OneTab vs Session Buddy
Pick OneTab if you want to park your open tabs in one list. OneTab says this saves memory, which we have not tested. Pick Session Buddy if you want searchable collections and tab history to recover from after a restart or a crash. Both are free to install and need no account, and Session Buddy keeps data on your device by default. There is no single winner. They do different jobs.
OneTab vs Session Buddy at a glance
| Feature | OneTab | Session Buddy |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Collapse open tabs into one list | Save tabs into collections and recover them |
| What it saves | Your open tabs, into one list | Open tabs, into collections you can colour-code |
| Restore | One tab or the whole list | Collections, plus tab history to find closed tabs |
| Organize | Named groups, star the ones to keep | One search across open tabs, collections and history |
| Share | Export a group as a shareable web page | Import and export in several formats |
| Memory saving | OneTab's own page claims big memory savings; we haven't tested that | Not stated |
| Crash recovery | Not stated | Tab history helps you recover after a crash or restart, per the developer |
| Where data lives | In your browser; not sent to the developers unless you share a list, per OneTab | On your device by default; optional premium cloud collections in 4.2.0 |
| Account needed | No | No |
| Cloud sync | None described | Optional and premium (4.2.0) |
| Open source | Not stated | No public source code |
| Price | Free to install | Free to install; cloud collections are premium |
| Best for | Parking tabs in one list | Collections, search and crash recovery |
Which is better, OneTab or Session Buddy?
Neither is better overall. OneTab suits you if you want to park open tabs in one list, and it says this saves memory. Session Buddy suits you if you want searchable collections and crash recovery, though its developer advises backing up often. Both are free to install and need no account, so pick by the job.
A simple test: if you close tabs to make Chrome faster, use OneTab. If you are scared of losing tabs, use Session Buddy.
Is OneTab safe?
We can't promise any extension is safe, but OneTab's stated data practices are privacy-friendly. Its privacy page says tab information is not sent to the developers or any other party, except when you share a list as a web page. No account is needed. Whether its code is open source is not stated.
Before you install, read the permissions on its Chrome Web Store listing. Our how we choose page lists the two-minute checks we use.
Is Session Buddy safe?
No extension is guaranteed safe, but by default Session Buddy keeps your data close. Its files stay on your device and no sign-up is required. Version 4.2.0 adds an optional premium cloud feature. We found no public source code, so check its permissions and publisher on the Chrome Web Store before installing.
Our full check: Is Session Buddy safe?
Do they handle several windows?
We could not confirm either tool's multi-window behaviour from the vendor pages, so test it. Session Buddy keeps open tabs as collections, with one search across open tabs, collections and history. OneTab moves your open tabs into one list. Try each with two windows and a few throwaway tabs before you rely on it.
Which is better for a slow browser with too many tabs?
OneTab. One click moves your open tabs into a single list. OneTab's own page claims big memory savings; we haven't tested that. You can restore one tab or the whole list when you need them. Session Buddy's main strength is saving collections and recovering tabs, not freeing memory.
What if neither one fits?
Look at how your tabs pile up. Tab Wrangler closes idle tabs and keeps them in a list you can reopen, and it is open source. Toby and Workona organize tabs by project, and Workona syncs spaces across devices. Toby needs an account and stores saved tabs on its servers. All five are compared on our tab managers page.
- Tab Wrangler: hands-off cleanup of idle tabs
- Toby: collections and spaces for projects
- Workona: project spaces with cloud sync, for teams
Good to know
Keeping data local is good for privacy, but it means your saved tabs live in that one browser. We found no sync described for OneTab, and Session Buddy's cloud collections are optional and premium. If you need the same tabs on another computer, neither is built for that. Workona is the pick on our site that syncs across devices.
Read more
Both are third-party extensions, not built by Xplorekit. We link to the official Chrome Web Store listings. We don't show ratings or user counts because we can't verify them.