When comparing start.me vs xbrowsersync, the Slant community recommends xbrowsersync for most people. In the question“What are the best ways to organize bookmarks?” xbrowsersync is ranked 3rd while start.me is ranked 17th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Great to have bookmarks, feeds and notes in one place
Start.me offers a great tool to stay organized and productive because it allows all bookmarks, news feeds and notes to be available in one place.
Pro Beautiful & Customizable Interface
It has a very nice and customizable interface + you can get your bookmarks online anyware.
Pro Use this extension on all majorly used browsers: Chrome (and most up to date 'chromies' as well as Firefox and Android
Pro Anonymous
No sign up required and no personal data is collected.
Pro Encrypts your bookmarks securley with a method you can check for yourself
Pro Developer seems to be actively developing the app
See here.
Pro It is free and the developer announces that it will stay this way, neither are there any ads involved
Pro xBrowserSync adds descriptions and tags to new bookmarks automatically.
Speeding up workflow cataloging important meta-data automatically.
Pro Know your way around docker? xBrowserSync is easily self hostable.
Not only will it benefit the people who set up docker containers, if opened to the public, even more people will be able to quickly get to know xBrowserSync.
See here.
Cons
Con No longer able to meet security standards for Google Sign-In
Start.me used to have an e-mail widget which gave you quick access to your Gmail account(s) along with all your other bookmarks, but it requires a security assessment so that Google can ensure that they do not misuse user data obtained using restricted scopes per the Google API policy. As of 2020, they no longer meet that standard and the e-mail widget has been removed altogether.
Con Should sell itself as a start page because they are not just a bookmark service
Be careful if you Curate Bookmarks or even just have a bunch. You can upload and export bookmarks now, the upload limit is raised. Still, you need an internet connection.
Con Development could be faster
There's a lot to like about this product, but you need patience to see new widgets.
Con No iOS support
It doesn't support anymore iOS.
Con Does not sync passwords
If youre afraid due to the lack of password syncing with xbrowser, this problem is easily fixable by using myki password manager. It supports all major operating systems with secure features that work alongside xbrowsersync perfectly. myki is available as a chrome extension, and for android, iphone, mac, windows, and more!
Con Doesn't support new Firefox for Android
Maybe not the developer's fault but since using Firefox as main browser, the cross platform niche can't be satisfied. Will be looking to jump ship once the extension is added to the very limited pool Firefox Android currently has.
