Session Buddy Alternative: 6 Options Compared (2026)

The closest Session Buddy alternative is Tab Session Manager: it auto-saves sessions, is free and open source, syncs, and imports your Session Buddy library directly. Use OneTab to park tabs, Workona or Toby if your sessions are really projects, and SuperCommands if you reopen the same tab sets on purpose every day.

Why do people replace Session Buddy?

Session Buddy is maintained (v4.1.2, April 28, 2026, about 1 million users), but it rates 3.3 from 25,100 ratings and its listing confirms there is no cross-device sync yet.

Know which feature you rely on, because no alternative copies all of them (store listing, sessionbuddy.com):

• Timeline: snapshots for recovery after a crash. You need an automatic saver.
• Collections: saved tab sets with duplicate detection. Almost any tab manager will do.
• Export: 15+ formats, including plain text, JSON, CSV and Markdown, stored locally with no account.

The Session Buddy alternatives, compared

Prices and user counts are from official pages and the Chrome Web Store, October 2026.

Tab Session Manager

Best for: a like-for-like, open-source replacement.

Tab Session Manager saves windows when they close and on a timer; Manifest V3 raised the minimum interval from 0.1 to 0.5 minutes. It keeps names, tags and Chrome tab groups.

• Key fact: imports Session Buddy directly, so you do not rebuild your library.
• Skip it if: dense settings screens put you off.
• Price: free, MPL-2.0; Chrome, Edge and Firefox.

OneTab

Best for: people who only used collections.

OneTab turns every tab in the window into a list with one click. Its site lists folders, notes, import/export and encrypted sync.

• Scenario: 40 tabs become one list; restore one or all.
• Skip it if: you need crash recovery; nothing saves unless you clicked first.
• Price: free.

Tabs Outliner

Best for: using history as a map of your work.

Tabs Outliner keeps a live tree of windows and tabs and saves each change locally, so after a crash you reopen only the branches you want.

• Key fact: notes on any tab.
• Skip it if: you want frequent backups, Drive backup or shortcuts free; those need a one-time payment (price not listed).
• Price: free core.

Workona

Best for: collections named after clients or projects.

Workona keeps each project's tabs in a space, autosaves them and syncs across computers.

• Key fact: 90-day session backups and unlimited spaces are Pro.
• Skip it if: you do not want an account.
• Price: the plans page lists no prices.

Toby

Best for: visual boards of saved tabs.

Toby shows collections as boards, saves tab groups with their colors and syncs when signed in.

• Key fact: about 300,000 users, the most of the project-style options here.
• Skip it if: you have more than 60 saved tabs and do not want to pay.
• Price: from $4.50/month billed yearly (pricing).

SuperCommands

Best for: the same five or six sessions reopened every week.

Save a set once and launch it by name. Optional backup goes to your own Google Drive every 24 hours, keeping up to 15 versions (Drive backup).

• Scenario: press Alt + S, type c link, pick four support tabs from Current Tabs, add the shortcut support; c support reopens all four (Links).
• Skip it if: you need a timeline or automatic saving.
• Price: free and open source; the local version is 100% free, forever.

How do I move my sessions out of Session Buddy?

Back up first, then export, then import into one test collection.

1. Back up: gear icon, then Backup. The file holds all collections and history; keep it.
2. Export: gear icon, then Export. Pick collections and a format; plain text pastes most easily.
3. Import: Tab Session Manager imports Session Buddy directly; OneTab has its own import. For SuperCommands, open one exported collection and save it with c link.
4. Test: restart the browser and check one collection before moving the rest.

Which one should you pick?

• Pick Tab Session Manager if you want crash recovery and sync without paying.
• Pick OneTab if you just park tabs to free memory.
• Pick Workona or Toby if your sessions map to clients or projects.
• Pick SuperCommands if your sessions are fixed routines. See Chrome tab groups vs saved sessions or the tab manager comparison.

FAQ

Does Session Buddy sync between computers?

No. Its listing says opt-in cloud storage is planned. Tab Session Manager, Workona, Toby and OneTab all offer some sync.

Is there an open-source Session Buddy alternative?

Yes. Tab Session Manager (MPL-2.0) is the closest match; SuperCommands is also open source but saves tab sets on purpose rather than recording history.

Is Session Buddy still maintained?

Yes. It was updated April 28, 2026, carries the "Featured" badge and stores data locally.

Will restoring a session bring back what I typed into forms?

No tool here promises that. Restores reopen URLs only, so save drafts before closing tabs.