Pastel vs MonkLayer

Bottom line: Choose MonkLayer if you want unlimited free visual feedback with no account and open-source code you can self-host. Choose Pastel if you run an agency that needs branded review canvases, integrations with Slack/Trello/Asana/Jira, and a paid SaaS workflow.

By MonkLayer · Last updated: April 2026

MonkLayer and Pastel both let you annotate live websites and share feedback via a link. The trade-off: Pastel is a polished, paid platform optimized for agency-client workflows; MonkLayer is an open-source, flat-rate tool built for fast visual feedback that reviewers join without an account.

At a glance

About Pastel

Pastel is a paid visual feedback platform built for design agencies and client review workflows.

About MonkLayer

MonkLayer is an open-source annotation workspace and Chrome extension that lets you annotate any live webpage with drawings, comments, arrows, and highlights, then share a single link so anyone can view the annotations without installing anything. Reviewers never need an account, and pricing is flat-rate rather than per seat.

"Pastel's polish and the Slack/Trello/Asana integrations are genuine — that's the agency moat. The trade-off is the per-seat bill. MonkLayer covers the visual-feedback core at a flat rate that does not move when you add people; if you don't need auto-routing into a tracker, that's the saving."

When to choose MonkLayer

• You want zero cost and zero sign-up friction.
• You need ad-hoc feedback, not a persistent project workspace.
• You prefer open source.
• You collaborate occasionally rather than running a continuous review pipeline.

When to choose Pastel

• You run an agency or studio with recurring client review cycles.
• You need persistent project canvases, version history, and approvals.
• You depend on Slack, Trello, or Jira integrations to feed feedback into your stack.
• You need brand-customized share pages for client-facing reviews.

Frequently asked questions

Is MonkLayer a free Pastel alternative?

Yes. MonkLayer covers the core visual-feedback use case at one flat price, with no per-seat fee and no sign-up for reviewers. It does not replicate Pastel's agency workflow features.

Does MonkLayer support real-time collaboration like Pastel?

Yes. MonkLayer has live cursors and instant annotation sync via WebSockets, the same way Pastel does.

Can I switch from Pastel to MonkLayer?

If your team uses Pastel only for ad-hoc visual comments, MonkLayer is a drop-in replacement. If you depend on Pastel's project workspaces or integrations, you'll lose those.

Is MonkLayer self-hostable?

Yes. MonkLayer is open source and runs as a single server process against a Postgres database. You can fork the repo and deploy your own instance on any VPS.

Related comparisons

Try MonkLayer

MonkLayer annotates and shares a single page free with no sign-up, charges a flat rate for team projects, and works on any webpage. Recipients of your share links don't need to install anything.