Comparison

Workona vs Tab Shelf: a whole desk, or just the shelf

Workona (around 200,000 users, roughly 4.6 stars) is more than a tab manager: workspaces, saved resources, tasks, notes and integrations with cloud apps, all synced to a Workona account. Its low reviews mention the limit on free workspaces, the account requirement and occasional lost workspaces after sign-out.

Tab Shelf does one thing — save and restore windows, with snapshots — and keeps it on your computer. If you need what Workona adds on top, Tab Shelf isn't a replacement.

Side by side

	Workona	Tab Shelf
What it is	Workspace manager (tabs + resources + tasks + notes)	Session saver with snapshots
Price	Free up to a number of workspaces · paid plans per month	Free, no limits · Pro €19 once
Account	Required	None
Sync and team sharing	Yes	No
Integrations (Drive, Notion, Slack…)	Yes	No
Automatic snapshots + crash recovery	Workspaces auto-save while open	Snapshots of all windows, history, restore selectively
Trash for deleted items	Limited	30 days
Data location	Workona's servers	Your browser only
Import from the other one	—	Workona export import (sections become tab groups)

Figures as observed on the Chrome Web Store in September 2026. Workona is a trademark of its owner; we are not affiliated.

When Workona is the better choice

If you organise projects, not just tabs — documents, tasks and notes next to the links — and you work across devices or with a team, Workona is the more complete tool and its price reflects that.

When Tab Shelf is the better choice

If all you want is "save this window, bring it back later, and don't lose anything in between", with no account and no monthly fee. Tab Shelf is smaller on purpose.

Moving over

Workona → Settings → Export your data. Import the file in Tab Shelf's manager: each workspace becomes a session and its sections become tab groups. Details on the migration page.

See Tab Shelf pricing