What is the best free alternative to OneTab?

Simmer and Session Buddy are both free and need no account. Simmer sorts your open tabs into tasks and brings a whole task back in one click; Session Buddy saves and restores whole sessions.

Is there a OneTab alternative that groups tabs automatically?

Yes. Simmer works out which tabs belong together on its own, from what opened what, your Chrome tab groups and a model that compares tab titles on your computer.

Can I use OneTab and Simmer together?

Yes. They don't conflict. Many people keep OneTab's old list while Simmer handles the tabs they open from now on.

Does Simmer have OneTab's sync?

No. What Simmer saves stays on your computer. If you save put-away tabs to bookmarks too, those sync wherever Chrome syncs bookmarks.

A OneTab alternative that sorts your tabs for you

Updated 6 November 2026, by Addo Bari, who makes Simmer

Short answer

If you like OneTab's clean window but end up with one long list you never sort, try Simmer. Like OneTab it is free and keeps your tabs on your computer. Unlike OneTab it works out which tabs belong together for you, so you put away one task at a time and bring every tab of it back in one click, in its group. Session Buddy is the other free choice, if what you want back is a whole session after a crash.

A pot on a low blue flame in a dark kitchen

We make Simmer, so read this with that in mind. What we say about OneTab comes from its own site, checked in November 2026.

What OneTab does well

One click and every tab in the window closes into a single list, newest first. It is fast, free and needs no account, and it frees memory straight away. You can name groups, lock them, restore one tab or a whole group, and share a list as a web page. Optional sync between devices is end-to-end encrypted.

Where one list runs out

The sorting is yours. A window's tabs arrive as one block, whatever they were for. Splitting it into trips, purchases and bugs is up to you.
All or nothing. The button sends the whole window. Keeping the three tabs you're using means picking them out first.
The list grows. Months of blocks become a page you scroll rather than read.

How Simmer works instead

	OneTab	Simmer
Who sorts the tabs	You, after they're saved	Simmer, from what opened what, tab groups and tab titles
What a click closes	The whole window	One task, or every task you aren't using
Bringing tabs back	One tab or a saved block	A whole task, in its tab group
Mail, chat, calendars	Closed with the rest unless excluded	Kept open by themselves
Undo	Restore from the list	Everything listed under Recently with Undo
Account	Only for sync	None
Sync	Optional, encrypted	None of its own; saved tabs can go to bookmarks, which Chrome syncs
Price	Free	Free

Moving from OneTab to Simmer

Keep OneTab's list safe. In OneTab, choose Export URLs and keep the text somewhere, or leave OneTab installed until you're sure.
Add Simmer and open your tabs. Restore the OneTab groups you still need. Simmer reads the open tabs and changes nothing yet.
Press Start. Your tabs appear as a short list of tasks. Put away the ones you aren't working on.

When to stay with OneTab

If you need the same saved tabs on several computers, OneTab's sync does that and Simmer doesn't. If you want every window back after a crash, Session Buddy is built for it. The full comparison covers Toby and Workona too.

Questions

What is the best free alternative to OneTab?: Simmer and Session Buddy are both free and need no account. Simmer sorts your open tabs into tasks and brings a whole task back in one click; Session Buddy saves and restores whole sessions.
Is there a OneTab alternative that groups tabs automatically?: Yes. Simmer works out which tabs belong together on its own, from what opened what, your Chrome tab groups and a model that compares tab titles on your computer.
Can I use OneTab and Simmer together?: Yes. They don't conflict. Many people keep OneTab's old list while Simmer handles the tabs they open from now on.
Does Simmer have OneTab's sync?: No. What Simmer saves stays on your computer. If you save put-away tabs to bookmarks too, those sync wherever Chrome syncs bookmarks.