The lightweight Toby alternative — local, free, no account
Toby is a powerful visual tab organizer. But it now requires an account, syncs your collections to its cloud, and its free plan is capped. If that's why you're looking to switch, Session Manager is the minimal, private, unlimited alternative — it just saves and restores your tabs, entirely on your device.
Add to Chrome — It's freeWhy people leave Toby
Toby pioneered the visual "boards of tabs" experience, and for teams who live inside it, it's genuinely great. But three recurring frictions push solo users to look elsewhere:
1. The mandatory account. You sign up before you can really use it.
2. The cloud. Your collections live on Toby's servers and need a connection to load.
3. The free-tier caps. As of 2026, the free plan is limited to roughly 60 cards,
3 collections and 1 workspace; going beyond means a paid subscription.
None of those are dealbreakers if you want boards and collaboration. They're dealbreakers if you just want to save a set of tabs and get them back later, privately.
Session Manager vs Toby — side by side
| Session Manager | Toby | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free & unlimited | Free tier capped · paid from ~$4.50/mo |
| Account required | No | Yes |
| Data storage | 100% local (your device) | Cloud (Toby servers) |
| Works fully offline | Yes | Needs connection to load |
| Export to JSON | Yes | — |
| Preview tabs before restoring | Yes | Yes |
| Restore in current window | Yes | Opens collection |
| Visual drag-and-drop boards | No | Yes |
| Team collaboration & integrations | No | Yes (paid) |
| Interface languages | 5 | English |
| Keyboard shortcut | Alt+S | Yes |
Which one should you pick?
Stick with Toby if…
- You want visual, drag-and-drop boards of tabs
- You collaborate with a team on shared collections
- You rely on Slack / Notion integrations
- Cross-device cloud sync matters more than privacy
Switch to Session Manager if…
- You just want to save & restore tab sessions
- You don't want to create an account
- You want your data to stay on your device
- You want it free, unlimited, with no caps
- You want to own & export your data as JSON
Frequently asked questions
Is Session Manager really free?
Yes — completely free, no paid tier, and no cap on the number of sessions or tabs.
Do I need an account?
No. Install it and use it immediately. There's no sign-in of any kind.
Where is my data stored?
Locally, via the browser's chrome.storage.local. Nothing ever leaves your device.
Can I import my data from Toby?
Not directly — Toby doesn't export to a compatible format. Session Manager has its own JSON export/import so you can back up and move your sessions freely.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Because everything is local, it works with no connection at all.
Try the private, local Toby alternative
Free. No account. Your tabs never leave your device.
Add to Chrome — It's freeComparison based on publicly available information about Toby as of June 2026. Toby pricing and features may change — check gettoby.com for current details. Session Manager is an independent project and is not affiliated with Toby.