Ferdium vs Shift (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Ferdium grades higher than Shift: 2.8 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Ferdium grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Shift
Build-your-own desktop browser for multiple inboxes, apps and Spaces
Which one is for you
Pick Ferdium if
- Fits if you juggle several chat and email accounts on one computer
- Works for people who want to use it without an account
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a phone app, as it is desktop only
- Watch out: signed releases carry a maintainer's personal name as the publisher, so OS warnings may appear
- Tight if you want installers from the site, as downloads go through GitHub and package managers
- Not for you if you want stable and beta side by side, as the builds cannot be installed together
Pick Shift if
- Fits if you check three or four Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo inboxes every day
- Works for keeping each client in its own Space, with its own apps, tabs and logins
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you outgrow the free plan, at $19.99 a month against $7 for Rambox Pro
- Skip it if you're on Linux or want it on your phone, as it's Mac and Windows only
- Tight if you need more than 5 Spaces, or more than 10 apps in a Space, without paying
- Watch out: free Shift AI is only described as limited, with no number given
- Watch out: team billing isn't priced publicly, and refunds are only within 14 days of a payment
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAFerdiumGood | 2.0GPAShiftFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree, with no paid plans or service limits listed. | DAdvanced is $19.99 a month, or $199.99 a year, which is exactly where this category's dearest tenth begins. The two apps doing the same job cost a fraction: Rambox Pro $7, Wavebox Pro $8.33 paid annually. For the gap you get unlimited Spaces, more Shift AI and support that will video-call you. |
| Free plan and trial | AEvery feature is free, with or without a Ferdium account. | BFree forever with 5 Spaces and 10 apps in each, which is 50 apps in all. A freelancer with six clients will run out of Spaces, and Shift AI is described only as limited, with no number against it. |
| Features | CServices in one place, workspaces, custom services and hibernation. It does that one job fully, but it is a smaller job than a full workspace suite. | CFor a pile of accounts it covers the job: Spaces with their own apps, tabs and extensions, several logins per app, Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo inboxes side by side, 4,500-odd apps in the library and any Chrome extension. That's a smaller job than a browser's, and it's the whole of what Shift does. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and you add and sign in to each service yourself. | CNo rating on record, and the headline feature is that you build the thing yourself: apps, bars and controls dragged where you want them. Templates spare you the blank page, but there are still Spaces to plan and several email accounts to sign into. |
| Platforms and integrations | CDesktop only: macOS, Windows and Linux. No mobile app or API is listed. | CDesktop only, and only two of them: Mac and Windows. No Linux, no phone, so whatever you build stays on that one machine. Chrome extensions and the 4,500-app library are what it reaches instead. |
| Best for | all your web services in one desktop window | several email accounts in one desktop window |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Ferdium and Shift. How we grade
Price against what you get
Ferdium has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Shift starts at $16.67 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Ferdium starts $16.67 a month lower. Of the other browsers on the chart, none scores higher than Ferdium for less, and 31 score higher than Shift for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Ferdium is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Shift also covers web browser.
At a glance
| Ferdium | Shift | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $19.99 per month, or $199.99 billed annually (Advanced) |
| Free plan | The whole app is free; its site lists no paid plans or limits on services. | 5 Spaces with 10 apps per Space, the Browser Builder and templates, and limited Shift AI usage. No credit card is needed to download. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | The Ferdium community | Shift Technologies Inc. |
| Price read from | ferdium.org | shift.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Ferdium
- It is a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux only; no mobile version is listed.
- Releases are published through GitHub and package managers; the download page offers no installers hosted on the site itself.
- Signed releases carry a personal maintainer's name as the publisher, because the project is not a legal entity, so OS warnings may appear.
- Stable, beta and nightly builds cannot be installed side by side.
Shift
- The free plan is limited to 5 Spaces, 10 apps per Space and limited Shift AI usage.
- Shift is available on desktop for Mac and Windows only; no Linux or mobile version is listed.
- Team setups with consolidated billing and a central dashboard are not priced publicly; the pricing page says to contact Shift.
- Refunds are offered only within 14 days of a purchase or renewal payment.
Key features
Ferdium
- Services in one place
- Add messaging and other web services side by side, including the same service more than once to sign in to several accounts.
- Workspaces
- Group services into workspaces to keep work and private use apart.
- Custom services
- A Custom Website service adds any site that is not in the built-in list, with an icon of your choosing.
- Account-free use and sync
- The app runs without an account and keeps its data locally. An account syncs services and workspaces across computers, and you can host your own Ferdium Server instead.
- Hibernation and notification privacy
- Services can hibernate to save resources, and notifications can hide their content while still alerting you.
- Built-in Todo panel
- A Todo panel can be shown alongside your other services.
Shift
- Browser Builder and templates
- Apps, bars and controls can be dragged anywhere in the window, unused controls can be removed, and templates offer ready-made layouts with the sidebar at the side, top or bottom.
- Spaces
- Spaces separate work, hobbies and projects, each with its own apps, tabs and extensions. Several logins for the same app can be toggled without signing out.
- Multiple inboxes
- Several Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo email accounts can be opened side by side, with the apps and extensions used alongside them kept in the same Space.
- Shift AI
- An optional assistant summarizes pages and videos, drafts replies and answers questions using context from Spaces, apps, history and open tabs, with a separate chat in each Space.
- App library and Chrome extensions
- More than 4,500 apps can be connected from Shift's library in one click, any Chrome extension can be added, and Shift offers to add apps that are missing.
- Download scanning and site checks
- Downloads are screened through Avira's file reputation service, visited URLs are checked with Google Web Risk, and passwords are encrypted and stored locally.
Plans
Ferdium
Free$0
Every feature, with or without a Ferdium account. The site and the GitHub page list no paid plans.
Shift
Free$0
5 Spaces with 10 apps per Space, the Browser Builder and templates, limited Shift AI usage, and email and chatbot support.
Advanced$19.99
per month, or $199.99 billed annually
Unlimited Spaces and apps per Space, expanded Shift AI usage and priority customer support with video calling.
Ways to pay less
Ferdium
No public discounts listed.
Shift
- Annual discount
Save $40 with annual billing
Shift Advanced is $199.99 billed annually, against $19.99 a month. Shift's pricing page labels the annual option as a $40 saving.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ferdium or Shift?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Ferdium is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $16.67 a month when paid by the year for Shift. Ferdium is free, and Shift starts at $19.99 per month, or $199.99 billed annually (Advanced).
Which has a free plan, Ferdium or Shift?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Ferdium and Shift have a free plan.
Which platforms do Ferdium and Shift run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Ferdium lists a Linux app. Both list macOS and Windows apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.