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LayerDock solves 'which button?' for clients who will never install anything: share a review link, they click and comment, each pin carries a screenshot, device, browser and page errors, and your agent can read and resolve pins through LayerDock's MCP server. Design Mode solves a different step — the person who knows what the fix is makes it on the page and the agent receives the exact change. Comments versus edits.
Feature-by-feature
| Feature | Design Mode | LayerDock |
|---|---|---|
| Visual editing on a scriptable webpage | Yes — typography, colour, layout, spacing, motion and effects on localhost, staging or production pages the extension can script. Browser-protected pages are excluded. | No — comments pinned to elements; Inspect mode shows box model and computed styles but does not change them |
| MCP (Model Context Protocol) handoff to AI agents | Yes — Cloud, Local, and Self-hosted modes; eight common session tools, plus Local feedback rounds | Yes — LayerDock ships an MCP server so Claude Code, Cursor or any MCP agent can list docks, read pins and resolve them |
| Persistent change history (Changes tab) | Yes — searchable, filterable, exportable | Pins with threads, status and assignment per dock |
| Open source | Yes (MIT) | No — hosted SaaS |
| Price | Free MIT-licensed extension | Free plan (2 docks, 35 submissions/month); paid plans unlock integrations |
| Markdown / JSON export of the diff | Yes | Via integrations and MCP; no documented Markdown/JSON diff export |
| Best fit for | Designers, developers, QA, PMs, content, indie hackers, agencies, vibe coders | Agencies, freelancers and in-house teams collecting client feedback on live sites |
When to pick Design Mode
- The reviewer is a designer or developer who can make the change, not just describe it.
- You want typography, colour, spacing and layout values recorded as a diff, not a sentence.
- You want an open-source, free tool with no per-seat or per-dock limits.
- You need Firefox and Safari as first-class review browsers.
When to pick LayerDock
- Your reviewers are clients or stakeholders who should get a link, not an extension.
- You need threads, assignments, status and pushes to Slack, Jira, Linear, GitHub, Trello or ClickUp.
- Screenshots, recordings and captured console errors matter more than exact style values.
Honest take
If your bottleneck is getting usable feedback out of clients, LayerDock is built for that and Design Mode is not. The two can coexist: a client pins 'this feels off' in LayerDock, and the designer answers with a recorded change in Design Mode. LayerDock was in beta with around 50 users when its founder posted on DEV, so expect the product to move.
Sources and scope
Sources checked 11 October 2026. Documentation review of the LayerDock homepage, FAQ and pricing section, and the founder's DEV Community launch post. No account was created and the MCP server was not connected. Capability and pricing claims are vendor-documented, not independently runtime-verified.