Compare tab managers
Moving on from OneTab, Session Buddy or Toby? Bring your tabs with you.
Import your saved lists in a minute, then add reminders, one search for your whole library, automatic tab management and ways to recover what you close.
Switch in four steps
- Install Smart Tab Saver from the Chrome Web Store. You do not need an account.
- Export your tabs from your current extension, as described below.
- Open Import from other apps in the Smart Tab Saver dashboard, on the Sessions page, and paste the text or choose the exported file.
- Check and confirm. You see how many pages and groups were found before anything is saved. Your other extension keeps its lists, so you can try both side by side.
What to export from each one
- OneTab: use its export option to copy all your tabs as a list of addresses, or use Copy to clipboard on a group with the “URL and title” or Markdown format. Each OneTab group becomes its own session, named after its main sites.
- Toby: export your collections as HTML, or as TXT for a plain list. With HTML, each collection becomes its own session with its name.
- Session Buddy: export a collection as URLs or CSV. The pages arrive together in one new session; group names are not carried over.
- Pocket, Instapaper and browser bookmarks: their CSV and HTML exports work too, as do plain lists of links and Markdown.
Tab Session Manager exports its own JSON format, which Smart Tab Saver cannot read yet.
How they compare
How to read this table: “Yes” and “No” follow each product's official website, help pages, store listing and, where we could install it, its settings, checked on 30 October 2026. A dash (—) means we found no mention of the feature there, so it is probably not available.
| Feature | Smart Tab Saver | OneTab | Session Buddy | Toby | Tab Session Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Save tabs | A whole window or chosen tabs, keeping them open or closing them; a single page or link from the right-click menu | The window, the current tab group, the current tab, tabs to the left or right, or all windows; a popup to choose tabs | A whole window in one click | All open tabs in one click | Windows and tabs, also automatically |
| Organize | Named sessions with notes, plus Pocket for pages to sort later | Groups and folders, locked and pinned groups, stars, tasks, archived marks and notes on each tab | Collections you can color and pin | Spaces and collections, with tags and notes | Named sessions with tags |
| Search | Open tabs, sessions, Pocket, history and, with permission, bookmarks; also from the address bar | Its saved tabs and folders; also from the address bar | Open tabs, collections and tab history | Spaces by title, link or note, plus open tabs and history | — |
| Reminders to come back to a page or session | Yes, on every browser you sync | — | — | — | — |
| Automatic handling of inactive tabs | Suspend, disable or close after a tab limit and idle time, with protected sites | No; you choose when to send tabs. Restored tabs can be kept out of memory until you open them | No; closing related tabs is a manual action | — | — |
| Recover after a crash or a mistake | Trash with undo, window recovery points every 10 minutes and 30 days of cloud copies | — | Crash recovery, tab history and automatic backups | — | Automatic saves when a window closes and at set intervals |
| Keep a window and a session in step | Linked windows; switch a window to another session | — | — | — | — |
| Sync between devices | Optional free account, over HTTPS | Optional, end-to-end encrypted (AES-256) | No; everything stays on your device | Yes, with sign-in | Yes, cloud sync |
| Share | Choose pages for a public web page, with expiry and optional note; copy links | Share a group as a web page; copy links as text, Markdown or rich text | Copy as links, Markdown, CSV or JSON | Share a collection as a link; team spaces | — |
| Import | OneTab, Toby HTML or TXT, Session Buddy URLs or CSV, Pocket, Instapaper, bookmark files, link lists and Markdown | Lists of URLs | Over 15 text formats, including JSON, CSV and HTML | Yes | Its own sessions and Session Buddy |
| Optional AI | Chrome's built-in AI, or your own OpenAI, Perplexity or Anthropic key | — | — | Smart Sort groups related tabs | — |
| Where it runs | Chrome and Chromium-based browsers such as Edge and Brave | Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari | Chrome | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, the web, iOS and Android | Chrome, Firefox and Edge |
| Cost | Free | Free to install | Free, no sign-in | Free up to 60 saved tabs; paid plans from $4.50 a month | Free and open source |
Sources: OneTab help, listing and settings page (version 2.25), Session Buddy and its formats, Toby, its pricing and export help, and the Tab Session Manager listing (version 7.4.0). Prices may change. If something here is out of date, let us know and we will correct it.
Which one fits you
Smart Tab Saver may suit you better if
- you save tabs to read later and want a reminder when the time comes, on whichever computer you are using;
- you want one search for open tabs, saved pages, history and bookmarks;
- you would like inactive tabs handled for you, with a recoverable copy before anything closes;
- you switch between projects and want each one to live in its own window;
- you want all of this free, with AI that can run on your computer.
Another tool may suit you better if
- OneTab: you prefer one click and one list, like many ways to send tabs with keyboard shortcuts, use Firefox or Safari, or want end-to-end encrypted sync.
- Session Buddy: you want everything kept only on your device, with automatic crash recovery and a detailed tab history.
- Toby: you organize links with a team, or need mobile and web apps.
- Tab Session Manager: you use Firefox and want automatic, scheduled saves from an open-source tool.
Questions about switching
Will importing change my lists in the other extension?
No. Smart Tab Saver reads the copy you paste or choose, and the other extension keeps its own data. Remove it there only when you are happy with the result.
Do I need an account?
No. Saving, importing, search, reminders on this computer and tab management work without one. An optional free account adds sync between computers, reminders on every device and shared web pages.
Do my groups and collections come across?
OneTab groups and Toby collections exported as HTML become separate sessions. Session Buddy exports arrive as one session. Afterwards you can rename and sort sessions, or drag pages from one session to another.
Is Smart Tab Saver connected to these extensions?
No. Smart Tab Saver is made by JavocSoft and is not affiliated with or endorsed by OneTab, Session Buddy, Toby, Tab Session Manager or their developers. Their names are trademarks of their owners and are used here only to compare features.