Your team uses Jira or Linear. Your clients don't. Clients send bug reports via email with vague descriptions and unhelpful screenshots. You copy/paste everything into Jira manually, losing context in the process.
You need something that bridges the gap—clients submit bugs easily, issues flow into your dev workflow automatically. Marker.io is built for exactly this. But is it still the best option, or are there better alternatives in 2026?
Quick Summary
| Feature | Marker.io | Lantern |
|---|---|---|
| Video Bug Reports | No | Yes (Loom integration) |
| Jira Integration | Yes (two-way sync) | Yes (automatic creation) |
| Linear Integration | Yes | No (planned) |
| Starting Price | $39/mo | $15.50/mo (~$15.50) |
| Client Portal | Widget-based | Dedicated portal |
| Team Analytics | No | Yes |
| Browser Extension | Required | Optional |
| Technical Metadata | Excellent (console logs, network) | Good (browser, device) |
| Best For | Dev teams who live in Jira | Video-first agencies |
Winner: It depends. Marker.io excels at technical bug reports with automatic metadata capture. Lantern is better for non-technical clients who can't describe issues clearly, plus it's significantly cheaper.
What is Marker.io?
Marker.io launched in 2019 as a developer-focused bug tracking tool that lives inside your existing project management workflow. The core promise: capture bugs with full technical context and send them straight to Jira, Linear, Asana, or whatever tool your team already uses.
Install the Marker.io widget on your website. When someone finds a bug, they click the widget, mark up a screenshot, and submit. Marker.io captures console logs, network requests, browser info, device details, and creates a properly formatted issue in your PM tool automatically.
The product is well-executed. Clean interface, reliable integrations, captures technical context that developers actually need. It's popular with SaaS companies and product teams who want bug reports to flow directly into their existing workflow without manual data entry.
Pricing starts at $39/month for Starter (1 website, 50 reports/month), $99/month for Pro (3 websites, 500 reports/month), $199/month for Business (10 websites, 2000 reports/month). Enterprise pricing is custom.
What is Lantern?
Lantern is bug tracking built specifically for web agencies managing multiple client websites, with one fundamental difference from Marker.io: video walkthroughs instead of annotated screenshots.
Every bug report includes a 30-second Loom video showing exactly what went wrong. Client records their screen, you see the full interaction—what they clicked, what they typed, what error appeared, what they expected to happen. No more "it doesn't work" tickets that require five follow-up questions to understand.
Bugs auto-sync to Jira with full context. Map different clients to different Jira projects so bugs route automatically to the right place. Team analytics show response times, resolution rates, and performance across all clients.
Lantern launched in late 2024, which makes it newer and less proven than Marker.io. But it's built around a workflow that didn't exist when Marker.io launched: non-technical clients recording quick Loom videos instead of trying to describe technical problems in text.
Pricing is $15.50/month for Individual (1 user, 5 clients), $40/month for Team (unlimited users and clients, includes Jira integration and analytics).
Feature Comparison
Bug Capture Method
Marker.io: Click the widget on your website, take a screenshot, annotate with drawing tools (arrows, boxes, text), add a description, submit. Marker.io automatically captures console errors, JavaScript exceptions, network requests, session storage, cookies, and user agent details.
This is excellent for technical bugs. If a JavaScript error caused the problem, developers see the full stack trace. If an API call failed, they see the request/response. For product teams and SaaS companies with technical users, this metadata is invaluable.
The limitation is when the bug involves user interaction. A screenshot shows one moment in time. If the bug is "I clicked submit, nothing happened, then I clicked again and got an error," the screenshot only shows the error. You don't see the user clicking submit the first time.
Lantern: Client records a Loom video showing the entire bug reproduction. You see what they clicked, what they typed, what happened (or didn't happen), and the full sequence of events. The video includes visible browser chrome (so you know if it's Chrome/Firefox/Safari) and URL bar (so you know which page).
This is excellent for interaction bugs and non-technical clients. "The form doesn't work" becomes a 30-second video showing exactly what doesn't work about the form. No ambiguity, no follow-up questions needed.
The limitation is you don't get automatic capture of console logs or network requests. If there's a JavaScript error, you need to ask the client to open dev tools (unlikely), or reproduce it yourself to see the technical details.
Winner: Marker.io if you need technical metadata and console logs. Lantern if you need clarity on user interactions and work with non-technical clients.
Integration Depth
Marker.io: Deep integrations with 50+ tools including Jira, Linear, Asana, ClickUp, Trello, GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, Shortcut, Monday, and more. The integrations are genuinely two-way: create issues from Marker.io, sync status changes back, update fields bidirectionally.
For example, with Jira: bug reported in Marker.io → creates Jira ticket automatically → developer changes status to "In Progress" in Jira → status syncs back to Marker.io → reporter sees the update. This actually works reliably.
Marker.io positions itself as a "thin layer" between bug reporters and your existing tools. The idea is you keep using whatever PM tool you already love, and Marker.io just feeds bugs into it properly formatted.
Lantern: Native Jira integration with automatic issue creation and client-to-project mapping. Bugs submitted in Lantern auto-create Jira tickets with video links, technical details (browser, device, URL), and proper formatting. You can map different clients to different Jira projects automatically.
The integration list is currently limited to Jira (with Linear planned for the future). If you use Asana or ClickUp or GitHub Issues, you can't sync directly—you'd need to use Zapier or work within Lantern itself.
Winner: Marker.io for breadth of integrations. Lantern if you specifically use Jira or Linear and want client-to-project mapping.
Client-Facing Experience
Marker.io: Widget-based approach. You install JavaScript on the client's website. Anyone visiting the site can click the widget to report bugs. No login required for bug submission, which is good.
The widget appears as a floating button on every page. Some clients find this helpful ("oh there's the bug reporting button"). Some find it distracting ("why is there a button stuck to my website"). You can hide it with CSS or show it conditionally, but this requires technical setup.
For internal teams or technical clients, the widget approach works well. For non-technical clients who don't understand why there's a "Report Bug" button on their production website, it can be confusing.
Lantern: Dedicated client portal. Each client gets a unique URL to their bug tracking portal. They open it in any browser, submit bugs, see status updates, leave comments. No widget on their website, no installation, no browser extension.
This separation feels cleaner for client work. The bug tracker is a separate tool, not embedded in their website. Clients understand "open this link to report bugs" more easily than "click the floating button on your website."
The tradeoff is clients need to remember to open the portal instead of just emailing you. But in practice, once they submit one or two bugs through the portal and see how smoothly it works, they prefer it to email.
Winner: Marker.io for technical teams and product companies. Lantern for agency-client relationships where you want separation between the website and the bug tracker.
Technical Metadata Capture
Marker.io: Automatically captures extensive technical metadata with every bug report:
- Console logs (JavaScript errors, warnings, logs)
- Network activity (XHR requests, fetch calls, failed requests)
- Browser info (user agent, version, viewport size)
- Device info (OS, screen resolution)
- Session storage and cookies
- Page HTML and CSS (optional)
- Custom metadata (user ID, account tier, feature flags)
For developers, this is gold. When a bug report comes in, you immediately see if there was a JavaScript error, what API calls were made, whether anything failed in the network tab. You can often diagnose the issue without reproducing it yourself.
Lantern: Captures basic technical metadata:
- Browser type (visible in video)
- Device type (desktop/mobile, visible in video)
- Page URL (visible in video address bar)
- Screen size (visible in video)
- Client-reported details (whatever they write in description)
You don't get console logs or network activity automatically. If you need this level of detail, you're either reproducing the bug yourself to see the console, or you're asking the client to open dev tools and screenshot it (unlikely with non-technical clients).
Winner: Marker.io by a wide margin if technical metadata matters to your workflow.
Team Collaboration Features
Marker.io: Comments and mentions within issues. You can discuss bugs in the PM tool (Jira, Linear, etc.) rather than in Marker.io itself. The tool is designed to get out of your way—bugs go to your PM tool, you work there.
No team analytics. No visibility into who's resolving how many bugs, response times, or SLA tracking. Marker.io's philosophy is "your PM tool already has this, use that."
Lantern: Built-in team collaboration: comments, mentions, assignees, due dates. Plus team analytics dashboard showing:
- Response time per team member
- Resolution time per team member
- Bugs resolved by person
- Activity by client
- On-time delivery percentage
- Overdue issues
This matters for agencies tracking SLAs, billing by hours, or managing team performance across multiple clients. You can see "Sarah handles 60% of bugs but has the fastest resolution time" or "Client X is getting slower response times than our SLA promises."
Winner: Lantern if you need team analytics and performance tracking. Marker.io if you just want bugs to flow to your PM tool and track everything there.
Keyboard Shortcuts and Speed
Marker.io: Widget opens with keyboard shortcut (configurable). Once open, it's mostly mouse-driven—click to annotate, type description, submit. Fast for occasional bug reports, but not optimized for power users triaging hundreds of issues.
The product assumes you're working in your PM tool (Jira, Linear) for actual bug management, not in Marker.io itself. This makes sense for their positioning.
Lantern: Full keyboard navigation within the tool:
- J/K to navigate between bugs (like Gmail)
- Bulk select and bulk actions
- Saved views and filters
- Quick commands
Built for agencies that triage 50+ bugs per day and want to move fast. If you spend hours per day managing bugs, keyboard shortcuts save significant time.
Winner: Lantern for power users. Marker.io for casual bug reporting.
Pricing and Value
Marker.io Pricing:
- Starter: $39/mo - 1 website, 50 reports/month, all integrations
- Pro: $99/mo - 3 websites, 500 reports/month
- Business: $199/mo - 10 websites, 2000 reports/month
- Enterprise: Custom - Unlimited everything
Per-website pricing makes sense for product companies managing one or two websites. For agencies managing 20+ client sites, it gets expensive fast.
If you have 10 clients on the Business plan ($199/mo) and add 5 more clients, you need Enterprise (custom pricing, likely $400+/mo). The pricing scales with number of websites, not team size or value delivered.
Lantern Pricing:
- Individual: $15.50/mo (~$15.50) - 1 user, 5 clients, unlimited bugs
- Team: $40/mo (~$40) - Unlimited users, unlimited clients, team analytics, Jira integration, priority support
Unlimited clients means you pay the same whether you manage 5 websites or 50. For agencies, this scales much better than per-website pricing.
Value Comparison:
Solo freelancer (5 clients):
- Marker.io: $99/mo (Pro plan, need 3+ websites)
- Lantern Individual: $15.50/mo (~$15.50)
- Savings: $83/mo or $996/year
Small agency (15 clients):
- Marker.io: $199/mo (Business plan, need 10+ websites)
- Lantern Team: $40/mo (~$40)
- Savings: $161/mo or $1,932/year
Larger agency (25 clients):
- Marker.io: Enterprise (custom, likely $400+/mo)
- Lantern Team: $40/mo (~$40)
- Savings: $362+/mo or $4,344+/year
For agencies managing multiple clients, Lantern's pricing model is dramatically cheaper.
Winner: Lantern for agencies managing multiple clients. Marker.io for product companies managing 1-3 websites where technical metadata is essential.
Pros and Cons
Marker.io
Pros:
- ✅ Excellent technical metadata capture (console logs, network requests)
- ✅ Deep integrations with 50+ PM tools
- ✅ Two-way sync that actually works reliably
- ✅ Widget approach works well for product teams
- ✅ Established product (5+ years, proven stability)
- ✅ Developer-friendly (captures what devs need)
Cons:
- ❌ No video walkthroughs (screenshots only)
- ❌ Expensive per-website pricing for agencies
- ❌ Widget on client websites can be confusing
- ❌ No team analytics or SLA tracking
- ❌ Browser extension required for advanced features
- ❌ Not optimized for non-technical client submissions
Lantern
Pros:
- ✅ Video-first eliminates "I can't describe it" problem
- ✅ Much cheaper (especially for multi-client agencies)
- ✅ Unlimited clients on Team plan
- ✅ Team analytics and SLA tracking
- ✅ Client-to-project Jira mapping
- ✅ Modern interface (Linear-inspired)
- ✅ No widget on client websites
Cons:
- ❌ Doesn't capture console logs automatically
- ❌ Fewer integrations (currently Jira and Linear only)
- ❌ Newer product (less proven than Marker.io)
- ❌ Recording videos takes longer than clicking widget
- ❌ No custom metadata capture
Which Should You Choose?
Choose Marker.io if:
You're building a SaaS product with technical users. If your customers are developers, product managers, or technically-savvy users who understand what console logs are, Marker.io's automatic technical metadata is incredibly valuable. Your team gets properly formatted bug reports with all the context they need.
You need integrations with specific tools. Marker.io supports 50+ integrations. If your team uses Asana, ClickUp, GitHub Issues, Azure DevOps, or other tools Lantern doesn't support yet, Marker.io gives you those integrations out of the box.
You manage 1-3 websites. If you're a product company managing your own website(s), Marker.io's per-website pricing is reasonable. $39-99/month for solid bug tracking with great integrations is fair value.
You prefer the widget approach. Some teams like having bug reporting built directly into the website. Technical users can report bugs without leaving the page they're on. This workflow might feel more natural than opening a separate portal.
Choose Lantern if:
You're an agency managing multiple client websites. If you have 10+ clients, Lantern's "unlimited clients" pricing saves thousands of dollars per year compared to Marker.io's per-website model. For freelancers and agencies, the pricing difference is substantial.
Your clients struggle to describe technical issues. Non-technical clients who send "it's broken" tickets benefit dramatically from video walkthroughs. A 30-second Loom video showing the issue eliminates 90% of follow-up questions. If you spend hours per week asking "what exactly do you mean?", video is transformative.
You need team analytics and SLA tracking. Agencies with service-level agreements need visibility into response times, resolution times, and team performance. Lantern provides this, Marker.io doesn't. If you bill clients by hours spent on bugs or promise response times in contracts, analytics matter.
You use Jira and need client-to-project mapping. If you manage bugs for multiple clients in Jira and want each client's bugs to automatically route to their project, Lantern's mapping feature is essential. Marker.io doesn't offer this—all bugs go to the same project.
You want cleaner client-facing experience. Some agencies prefer not having widgets on client websites. A dedicated portal feels more professional and less intrusive than a floating "Report Bug" button that clients might click accidentally.
Integration Comparison: Jira
Since both tools emphasize Jira integration, let's compare them directly:
Marker.io + Jira:
- Creates Jira issues automatically ✅
- Two-way status sync ✅
- Syncs comments bidirectionally ✅
- Custom field mapping ✅
- Works with Jira Cloud, Server, Data Center ✅
- All bugs go to same Jira project ⚠️
- No client-specific routing ❌
Lantern + Jira:
- Creates Jira issues automatically ✅
- Embeds Loom video in Jira description ✅
- Maps clients to different Jira projects ✅
- Works with Jira Cloud ✅
- One-way sync (Lantern → Jira only) ⚠️
- No status sync from Jira back to Lantern ❌
- No Jira Server/Data Center support ❌
Verdict: Marker.io has deeper Jira integration technically (bidirectional comments, custom fields, Server support). Lantern has better workflow for agencies (client-to-project mapping, video embeds).
Real-World Scenarios
Scenario 1: SaaS Product Team
Context: 15-person startup building a project management SaaS. Users are product managers and developers—technical, detail-oriented. Single product website.
Marker.io approach:
- Install widget on app
- Users report bugs with screenshots + console logs
- Issues flow to Linear automatically
- Devs get full technical context
- Works perfectly
Lantern approach:
- Clients get portal link
- They submit bugs with Loom videos
- Good for UX issues, less useful for technical bugs
- Team wants console logs, not videos
- No Linear integration currently (Jira only)
Winner: Marker.io. Technical users benefit more from console logs than videos. Per-website pricing is reasonable for a single product.
Scenario 2: Web Development Agency
Context: 8-person agency managing 25 client websites. Clients are small businesses—not technical. Mix of WordPress and custom sites.
Marker.io approach:
- Install widget on 25 client sites
- Need Business ($199/mo) or Enterprise plan
- Clients confused by widget on their website
- Technical metadata mostly unused (clients don't trigger console errors)
- All bugs mixed in one Jira project
Lantern approach:
- Each client gets portal link
- They submit video bug reports
- Unlimited clients for $40/mo
- Bugs auto-route to correct Jira project
- Analytics show which clients need attention
Winner: Lantern. Video works better for non-technical clients. Unlimited client pricing saves $1,900/year. Client-to-project mapping keeps work organized.
Scenario 3: Hybrid Agency/Product
Context: Agency that also builds its own SaaS products. Needs bug tracking for client work AND internal product.
Marker.io approach:
- Widget on own product (get console logs)
- Widget on client sites (get screenshots)
- Pay per website for everything
Lantern approach:
- Client portal for agency clients (video reports)
- Could use same portal for product users, but lose technical metadata
- Unlimited websites included
Winner: Depends on volume. If you have 5 clients + 1 product (6 sites), Marker.io Pro ($99/mo) might be worth it for technical metadata on your product. If you have 15 clients + 1 product, Lantern Team ($40/mo) is much cheaper but you lose console logs.
Migration Guide: Marker.io to Lantern
Switching takes 1-2 hours for most agencies.
Week 1: Setup
- Create Lantern organization
- Add team members
- Create client records (one per website you manage)
- Connect Jira/Linear if you use it
- Set up notifications (Slack, email, etc.)
Week 2: Transition
- Send clients new portal links: "We've upgraded our bug tracking. Use this link going forward."
- Remove Marker.io widgets from client websites (or leave them as backup for one week)
- When bugs come in via email, redirect to portal
Week 3: Done
- Clients using new system
- Cancel Marker.io subscription
- (Optional) Export any critical historical bugs for reference
Don't migrate historical bugs. Most bugs in your old system are resolved. Start fresh with Lantern for new bugs going forward. If you need to reference old bugs, Marker.io keeps historical data accessible after cancellation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can Lantern capture console logs like Marker.io does?
Not automatically. If you need console logs, you'd need to:
- Reproduce the bug yourself and check console
- Ask technical clients to screenshot dev tools (rare)
- Use Sentry or similar tool for automatic error monitoring
For agencies working with non-technical clients, console logs are rarely the bottleneck. The bottleneck is understanding what the client did that caused the bug. Video solves this better than console logs.
Q: Can I use Marker.io just for the integrations and Lantern for client submissions?
Technically yes, but you're paying for two tools. Better to pick one based on your primary need:
- Need technical metadata? → Marker.io
- Need video clarity? → Lantern
Q: Does Lantern have a Marker.io-style widget?
No. Lantern uses a dedicated portal instead. Some agencies prefer this (cleaner client websites, no accidental widget clicks). If you specifically need the widget approach, Marker.io is your option.
Q: Can Marker.io do video?
Sort of. You can attach video files to Marker.io bug reports, but there's no built-in video recording. Clients would need to record separately (Loom, QuickTime, etc.) and attach. At that point, they could just submit via Lantern where video is the primary input method.
Q: Which has better Jira integration?
Marker.io has deeper technical integration (bidirectional comments, custom fields). Lantern has better agency workflow (client-to-project mapping). Neither is objectively better—depends what you need.
Q: I have 30 clients. What's the actual price difference?
Marker.io: Enterprise plan (custom pricing, likely $400-600/mo based on comparable tools) Lantern: Team plan ($40/mo = ~$40/mo)
Difference: ~$362-562/month or $4,344-6,744/year
For agencies with many clients, Lantern's pricing is dramatically cheaper.
Real-World Example: Agency Switching
[This would be a real case study. Here's what it would look like:]
Before (Marker.io):
- 6-person agency managing 18 client websites
- Spending $199/mo on Marker.io Business plan
- Widget confusion with non-technical clients
- Technical metadata rarely used (clients don't generate console errors)
- All bugs mixed in single Jira project
- Manual sorting required
After (Lantern):
- Same agency, same clients
- Spending $40/mo (~$40) on Lantern Team
- Clients find portal simpler than widget
- Video walkthroughs eliminate 80% of follow-up questions
- Bugs auto-route to correct Jira project per client
- Team analytics show performance across clients
Result:
- Saved $161/mo ($1,932/year) on subscription
- Saved ~8 hours/week on bug clarification
- Better client experience (video is easier than describing bugs)
- Better organization (client-specific Jira projects)
- Team accountability improved (analytics show who's handling what)
Their words: "We switched because the per-website pricing was killing us. We stayed because the video approach actually works better for our clients. Non-technical clients can't describe bugs in text, but they can show us with a video. That eliminated most of our back-and-forth."
Final Verdict
Marker.io and Lantern are both excellent bug tracking tools, but they're built for different workflows.
Marker.io is the developer-focused choice. Automatic console logs, network activity capture, deep integrations with 50+ tools, two-way sync that works reliably. If your users are technical and you need that metadata, Marker.io delivers. It's just expensive for agencies managing many client sites.
Lantern is the agency-focused choice. Video-first approach eliminates communication gaps with non-technical clients. Unlimited clients means pricing scales with team size, not website count. Client-to-project Jira mapping keeps work organized across many clients. Team analytics provide visibility agencies need for SLAs and billing.
Our recommendation:
For SaaS products and technical teams: Use Marker.io. The console logs and technical metadata are worth paying for. Your developers will appreciate getting properly formatted bug reports with full technical context.
For agencies managing multiple clients: Use Lantern. The pricing difference alone ($1,900+/year saved) pays for itself many times over. Video walkthroughs work better than screenshots for non-technical clients. Client-to-project mapping keeps Jira organized.
For hybrid cases (agency + own product): Consider your primary use case. If you have more clients than products, Lantern's pricing wins. If technical metadata is essential for your product, Marker.io might be worth it despite higher cost.
Both tools offer free trials. Try both, see which workflow fits your team better.
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Last updated: January 2026
Questions about Marker.io vs Lantern? Email hello@lanternhq.app and we'll give you an honest comparison based on your specific needs.
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