Tabner vs Session Buddy, side by side
Session Buddy is for people who want automatic session history and crash recovery on one computer. Tabner is for people who want tabs sorted into boards they can search, on more than one computer if they like.
Free. No account needed. Without one, your tabs never reach our servers.
The short answer
Both are free and work without an account. Session Buddy is built around automatic session history: it brings tabs back after a crash or restart. Tabner has no automatic history; instead it sorts the tabs you save into boards you can search, and syncs them between computers with an account.
Side-by-side comparison
| Tabner | Session Buddy | |
|---|---|---|
| Price and plans | Tabner is free: boards, groups, sessions, search, import and backups | All features are free. Cloud storage is planned as the only premium feature |
| Account | Not needed. An account (your email, no password) adds sync and sharing | Not needed |
| Data and privacy | In your browser's extension storage. With sync, on EU servers (Ireland). No analytics, ads or trackers | Stored on your computer |
| Sync between computers | Optional, with an account | Not today |
| How tabs are organised | Boards with coloured groups, and Spaces for Work and Personal | Colour-coded collections you can pin |
| Saving a window | Save All Tabs into a group, or save the window as a session. Tab groups come back on Chrome | Save and restore sessions, with window positions, pinned tabs and incognito state |
| Crash recovery and history | Nothing automatic. You save sessions yourself and can download a backup | Automatic session history recovers tabs after a crash or restart, and restores closed tabs |
| Search | Ctrl+K across titles, links, descriptions and notes, plus tb in the address bar | Search across open tabs, collections and history |
| Notes and tags | Short description, tags and private notes on each tab | Not stated on their site |
| Sharing and teams | Editors, viewers and read-only public links, with the optional account | Not stated on their site |
| Import and export | Imports Toby exports and bookmark files from Chrome, Firefox and Edge. Full backup download | Import, export and copy in 15+ formats, including text, JSON, CSV, Markdown and HTML |
| Browsers and mobile | Chrome, Firefox and most Chromium browsers. No mobile apps | Chrome Web Store. Not listed on Firefox Add-ons. Mobile: not stated on their site |
Session Buddy details from its Chrome Web Store listing (version 4.1.2) and sessionbuddy.com, checked in November 2026. Plans and features change, so check their site for the latest.
Where Session Buddy is ahead
- Automatic session history that recovers tabs after a crash or restart
- Restores closed tabs, window positions, pinned tabs and incognito state
- Import, export and copy in more than 15 formats
- More than a million users and over 25,000 ratings on the Chrome Web Store
- Duplicate bookmark detection and keyboard shortcuts
Where Tabner is ahead
- Sync between computers with an account, stored in the EU
- Runs on Firefox as well as Chrome
- Boards with coloured groups and Spaces, plus tags and private notes on each tab
- Shared boards with editors and viewers, and read-only public links
- The app is available in 9 languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese (Brazil), Italian, Simplified Chinese, Japanese and Korean
Choose Session Buddy if…
- You want your browser to keep a history of your windows automatically
- Crash recovery matters more to you than organising
- You need exports in many formats
Choose Tabner if…
- You want your tabs sorted into boards you can search
- You use more than one computer, or Firefox
- You want to share a board with other people
Can you use both?
Yes. Session Buddy can keep its automatic history in the background as a safety net, while you sort the tabs you want to keep into Tabner boards. If both want the new tab page, only one extension can own it at a time, so choose which one opens there.
Switching from Session Buddy?
Our Session Buddy alternative page explains the quickest way to bring your collections across today.
Questions
Is Tabner better than Session Buddy?
It depends on what you need. For automatic history and crash recovery, Session Buddy is the better choice. For boards you can search and sync between computers, Tabner is.
Are both free?
Yes. Session Buddy says all its features are free today, with cloud storage planned as its only premium feature. Tabner is free and works without an account; an account is only needed for sync.
Which one works in Firefox?
Tabner is on Firefox Add-ons as well as the Chrome Web Store. Session Buddy is on the Chrome Web Store and isn't listed on Firefox Add-ons.
Keep reading
Give your tabs somewhere to go.
Install Tabner, save your first window, and close it. It feels good.