Toby is still one of the better-known Chrome tab managers, but it is no longer the obvious fit for every workflow. Toby 2.0 now combines Spaces, Collections, session saving, notes, search, sync, a side panel, and optional AI features. At the same time, its Starter plan limits saved tabs, and some advanced features sit behind paid plans.
If you mainly want a cleaner way to manage browser work, save research, restore sessions, or keep projects separate, there are several strong Toby alternatives worth considering in 2026.
TL;DR
Keeply is our first choice if you want tabs, saved links, notes, collections, and workspaces in one clean Chrome dashboard. Workona is better suited to project-heavy workflows and tab suspension. Session Buddy is excellent for session recovery, while OneTab is the simplest option for quickly clearing tab clutter. tabExtend, Raindrop.io, Tabme, and Tablerone are better fits for more specific visual, bookmark-first, side-panel, or privacy-focused workflows.
Best Toby alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | What stands out |
|---|---|---|
| Keeply | Organized browser work | Tabs, links, notes, collections, workspaces, search |
| Workona | Project-based workflows | Spaces, resources, sync, search, tab suspension |
| Session Buddy | Session recovery | Save, restore, crash recovery, local storage |
| OneTab | Fast tab cleanup | Turns open tabs into a simple restorable list |
| tabExtend | Visual planning | Dashboard, notes, reminders, shared workspaces |
| Raindrop.io | Bookmark-first organization | Collections, tags, highlights, full-text search |
| Tabme | Side-panel tab management | Vertical tabs, folders, sessions, tags, search |
| Tablerone | Local-first tab management | Sessions, notes, tags, workspaces, export, tab sleep |
Why look for an alternative to Toby?
Toby has changed significantly. The current version is not just a visual new-tab organizer anymore. It can save sessions, organize tabs into Collections and Spaces, sync across devices, search saved items, manage Chrome tab groups, keep notes, and use optional smart naming, sorting, and grouping features.
That makes Toby more capable, but also more structured. Its free Starter plan currently limits saved tabs to 60, while advanced search and duplicate removal are paid features. Some users may also prefer a simpler local-first tool, a bookmark-focused system, or a tab manager that does not center collaboration and account-based sync.
So the best Toby alternative depends less on finding a Toby clone and more on deciding which part of Toby you actually need.
1. Keeply: Best Toby alternative for organized browser work
Best for: people who want to manage tabs, saved links, notes, and projects from one Chrome workspace.
Keeply turns the Chrome new-tab page into a practical workspace. Your open tabs sit beside saved collections, so you can drag a tab directly into the collection where it belongs instead of leaving it open indefinitely. You can also save all open tabs, add a link manually with a title, URL, and description, and search the content you have already saved.
The structure is simple: Workspaces separate larger areas such as work, clients, study, or personal projects. Inside each workspace, Collections group the actual tabs and links. Notes have their own organized area, and import/export makes it easier to keep a portable backup of your saved collections.
Keeply is especially useful if what you liked about Toby was the idea of turning browser clutter into reusable project context, but you want tabs, links, and notes to stay closely connected. It follows a local-first approach with optional cloud sync when you need access across devices.
Where Keeply stands out
- Drag open tabs directly into collections.
- Save all open tabs when you want to clear the current session.
- Use workspaces to separate unrelated projects.
- Save links manually with useful descriptions.
- Keep notes alongside the rest of your browser organization.
- Search saved content from the main interface.
- Export collections to JSON and import them back later.
Read our complete Keeply overview if you want a closer look at how the interface works.
2. Workona: Best for project-heavy browser workflows
Best for: people who treat the browser as their main project workspace.
Workona organizes tabs into Spaces and lets you save useful pages as resources inside those spaces. Its broader product also includes task workflows, cross-device access, browser search, and a dedicated tab suspender that can reduce resource use by suspending inactive tabs.
Compared with Toby, Workona feels more focused on persistent work contexts than visual collections. If you regularly move between several client, company, or research projects, that model can be useful.
3. Session Buddy: Best for saving and recovering browser sessions
Best for: users who care more about reliable session recovery than a visual dashboard.
Session Buddy is a long-running Chrome session manager built around saving open tabs, restoring previous sessions, organizing collections, and recovering after crashes. Its current version keeps session data locally and does not currently provide cross-device sync.
This makes it a strong Toby alternative if your main problem is simple: you want to close a window without worrying that the session will disappear.
4. OneTab: Best for quickly clearing tab clutter
Best for: people who want the simplest possible tab-saving workflow.
OneTab has a very different philosophy from Toby. Click the extension and your open tabs become a list. You can restore them individually or together later. There are no elaborate project dashboards to learn.
That simplicity is the reason OneTab remains useful. If Toby feels like more system than you need, OneTab is the opposite. The trade-off is that it gives you much less structure for notes, projects, workspaces, and saved knowledge.
5. tabExtend: Best for visual planning, notes, and reminders
Best for: users who want their new tab page to work more like a visual planning board.
tabExtend combines tab management with a dashboard-style workspace. It supports drag-and-drop tab saving, notes, to-dos, reminders, search, shared workspaces, and sync to its mobile apps. Its layout is closer to a lightweight Kanban board than a traditional session manager.
If the visual organization of Toby is what attracts you, tabExtend is one of the more direct alternatives.
6. Raindrop.io: Best for bookmarks and long-term research
Best for: people who want a permanent library more than a live tab manager.
Raindrop.io is primarily a bookmark manager, but that makes it a useful Toby alternative for research-heavy workflows. It can save web pages, PDFs, videos, and other resources into collections, with tags, highlights, annotations, filters, and full-text search available across saved material.
It also works across major browsers and has desktop and mobile apps. Choose Raindrop.io when the real problem is not open tabs, but building a searchable knowledge library you can revisit for months or years.
7. Tabme: Best for side-panel and vertical-tab workflows
Best for: Chrome users who want open and saved tabs close at hand in the side panel.
Tabme combines a new-tab dashboard with Chrome side-panel tab management. It supports drag-and-drop saving, one-click session stashing and restoration, search across open and saved tabs, folders, tags, duplicate cleanup, vertical tabs, and optional Spaces and device sync on its paid tier.
It is a good fit if Toby’s new side-panel direction appeals to you but you want stronger emphasis on vertical tab handling.
8. Tablerone: Best for local-first privacy and detailed session control
Best for: users who want powerful tab/session management without an account.
Tablerone stores its application data locally and combines session saving with bookmarks, tags, notes, workspaces, search, screenshot previews, crash restoration, export options, and tab sleeping. It can also import data from tools such as OneTab and Session Buddy.
The interface is denser than Toby’s visual dashboard, but that can be an advantage if you care more about control, portability, and local storage than collaboration.
Which Toby alternative should you choose?
Start with the workflow that is frustrating you now.
- Choose Keeply if you want tabs, links, notes, collections, and workspaces in one organized Chrome dashboard.
- Choose Workona if your browser is organized around several active projects and you want tab suspension.
- Choose Session Buddy if dependable session saving and recovery matter most.
- Choose OneTab if you mainly want to close tabs now and restore them later.
- Choose tabExtend if you prefer visual boards, reminders, and planning.
- Choose Raindrop.io if your saved links should become a long-term searchable library.
- Choose Tabme if side-panel and vertical-tab management are important.
- Choose Tablerone if you want detailed local-first session management.
If you are still deciding whether you need this kind of tool at all, read what a tab manager does and when it is worth using one. You can also compare more options in our guide to the best tab manager extensions for Chrome.
Frequently asked questions about Toby alternatives
What is the best free alternative to Toby?
It depends on the job. OneTab is one of the simplest free options for clearing tab clutter. Session Buddy is strong for free local session management. Keeply is a better fit when you want a more organized workspace built around tabs, links, notes, collections, and workspaces.
Why are people looking for Toby alternatives?
Common reasons include wanting a simpler workflow, local-only storage, stronger session recovery, a bookmark-first system, or fewer limits on a free plan. Toby’s current Starter plan limits saved tabs and reserves some advanced features for paid plans.
Is Keeply similar to Toby?
There is overlap. Both can organize browser work into higher-level groups and collections. Keeply focuses on combining open tabs, saved links, notes, search, workspaces, and collections in one new-tab dashboard, with a local-first approach and optional cloud sync.
Is OneTab better than Toby?
OneTab is simpler, not necessarily broader. It is excellent when your main goal is converting many open tabs into a restorable list. Toby provides much more structure around Spaces, Collections, notes, sync, collaboration, and search.
Which Toby alternative is best for research?
Keeply works well when your research moves between active tabs, saved links, notes, and projects. Raindrop.io is a stronger fit when you are building a long-term bookmark and reference library with full-text search, highlights, and annotations.
