Best Tab Managers for Chrome

Updated October 2026

How to choose a tab manager extension

All eight picks help with too many open tabs, but they solve different problems. Start with the one that matches how your tabs pile up.

• Saving memory. OneTab collapses every open tab into one list. Its own page claims big memory savings; we haven't tested that. Workona has built-in tab suspension for inactive tabs instead. Auto Tab Discard unloads inactive tabs from memory but leaves them in your tab strip. The Marvellous Suspender suspends idle tabs after a time you set, to free memory and CPU.
• Saving and restoring sessions. Session Buddy saves open tabs into collections you can search, and its tab history helps you recover after a crash. Tab Session Manager also saves your windows and tabs as sessions, by hand or automatically.
• Workspaces for projects. Toby groups tabs into collections and spaces. Workona gives each project its own space for tabs and resources.
• Auto-closing idle tabs. Tab Wrangler closes tabs left unused for a time you set, and keeps them in a list you can reopen.
• Sync and accounts. Workona syncs spaces to the cloud across devices. OneTab and Session Buddy need no account. Session Buddy keeps data on your device by default, with an optional premium cloud feature, and OneTab says it sends tab data nowhere unless you share a list. Toby needs an account and keeps the tabs you save on its servers.

Our picks at a glance

Comparisons and alternatives

• OneTab vs Session Buddy: save tabs to free memory, or back up whole sessions
• Toby vs OneTab: account-based project tabs, or a local list with no account
• Toby vs Session Buddy: tabs on Toby's servers, or files on your own device
• OneTab alternatives: four tab managers to try instead
• Toby alternatives: five tab managers to try instead, by account and where saved tabs live
• Session Buddy alternatives: five tab managers to try instead, for sessions, projects or cleanup
• The Great Suspender alternatives: five ways to free memory from idle tabs
• Auto Tab Discard vs The Marvellous Suspender: Chrome's own tab discarding, or a tunable suspender with backup

Which is the best tab manager extension for Chrome?

For most people, OneTab is the simplest choice. One click moves every open tab into a single list, and lets you restore them later. OneTab's privacy page says tab data is not sent to its developers unless you share a list. It needs no account. If you manage several projects, Toby or Workona fit better.

How do I save all my open tabs in Chrome?

Session Buddy and OneTab both save your open tabs. Session Buddy keeps them as collections you can colour-code and search. OneTab moves them into one list you can restore later. Toby lists full session save and restore on the Chrome Web Store, and it needs an account. Check each tool's page for how it handles several windows.

How can I reduce Chrome memory use from too many tabs?

Five ways. OneTab parks all tabs in a list (its page claims big savings; untested by us). Workona has built-in tab suspension. Tab Wrangler closes idle tabs, not pinned or audio ones. Auto Tab Discard unloads a tab’s page using Chrome’s native discarding, leaving it in your strip. The Marvellous Suspender suspends unused tabs after a set time.

How do I restore my tabs after Chrome crashes?

Session Buddy's tab history is built for this. The developer says it lets you find closed tabs and recover after a crash or restart. Save a collection before trouble starts for a set you want to keep. Its data stays on your device by default, so back it up yourself. Tab Wrangler also keeps closed tabs in a searchable list.

Which tab manager is best for organizing work projects?

Workona suits people running several active projects, especially in a team. Each project gets its own space for tabs and resources, spaces sync through the cloud, and you can share them with teammates. Toby is a good alternative for solo work, with collections, spaces and a side panel. Both need an account, and both have free plans with limits.

Which tab manager saves sessions automatically?

Tab Session Manager. It saves the state of your windows and tabs as a session, by hand or automatically, and brings it back later. It is free and open source under MPL-2.0. We could not confirm whether it saves private-window sessions, so check its settings before you rely on it.

Which extension frees memory without closing my tabs?

Auto Tab Discard. It uses Chrome’s native tab discarding to reduce the memory use of inactive tabs, and a discarded tab stays in your tab strip. It is open source under MPL-2.0. We could not confirm whether discarding can lose unsaved work, so save forms and drafts first and check its whitelist settings.

Which tab suspender is an open-source successor to The Great Suspender?

The Marvellous Suspender. It is based on The Great Suspender, it is open source under GPL-2.0, and it suspends tabs that have not been used for a time you set. You can whitelist sites you need awake. It asks for access to all http and https sites and your history, so install it only if you trust the project.

Also see: Best Chrome extensions for remote work.