The best new tab extensions for Chrome
You see the new tab more often than any other page and design it less often than any other. Chrome itself gives you a background image and a handful of shortcuts — everything beyond that is an extension’s job.
The choice is wide and the differences run deeper than the screenshots suggest. Three questions separate the candidates reliably: does the tab show content on its own, or only what you put there? Does it need an account? And do your settings live on your device or on someone else’s server?
So this list is ordered by use case, not as a ranking. Every entry says what it does well — and where it stops.
Disclosure: NX1 is our own extension. We therefore did not award it a place; it is sorted by use case like everything else, and the limits of our own product are stated on this page just like everyone else’s. All statements about third-party extensions refer to the date given at the bottom.
The short version
| Calm, and one goal for the day | Momentum |
|---|---|
| Content per topic: links, news, live widgets | NX1 |
| Open source, no account, everything local | Tabliss or Bonjourr |
| The same tab on Safari and iPhone | Bonjourr |
| As much as possible on one surface | Infinity New Tab |
| Tiles only — but many, and organized | Speed Dial 2 |
| Saving whole research sessions | Toby |
| A shared start page for a team | start.me |
The eight candidates in detail
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Momentum
A focus dashboard: daily photo, greeting, one goal for the day, a todo list.
- Best for
- A calm start with nothing in the way
- What it does well
- Momentum set the standard for the quiet approach. The page is uncluttered, the photo carries the day, and asking for one daily focus is one of the few product ideas people still use years later.
- Where it stops
- Content is deliberately out of scope — no news, no live data, no topics. Syncing between devices needs an account, and part of the feature set sits behind the paid Plus tier.
-
NX1
our own productTopic start pages: each topic gets its own tiles, news feed, search and live widgets.
- Best for
- A tab that shows content, not just a picture
- What it does well
- Instead of one pile of tiles for everything, each topic gets its own page — football, Minecraft, shopping, finance — switched with a click. A start page for any topic is built by AI from its name. Sync runs on a device pairing code, without an account.
- Where it stops
- As an extension NX1 runs in Chromium browsers only; in Firefox, Safari and on mobile you use the web app. And NX1 is the youngest product on this list — the established names here have more years and considerably more reviews behind them.
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Tabliss
An open-source, freely composable start page made of a background plus widgets.
- Best for
- Customization without an account or a cloud
- What it does well
- Tabliss is open to inspection, asks for no sign-in and keeps everything locally in the browser. If you want to decide which widget sits where, and care that nothing leaves the device, this is the one. Runs in Firefox and Edge too.
- Where it stops
- Tabliss brings no content of its own — the widgets show what you feed them, and there is neither news nor live data. If you want your setup to line up between computer and phone, check first how far the project covers that.
-
Bonjourr
An open-source, iOS-inspired start page — calm, fast, no sign-in.
- Best for
- The same calm tab on Safari and iPhone too
- What it does well
- Bonjourr is the tidiest-looking pick here and the only entry that reaches beyond Chromium to Safari. Open source, by its own account with no sign-in and no ads — plus custom CSS and a pomodoro timer.
- Where it stops
- Content and live data are deliberately not the goal — Bonjourr wants to be beautiful and fast, not informative. And as with Tabliss: if you want the same setup on several devices, check that before you commit.
-
Infinity New Tab
A dense tile surface with bookmarks, history, notes, weather and tasks.
- Best for
- A packed dashboard on a single surface
- What it does well
- Infinity puts more on one surface than anything else here, and it is popular for exactly that. If you want your history, your notes and your tiles without a single further click, it delivers.
- Where it stops
- That same density is the trade-off: the tab is full before you have set anything up. Backup and sync run through a sign-in, and part of the feature set belongs to the Pro edition.
-
Speed Dial 2
The classic speed-dial grid: your sites as tiles, arranged in groups.
- Best for
- Many tiles, sorted into groups
- What it does well
- If you read the new tab purely as a launchpad, this is the most mature version of that idea — unlimited entries and groups, with nothing else competing for the space.
- Where it stops
- Sync across devices and browsers depends on the paid Pro account. Beyond the tiles, the page deliberately does nothing.
-
Toby
A session manager in the new tab: save open tabs as a collection and restore them later.
- Best for
- Keeping whole tab sessions instead of single links
- What it does well
- For research this is the best idea on the list: twenty open tabs move into a collection with one click and come back the same way. For project work it replaces a lot of bookmark folders.
- Where it stops
- Toby is a tool first and a start page second — the view is not trying to be beautiful. Free for personal use, with sync running through an account.
-
start.me
A widget-rich personal homepage that can be shared and maintained together.
- Best for
- One shared start page for a team
- What it does well
- start.me is less a browser extension than a hosted start page, and it shines where several people need the same link collection — pages can be published and maintained as a team.
- Where it stops
- Nothing works without an account here, because the page lives on the server rather than in the browser. Part of the feature set belongs to the paid plans.
How we sorted them
What the tab shows before you click
The biggest dividing line in the field: some extensions are an empty stage you fill yourself. Others bring content with them — news, prices, live scores. Both are legitimate, but they are not the same product.
What it asks for in return
An account is not a scandal, but it is a decision. For every entry we state whether syncing between devices needs a sign-in — and whether it costs money.
Where your settings live
Locally in the browser, or on the vendor’s server. With open-source projects you can additionally read what actually happens; that is the case for Tabliss and Bonjourr.
Whether you can get back out
A new tab extension occupies the page you open most often. Every candidate here can be removed without residue — but you should know how before you install the first one.
Before installing: check three things
First, the permissions in the Chrome Web Store — an extension that replaces the new tab does not need access to "all your data on all websites" to do it. Second, what happens to bookmarks and history if it touches them. Third, whether you can try it without an account. And if the way back matters to you already, our guide covers it.
If Chrome alone is enough for you
Not every change needs an extension. Background image, shortcuts and colour are Chrome’s own job, as are the pages that open on startup. Only when you want content, folders or several views do you hit the limit of the built-in options — the guide walks through exactly where that limit sits.
Frequently asked questions
Which new tab extension is the best?
It depends on what the tab should do for you. For a calm start with no distraction Momentum sets the standard, for content per topic NX1, for maximum customization without an account Tabliss or Bonjourr. There is no universal number one — which is why this list is ordered by use case.
Are new tab extensions safe?
They are as safe as the permissions they ask for. Replacing the new tab alone requires no access to all websites. Check the permission list in the Chrome Web Store, look for a privacy policy, and when in doubt prefer an open-source project whose code can be read.
Do I need an account for a new tab extension?
No. Tabliss, Bonjourr and NX1 work without a sign-in; with NX1 even device pairing runs on a code instead of a login. With Momentum, Infinity, Toby and start.me, syncing between devices does depend on an account.
How do I get rid of a new tab extension?
Open the three-dot menu, go to Extensions, and disable or remove the entry — the new tab immediately shows Chrome’s own page again. Disabling is enough for a quick test; you do not have to uninstall.
Can I use several new tab extensions at once?
No. Chrome only ever lets one extension take over the New Tab page. If you install a second one Chrome asks, and the last one you confirm wins; the other stays installed but no longer sees the new tab.
As of: October 2026 · Statements about third-party extensions are made to the best of our knowledge as of the stated date, without guarantee — feature sets, account requirements and pricing models can change at any time. All trademarks and product names belong to their respective owners; NX1 is not affiliated with any of the vendors mentioned.