Hypothesis

Active

web.hypothes.is

Country: United States (US)
Founded: 2011
Developer: Annotation Unlimited PBC
Pricing: Freemium
Open source: Yes
Platforms: Web, Chrome Extension

Indexes

PDF Tools Read Later Venture Capital Firms Web Clipping

Overview

Hypothesis is a social annotation platform that enables users to collaboratively highlight, comment, and tag web pages, PDFs, and other online documents. It supports public, private, or group-specific annotations, primarily used in higher education to make reading active and social through integrations with learning management systems like Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, and D2L.²³⁵⁶

Key Features

Collaborative Annotation - Users can highlight text, add comments, and reply to annotations on web pages, PDFs, and videos.
Group Annotations - Annotations can be private, public, or restricted to specific groups like class members.
Tagging and Searching - Label annotations with tags and search by keyword, tag, group, or URL.
User Profiles - Profiles display personal annotations, activity, and allow following other users.
LMS Integration - Directly embeds into Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, and D2L for seamless assignment grading.
Browser Extension - Chrome extension for annotating web content and PDFs.
eText Support - Annotate digital textbooks including VitalSource and JSTOR articles.

Pricing

Plan	Price	Includes
Free	Free	Basic web and PDF annotation, public and private groups, browser extension.
LMS Integration (Institutional)	Paid (contact for quote)	Direct LMS embedding, reporting dashboard, assignment grading via Canvas SpeedGrader.

Platforms & Requirements

Hypothesis runs as a web application accessible via any modern browser and through a Chrome browser extension for web and PDF annotation. It integrates directly into LMS platforms without additional software installs. No native mobile or desktop apps; relies on browser support with no specified minimum requirements beyond standard web standards.⁵⁶

Integrations & Ecosystem

Canvas
Blackboard
Moodle
D2L
VitalSource eTexts
JSTOR
YouTube (with transcripts)

Alternatives

App	Difference
Diigo	Focuses more on personal bookmarking and sharing with less emphasis on LMS integration.
Genially	Emphasizes interactive presentations over text-based social annotation.
Perusall	LMS-focused social reading but lacks open-source extensibility.
NowComment	Real-time collaborative commenting without deep browser extension support.

Reputation

Hypothesis is recognized as a leading tool in higher education for promoting active reading and collaboration, with strong LMS integrations praised by universities like University of Chicago and Ohio State.²³⁵ Users appreciate its open-source nature and features like profiles and search for tracking annotations.¹⁷ Some note setup complexity for non-LMS use and reliance on browser extensions as minor limitations.⁶⁸

Sources (10)