to try one public URL before you install anything. The Chrome extension is the path for the logged-in tab.
The child pages also name two tools this hub does not give their own URLs. Web2MD is described for hard-site extractors, such as pages a general readability pass mishandles, and for an AI handoff those listings market. The same pages warn that extractor counts and plan limits disagree across Web2MD’s own URLs, so confirm the list on their site before you rely on a number. BulkMD is described for a URL list, background tabs, and one ZIP of Markdown or text. Opening ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini was not in the BulkMD listing those pages checked. Use them when that exact gap is the job. Do not install them because a comparison table had an extra column.
A practical order, when you are leaving MarkDownload: save files you already downloaded, and copy any template you still need. File one vault note with Obsidian Web Clipper if a vault is the destination. Paste one public URL into WebInk’s URL tool if the page is anonymous. Convert the open tab in the extension if you had to log in. Turn the table of contents on for a long doc. The URL tool does not add it. If the result is a research folder rather than a vault, the AI research use case is the habit of one file per source. If a script should fetch the public URL later, the developers use case has the request shape.
What these pages refuse to invent
Both write-ups mark gaps as “not observed” instead of guessing. That includes an automatic table of contents on Obsidian Web Clipper, a public URL form on that clipper, and a chat-open button on BulkMD. WebInk’s own gaps are stated the same way: no native vault save, no multi-URL ZIP, Chrome for the extension, and no table of contents on the public URL tool. Image ZIP in the extension is a single-note archive, not a crawl. Clipper facts on this hub are the ones those two pages already print. Where this hub describes WebInk’s send buttons or Download .zip, it follows the side panel and the Pricing page.
Pricing language on those pages describes what was published in October 2026. It is not a promise that any vendor’s price stays put. This hub does not restate plan names. The Pricing page is where WebInk’s own checkout is described, and it says the offering can change.
FAQ
Which comparison should I open first?
Open MarkDownload alternative if you are replacing the delisted store extension, or if a teammate still has a copy from before August 2024. Open Obsidian Web Clipper alternative if the note must land in a vault with highlights, or if you already use Obsidian and you are deciding whether a second extension is worth adding. Read both when the old clipper was only a stand-in for a vault and the next step is also a chat.
Does WebInk replace Obsidian Web Clipper?
No. The comparison pages say the official clipper wins when the note must open in a vault with a folder, properties, and highlights. WebInk can emit front matter you paste into a vault. That is a paste, not a native save. It does not restore highlights on the page. Keep the official clipper for the vault, and add WebInk when you also want an automatic table of contents or a side-panel handoff to a chat.
What did MarkDownload do that these pages still describe?
The MarkDownload page describes an open-source clipper that converted the open page with Readability and Turndown, showed a popup, and downloaded Markdown, with title templates, front matter, and an Obsidian hook. As of October 2026 the Chrome Web Store listing is gone. Manifest V3 pull requests are not a store install. The page treats a leftover copy as a way to salvage a template, not as the clipper to install now.
When is a browser clipper the wrong tool?
When the input is not a page you can open. A text-based PDF, a Word .docx, a CSV file, or a JSON payload never needed a clipper. Those start on the matching tool under Tools, and the work runs in the browser. A public article with no login can also start at URL to Markdown, with no extension installed. Use a clipper when the content is the tab you already reached, including a page behind your login.
Where do Web2MD and BulkMD fit?
Both comparison pages discuss them as of October 2026, and they do not agree that either one replaces a vault or a single outlined article. Web2MD is described for site extractors and an AI handoff, with published counts that disagree across its own pages, so the write-ups say to confirm the list on web2md.org. BulkMD is described for a URL list that becomes one ZIP. WebInk does not ZIP many URLs, and it does not publish per-site extractors. Use the child page that matches the clipper you are leaving before you treat those two as the default.