Tab Shelf vs Session Buddy: sessions or a shelf?
Updated October 27, 2026
Session Buddy has been a Chrome favourite for years. Here is where Tab Shelf is different, and where Session Buddy is the better pick.
Session Buddy saves your windows as sessions, restores them with their layout, and lets you copy tabs as links, Markdown, CSV or JSON. Tab Shelf is lighter: one click keeps the tabs you are using, saves the rest grouped by site, and lets you search them. Choose Session Buddy for session history and crash recovery. Choose Tab Shelf for fast, automatic clearing.
Tab Shelf and Session Buddy at a glance
| Tab Shelf | Session Buddy | |
|---|---|---|
| Main idea | A shelf of tabs you aren't using, grouped by site | Saved sessions of your windows, plus bookmarks in collections |
| Price | Free. Pro is $4.99 once | Free |
| Account | None | None |
| Clearing tabs | One click keeps your current tab and your last few active tabs | Save and close the tabs or windows you choose |
| How the list is organised | By when you cleaned, then by site | By session, with window layout kept |
| Restoring | One tab, a whole session, or Smart restore three at a time | To the original windows, one window, or the current window |
| History and crash recovery | No automatic history | Yes. A timeline of past tabs, and recovery after a crash |
| Copying tabs out | Export links as a text file, or a full backup file | Copy as links, Markdown, CSV or JSON |
| Bookmarks | No | Yes, in collections |
| Reopen at scroll position or video time | Yes, in Pro (Resume Points) | No |
| Shelve idle tabs automatically | Yes, in Pro (Autopilot) | No |
Where Session Buddy is stronger
- Time travel. It keeps a timeline, so you can open what you had at a given moment, including after a browser crash or restart.
- Window layout. Restoring brings back window positions, pinned tabs and incognito state.
- Copying tabs out. You can copy a set of tabs as plain links, Markdown, CSV or JSON.
- Bookmarks too. Collections let you keep tabs and bookmarks in one place.
Where Tab Shelf is stronger
- One decision instead of many. You don't pick tabs or windows. Press the shortcut and your current tab and recent tabs stay while the rest go to the shelf.
- Grouped by site. All your GitHub tabs, or all your article tabs, sit together, so a shelf with hundreds of tabs still reads clearly.
- Smart restore. Reopen three tabs at a time: your last round, your work sites, your entertainment sites, or a random pick.
- Pro touches. Resume Points bring a tab back where you left it. Autopilot shelves tabs you haven't touched in a while.
Which one should you use?
Choose Session Buddy if
- you want a timeline you can scroll back through.
- you restore full windows with their layout.
- you copy tab lists into notes as Markdown, CSV or JSON.
Choose Tab Shelf if
- you want tabs cleared in one keystroke.
- you want the shelf grouped by site and searchable.
- you want long pages to reopen where you stopped.
Using both
They do not conflict. Some people keep Session Buddy as a safety net for crashes and use Tab Shelf day to day. To bring old sessions across, copy a session's tabs as links and use Import on your shelf.
Sources
Facts about other products come from their own sites, checked on October 27, 2026. Plans and prices change, so confirm before you buy.
Questions
Is Tab Shelf better than Session Buddy?
They suit different habits. Session Buddy is better for history, crash recovery and copying tabs out in several formats. Tab Shelf is faster for clearing tabs and better at keeping a large list findable by site.
Is Session Buddy free?
Yes, Session Buddy is free to use. Tab Shelf is free too, with an optional $4.99 one-time Pro upgrade.
Can I move my Session Buddy sessions to Tab Shelf?
Yes. Copy the tabs from a session as links, then paste them into Import on your shelf. Tab Shelf saves them as one session.
Does Tab Shelf recover tabs after a crash?
Tab Shelf saves tabs when you clean, not on a timer, so it is not a crash recovery tool. Your browser's own restore and Session Buddy's timeline cover that.
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