Best Session Buddy Alternative (2026): VertiTab Comparison
Disclosure: VertiTab is developed by the author's team. Session Buddy is evaluated based on publicly available data, official documentation, and Chrome Web Store information.
What Is the Best Session Buddy Alternative in 2026?
VertiTab is the strongest Session Buddy alternative if you need tab group preservation, cloud sync, or cross-browser support. Session Buddy (v4.1.2, 1M+ users, 4.7 rating) is excellent for basic session save/restore, but it still lacks tab group support, cloud sync, and multi-browser availability as of May 2026. VertiTab fills all three gaps while adding 4 restore modes, a full snapshot editor, and encrypted cloud sync.
Download VertiTab for Free -- supports Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave, Vivaldi, and Whale.
What Does Session Buddy Offer?
Session Buddy is a well-established Chrome session manager with over 1 million users and a 4.7 rating (25K+ reviews). Version 4 was a complete rewrite released in March 2024.
Session Buddy v4 strengths:
- Collections -- Save open tabs as named collections and restore them later
- History -- Automatic snapshots at time intervals
- Auto Backup (v4.1+) -- Local automatic backup of collections
- Search -- Find saved tabs sorted by relevance
- Multi-format export -- Copy/paste in Markdown, CSV, JSON, HTML
- Find duplicates -- Detect and handle duplicate tabs
- Batch tab loading -- Batches and suspends tabs when restoring large sessions
- Free -- All features available without payment
What Session Buddy still lacks (as of v4.1.2, April 2026):
- No tab group support -- Chrome tab groups are lost on restore. The official roadmap shows backend work is done but UI is incomplete
- No cloud sync -- Data lives only in the local browser. Many users cite this as their biggest disappointment. Planned but not released
- No drag-and-drop reordering -- Can't rearrange tabs or collections by dragging
- Chrome only -- No Edge, Firefox, or Brave versions yet
What Can VertiTab's Snapshot Feature Do?
Unlike Session Buddy's "save a URL list" approach, VertiTab snapshots capture the complete state of your browsing environment.
What a Snapshot Saves
- Tab URLs, titles, favicons, and pinned status
- Tab group names, colors, and collapsed state
- Window positions and sizes
- Custom window name, icon, and color
- Tab parent-child relationships (opening chain)
- Tab panel assignments
Four Restore Modes
| Mode | What It Does |
|---|---|
| New Windows | Creates new windows from the snapshot. Current work unaffected. |
| Current Window | Appends tabs to your current window. |
| Merge (auto-dedup) | Adds tabs but skips URLs already open. |
| Replace | Replaces current window's tabs with snapshot content. |
Each mode can be combined with: restore window position/size, restore tab groups, lazy load tabs, and restore tab panels.
Snapshot Editing
VertiTab snapshots are fully editable:
- Add tabs from your browser or by entering URLs manually
- Edit tab title, URL, and description
- Drag and drop to reorder tabs, groups, and windows
- Move tabs between windows and groups within a snapshot
- Move entire windows or groups to other snapshots
- Batch operations -- select multiple tabs to open, delete, or move
Auto and Manual Snapshots
- Auto snapshots on browser startup and when tab count changes significantly
- Manual snapshots with custom names and descriptions
- Pin important snapshots to prevent auto-cleanup
- Password-protect sensitive snapshots
Cloud Sync and Export
- Sync snapshots between computers via encrypted cloud
- Export in 7 formats: URL, Title, Title+URL, Markdown, JSON, CSV, HTML
How Do Session Buddy and VertiTab Compare?
| Feature | Session Buddy (v4.1.2) | VertiTab Snapshot |
|---|---|---|
| Save Tab URLs & Titles | Yes | Yes |
| Save Tab Groups | Planned | Yes |
| Save Window Position & Size | No | Yes |
| Cloud Sync | Planned | Yes |
| URL Dedup on Restore | No | Yes (Merge mode) |
| Lazy Load Restore | Partial (batch + suspend) | Yes |
| Restore Modes | 1 | 4 |
| Selective Restore | Yes | Yes |
| Auto Snapshots | Yes | Yes |
| Snapshot Editing | Title & URL only | Full editor |
| Drag & Drop Reorder | No | Yes |
| Cross-Snapshot Move | No | Yes |
| Batch Operations | No | Yes |
| Password Protection | No | Yes |
| Data Export | Multi-format | 7 formats |
| Multi-Browser | Chrome only | Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave, Vivaldi, Whale |
| Free | Yes | Yes (core features) |
| Users | 1,000,000+ | 10,000+ |
| Rating | 4.7 | 4.7 |
How Do They Handle Real-World Scenarios?
Continue work at home
Session Buddy: Save a collection at work. Get home -- the collection is on the work computer. You'd need to export a file and transfer it manually.
VertiTab: Snapshot auto-syncs via cloud. At home, view and restore the exact tabs you had open -- including tab groups and window positions.
Browser crash recovery
Session Buddy: History shows a pre-crash snapshot. Tabs restore, but tab group structure is lost.
VertiTab: Auto-snapshot list shows recent states. Select the right time point, and tab groups plus window layout are fully restored.
Restoring a large number of tabs
Session Buddy: Batch-opens and suspends some tabs for memory optimization.
VertiTab: Check "Lazy Load" -- tabs appear instantly but load only when clicked. Even 100 tabs restore without lag.
When Should You Stick with Session Buddy?
Session Buddy is still a good choice if:
- You only need basic save/restore of URL lists without tab group or window layout requirements
- You prefer Session Buddy's collection-based organization system
- You want a lightweight extension focused purely on session management
- You're waiting for Session Buddy to add tab groups and cloud sync (both are on the official roadmap)
How to Migrate from Session Buddy to VertiTab
- In Session Buddy, export your collections as a JSON file
- In VertiTab, go to the snapshot management page
- Select "Import from Other Extensions" in the bottom-left menu
- Your Session Buddy collections become VertiTab snapshots
Both extensions can run simultaneously -- there's no conflict.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is VertiTab's snapshot feature free?
The core snapshot features (create, edit, restore, export) are free. Premium unlocks more snapshot slots, cloud sync, and advanced features. See the Free vs Premium comparison.
Will Session Buddy add tab groups and cloud sync?
According to Session Buddy's official roadmap, both features are planned and the backend work is complete. However, as of v4.1.2 (April 2026), neither has been released.
Do I have to use VertiTab's sidebar to use snapshots?
No. Snapshot and cloud sync are independent modules. You can use just the snapshot feature without ever opening the side panel.
What browsers does VertiTab support?
Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave, Vivaldi, Whale, and other Chromium-based browsers.
How much storage do snapshots use?
Snapshots save tab metadata (URLs, titles, window positions), not page content. Each snapshot is typically a few KB to tens of KB.
Can I use both extensions at the same time?
Yes. Session Buddy and VertiTab don't conflict. You can migrate gradually or use both for different purposes.
Related reading:
- How to Recover Closed Chrome Tabs from Snapshots
- Snapshot Restore Technical Guide
- How to Sync Tabs Across Chrome, Edge & Firefox
- Best Chrome Tab Manager Extensions 2026