BugHerd vs Marker.io vs Bugfeed: Which Bug Tracker Is Worth It for Freelancers?

I opened BugHerd's pricing page last month and immediately closed the tab. $39/month for their cheapest paid plan. I had two client sites that needed bug tracking. That's $468/year to collect screenshots and bug reports.

So I built Bugfeed instead.

This isn't a hit piece on BugHerd or Marker.io. Both are solid products with features Bugfeed doesn't have. But if you're a freelancer managing 2-5 client sites, or a small agency tired of parsing "it's broken" emails, the $39-99/month price tags don't make sense anymore.

Here's what these tools actually cost, what you get, and which one makes sense for your situation.

Why Visual Bug Trackers Cost $39-99/Month

Most visual bug reporting tools were built for enterprise teams. BugHerd launched in 2011 targeting agencies with 10+ developers. Marker.io came later with better UX but similar pricing. Userback added session replay and user surveys.

They all charge $29-99/month because:

1. Per-seat pricing models - You pay per team member, not per site
2. Enterprise features you won't use - Video recording, custom SSO, priority support
3. Hosted infrastructure - They store your screenshots, manage databases, handle scaling

The problem: If you're a solo dev with 3 client sites, you don't need seats for 5 developers or enterprise SSO. You need screenshot capture, device info, and a way to see bugs without scheduling a Zoom call.

The Four Tools Everyone Considers

BugHerd

Price: $39/mo (Freelance plan) What you get: 10 seats, unlimited projects, Chrome extension, task management, screenshot capture

BugHerd pioneered the visual bug tracking category. Their widget lets clients pin feedback directly on the site. You get a kanban board, browser extension, and integrations with Jira, Asana, and Trello.

The catch: $39/month minimum, and their "project" model means you pay the same whether you have 1 site or 50. The free tier is limited to 14 days.

Best for: Agencies with 5+ team members who need client collaboration tools and already pay for project management software.

Marker.io

Price: $39/mo (Starter plan) What you get: 5 members, unlimited projects, screenshot annotation, video recording, GitHub/Jira/Linear

Marker.io has the best UX of the bunch. Their Chrome extension works on any site (not just yours), and their annotation tools are genuinely good. Video recording is built-in.

The catch: Also $39/month minimum. The free plan is 50 reports total, which sounds generous until you realize that's 10 bugs across 5 client sites.

Best for: Teams actively using GitHub Issues or Linear who want video recording and polished integrations.

Userback

Price: $29/mo (Startup plan) What you get: 2 sites, 10 members, screenshot capture, session replay, in-app surveys

Userback is the cheapest of the "big three" but caps you at 2 sites on the Startup plan. They focus on user feedback collection, not just bug reports. Session replay is a real differentiator.

The catch: You pay $29/month for 2 sites. If you have 3 client sites, you jump to the $69/month tier.

Best for: SaaS products collecting user feedback, not freelancers managing client sites.

Bugfeed

Price: £0-19/mo What you get:

• Free: 1 site, screenshot capture, device diagnostics, email notifications
• Pro (£9/mo): 5 sites, Slack/Discord/webhooks
• Business (£19/mo): Unlimited sites, GitHub/Linear/Trello

Bugfeed strips out enterprise features and charges per site, not per seat. You get the widget, the Chrome extension, and device diagnostics. Screenshots are captured automatically. Integrations work with Slack, Discord, GitHub, Linear, and Trello.

The catch: No session replay. No video recording. No advanced analytics. This is bug reporting, not a full feedback management suite.

Best for: Freelancers and small agencies managing 1-10 client sites who need screenshot capture and basic integrations without the enterprise price tag.

Feature Comparison Table

Which Tool Makes Sense for Your Situation

You have 1-2 client sites

Pick Bugfeed Free or Pro.

If you're managing one or two client sites, there's no reason to pay $29-39/month. Bugfeed's free plan covers one site with email notifications. If you need Slack/Discord or want to cover 2-5 sites, Pro is £9/month.

BugHerd and Marker.io will charge you $468/year for features you won't use.

You manage 3-10 client sites

Pick Bugfeed Business (£19/mo) or Userback ($69/mo).

At 3+ sites, you're choosing between Bugfeed Business (unlimited sites, £19/month) or Userback's Growth plan ($69/month for 10 sites).

If you need session replay for user behavior tracking, Userback is worth it. If you just need bug reports with screenshots and integrations, Bugfeed costs $50/month less.

You have a dev team of 5+ people

Pick BugHerd or Marker.io.

If you have multiple developers, project managers, and clients collaborating on bug fixes, BugHerd's task management and Marker.io's video recording justify the price. You're paying for collaboration tools, not just screenshot capture.

Bugfeed doesn't charge per seat, but it also doesn't have advanced project management features.

You're building a SaaS product

Pick Userback.

Session replay, user surveys, and feedback widgets make Userback the best choice for product teams collecting user feedback. You're not just tracking bugs, you're doing user research.

Bugfeed is built for websites and client projects, not SaaS analytics.

The Real Cost of "Free" Alternatives

"Why not just use email or a Google Form?"

I tried this for two years. Here's what it actually costs:

Time spent per bug report: 8-12 minutes What you're doing:

1. Reading a vague email: "The contact form doesn't work"
2. Emailing back: "What browser? What page? Can you screenshot it?"
3. Waiting 6-48 hours for a response
4. Getting a photo of their screen taken with their phone
5. Trying to reproduce the issue
6. Failing because it was a browser extension conflict
7. Scheduling a Zoom call to see it live

Actual cost: If you bill $75/hour, you just spent $10-15 per bug report in back-and-forth. After 30 bug reports, you've spent $300-450 in time that a £9/month tool would have saved.

Visual bug reporting tools capture the screenshot, browser version, screen size, and URL automatically. The client clicks once. You see exactly what they see.

That's the value. Not kanban boards or enterprise SSO, just eliminating the "can you send a screenshot?" email chain.

Why I Built Bugfeed

I got tired of paying $468/year for BugHerd when I only used 20% of the features. Screenshot capture, device info, and Slack notifications. That's it.

So I built Bugfeed with three rules:

1. Charge per site, not per seat. Freelancers don't have 10-person teams.
2. Make the free plan actually useful. One site forever, not a 14-day trial.
3. Keep it simple. No session replay, no user surveys, no enterprise features you'll never configure.

If you're managing client sites and spending 30+ minutes per week on "how to collect bug reports from clients" emails, Bugfeed will save you hours. If you're a product team that needs session replay and behavioral analytics, Userback is worth the money.

The Honest Verdict

BugHerd - Great for agencies with teams. Expensive for solo devs. Marker.io - Best UX and video recording. Still $39/month. Userback - Session replay and surveys. Built for SaaS, not client sites. Bugfeed - Cheapest option. Missing advanced features. Best for freelancers.

If you're deciding between these four, ask yourself:

• Do I need video recording or session replay? (Pick Marker.io or Userback)
• Am I managing 5+ people on bug reports? (Pick BugHerd)
• Do I just need screenshots, device info, and integrations? (Pick Bugfeed)

The best bug tracker isn't the one with the most features. It's the one that saves you time without costing more than your monthly coffee budget.

You can try Bugfeed free, one site, no credit card required. If you manage more than one site, Pro is £9/month. That's £9, not $39.

The visual bug reporting tools that save agencies 8+ hours per week don't have to cost $500/year. Sometimes the simple version is the right version.