Symbaloo
Visual bookmarking and start page for organizing websites in tiles
About Symbaloo
Symbaloo is a cloud-based visual bookmarking platform that lets you save websites, documents, and videos as color-coded tiles in grids called webmixes, and use them as a browser start page from any device. It is widely used in K-12 education, where teachers build classroom launchpads, learning paths with built-in questions, and branded Webspaces for schools and districts.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Tile-based layout lets young students and weak readers reach sites in one click without typing URLs
- Free plan includes webmixes and Learning Paths, so individual teachers can start at no cost
- Learning Paths turn a set of links into a sequenced lesson with built-in questions
- Large public Gallery of ready-made education webmixes to copy and adapt
- Paid tiers are cheap for a classroom ($69/year) and add a custom-URL Webspace and child-safe mode
- District plans integrate with ClassLink and Clever for rostering and sign-on
Cons
- The free version shows advertising, including on the public start page
- Pageview-based limits on paid Webspaces mean ads return once the monthly allotment is exceeded
- Tiles are easy to drag out of place by accident, which reviewers note as a frequent annoyance
- The interface and feature set feel dated next to modern bookmark managers like Raindrop.io or Start.me
- Collaboration on webmixes and admin controls require the Library or district plans
Key Features
Webmixes
Tile grids where each tile links to a website, document, or video, customizable with colors, icons, and images and organized by tabs and position.
Personal start page
Set a webmix as your browser homepage, with your bookmarks synced in the cloud and available on any device.
Learning Paths
Sequential, game-board style lessons that guide students through resources in order, with optional assessment questions along the way.
Symbaloo Gallery
A public library of shared webmixes on education and other topics that you can search, copy, and adapt.
Webspaces
Branded hubs on a custom URL that publish a set of webmixes for a classroom, library, school, or district.
Child-safe mode
Paid plans remove ads and distractions from student-facing Webspaces, with COPPA compliance settings in the Webspace Dashboard.
Sharing and embedding
Share webmixes with students or colleagues by link, and embed them in a blog or website on paid plans.
District administration
School and district plans add unlimited Webspaces and admins, IP allow/block lists, web filters, broken-link checks, usage analytics, and SIS integration with ClassLink and Clever.
Pricing
- Create and share webmixes
- Learning Paths
- COPPA compliance via settings
- Ad-supported
- Everything in Free
- No ads on your webmixes
- Extra customization and sharing options
- Or $4.49 billed monthly
- Everything in Personal Premium
- Webspace on a custom URL
- Child-safe mode
- Embed webmixes on a blog or website
- Fair-use ad-free Webspace pageviews (5,000/month)
- Or $7.99 billed monthly
- Everything in Classroom
- 20,000 ad-free Webspace pageviews per month
- Multiple Webspace administrators
- Collaborate on webmixes
- Broken-link detection
- Premium support
- Or $79.99 billed monthly
- Everything in Library
- 75,000 Webspace pageviews
- Unlimited Webspaces and administrators
- IP allow/block lists and web filters
- SIS integration (ClassLink, Clever)
- Usage insights and analytics
- Personal account manager
Best For
Classroom launchpad
Teachers build a webmix of the apps and sites a class uses and set it as the homepage on smartboards and 1-to-1 devices.
Differentiated lessons
Learning Paths give advanced, on-level, and support groups separate sequences of resources and check-in questions.
School or district resource hub
Districts publish a branded Webspace that connects every school's webmixes, with web filters and SIS sign-on.
Library digital resources
School and public libraries curate databases, e-book collections, and research tools in one ad-free Webspace.
Personal start page
Individuals keep their everyday bookmarks, news, and tools in a visual grid that syncs across browsers and devices.
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