Tabwell vs Workona: which fits how you actually use Chrome?
Workona is built around workspaces — a hosted dashboard that gathers your tabs, docs, and links into projects you can reach from any device, as long as you sign in. The Tabwell vs Workona choice is really a choice between two models: a cloud-first workflow suite that requires an account, and a local-first session manager that does not. Workona's workspace concept is a genuine advantage if you want one hosted place to organize ongoing projects across machines and pull in resources beyond browser tabs — that breadth is real and Tabwell does not try to match it. The trade-offs are that Workona is cloud-first, puts basics behind a paywall, and does not use native Chrome tab groups; it replaces them with its own workspace abstraction. Tabwell takes the narrower, lighter path: it saves and restores real Chrome tab groups with their titles, the nine Chrome colors, and collapsed state intact through the chrome.tabGroups MV3 API, and every snapshot stays in IndexedDB on your device with no account, no server, and no telemetry by default. If you live inside Chrome's own tab groups and want them to survive a save and restore without handing your tab data to a cloud service, that gap is what this page is about.
Where Workona genuinely wins: the workspace model
Workona is more of a workflow suite than a session manager, and that is its strength. A Workona workspace is a hosted project space that holds browser tabs alongside docs and links, syncs across every device you sign in on, and gives a team-style dashboard for switching between long-running projects. If your problem is organizing many parallel projects across two or three machines and keeping non-tab resources next to them, Workona is built for exactly that and Tabwell is not. Tabwell is single-user, single-device by default and keeps no hosted dashboard, so it deliberately does less here.
Native Chrome tab groups vs a workspace abstraction
The trade-off for that breadth is that Workona does not use native Chrome tab groups. It models your work as workspaces in its own layer rather than the group titles, colors, and collapsed state Chrome itself maintains. Tabwell goes the other way: a snapshot records each tab's native group assignment, and a restore rebuilds every group through the chrome.tabGroups API, so three collapsed colored groups come back as three collapsed colored groups. If your day is organized by Chrome's own tab groups, Tabwell keeps that structure; a workspace tool asks you to reorganize around its model instead.
Account and cloud vs local-first storage
Workona is cloud-first and requires an account, and it gates basics behind a paywall. Tabwell requires neither. Every snapshot is written to IndexedDB on your device via dexie, tab URLs and titles never leave the machine, and the only network request is a license check to Polar that carries no tab data. There is no account and no server by default; cross-device sync is opt-in and stays local rather than living on a hosted dashboard. That is the line between the two: Workona's value depends on its cloud, and Tabwell's value depends on not having one.
Feature comparison
| Capability | Workona | Tabwell |
|---|---|---|
| Restores native Chrome tab groups (title, color, collapsed) | No — uses its own workspace model | Yes — via chrome.tabGroups |
| Account required | Yes | No |
| Storage | Cloud-first | Local in IndexedDB (dexie) |
| Hosted cross-device project dashboard | Yes | No — single-device, opt-in local sync |
| Telemetry / tab data leaves the device | Cloud-first by design | No by default |
When to choose Workona instead
Workona is the fair pick when your work is genuinely cross-device and project-shaped: you want one hosted dashboard that follows you between machines, you organize around workspaces rather than Chrome's native groups, and you are happy to keep an account and pay for the suite to get that breadth. Tabwell does not offer a hosted workspace dashboard and is not trying to. If a cloud project hub is the feature you came for, Workona answers that need and Tabwell does not.
FAQ
Does Workona require an account to use?
Yes. Workona is cloud-first and requires an account, and it puts basics behind a paywall. Tabwell needs no account: you install it from the Chrome Web Store and everything is stored locally in IndexedDB on your device.
Can Tabwell sync my tabs across devices the way Workona does?
Not as a hosted dashboard. That cross-device workspace is Workona's strength. Tabwell is local-first and single-device by default; cross-device sync is opt-in and stays local rather than living on a server, so there is no hosted project hub to sign in to.
Will my native Chrome tab groups survive a save and restore in Tabwell?
Yes. A Tabwell snapshot records each tab's native group assignment and rebuilds it through the chrome.tabGroups API, so group titles, the nine Chrome colors, and collapsed state come back intact. Workona organizes work into its own workspaces rather than restoring native Chrome tab groups.
How much does Tabwell cost?
Every install includes a 14-day Pro trial, no credit card required. After that, Free keeps your latest 5 snapshots; Pro is $3.99/month, $29/year, or a one-time $19 Founders license for the first 1000 buyers ($59 after). Refunds are 30-day, no questions asked.
Which Chrome version do I need to run Tabwell?
Chrome 114 or newer, because Tabwell uses the chrome.sidePanel API introduced in that release. It is built for Chrome on Manifest V3; Edge and other Chromium browsers may work but are not the supported target, and Firefox and Safari are not supported.