Session Buddy vs Workona (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Session Buddy grades higher than Workona: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Session Buddy grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. Workona grades higher on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Session Buddy
Chrome extension for saving tab sessions and bookmark collections
Workona
Tab manager that groups tabs, docs and links into project spaces
Which one is for you
Pick Session Buddy if
- Fits if you keep hundreds of tabs open and want crash recovery
- Works for people who want tab data on their own device with no login
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want sync, as data lives on the device and never on a server
- Skip it if you use another browser, as the site links only to the Chrome Web Store
- Too light for reading later, since it saves links and tab state, not article text
- Watch out: pricing is not stated beyond a donation page
Pick Workona if
- Fits if you juggle several projects in your browser and want each kept apart
- Works for people whose tasks live in Asana, ClickUp or Trello
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free team plan, as free accounts are for individuals only
- Tight if you stay free, because spaces and sections are limited
- Watch out: prices read 'starting at' with no billing period, and a help article shows Team at $12 a user monthly
- Not for you if your team is over 25 people, since Team stops there and larger needs Enterprise
How we grade them
| 2.6GPASession BuddyGood | 2.4GPAWorkonaFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BFree use is inferred from a donation page, as the site states no pricing. | CPro is $7 a month and up, with the billing period not shown, on the dearer-quarter line for reading apps. Team is $8 a user with a 3-user minimum. |
| Free plan and trial | BNo plan, cap or account, though the site does not say so outright. | CFree forever for individuals, but with limits on spaces and on sections per space, and no free team accounts. |
| Features | CIt saves sessions and tab state fully, which is a smaller job. It stores links, not article text. | BSpaces, autosave, session backups, tab suspension, search, templates and team spaces. The listing names no gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | BA Chrome extension you install and click, with no store rating read. | CNo rating on record. You set up spaces and sections for each project. |
| Platforms and integrations | CChrome only, with no sync between computers, phones or other browsers. | BWeb and a browser extension, with Google Drive, Slack, Asana, ClickUp, Monday and Trello. No phone apps are listed. |
| Best for | saving and restoring Chrome tab sessions | organizing browser tabs and cloud docs into project spaces |
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: Session Buddy and Workona. How we grade
Price against what you get
Session Buddy has no paid plan and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Workona starts at $7 a month and scores 2.7.
Workona scores higher, and starts $7 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other read-later and bookmark apps on the chart, none scores higher than Session Buddy for less, and 11 score higher than Workona 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
- Workona also covers templates and tasks.
At a glance
| Session Buddy | Workona | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $7 per month and up (billing period not shown) |
| Free plan | None | Free account for individuals, with limits on spaces and on sections within a space; no free team accounts. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Session Buddy | Workona Inc. |
| Price read from | sessionbuddy.com | workona.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Session Buddy
- Data lives on the device, never on a server, so there is no sync between computers.
- The site links only to the Chrome Web Store for installing, with no other browsers named.
- It saves links and tab state, not article text, so it is not a read-later reader.
- Pricing is not stated on the site beyond a donation page, so free use is inferred from that.
Workona
- The pricing page shows entry prices as 'starting at' without stating whether they are monthly or annual billing.
- A help article's example shows the Team plan at $12 per user per month on monthly billing.
- Free accounts are limited in spaces and sections; free accounts are for individuals only.
- The Team plan is for up to 25 users; larger groups need Enterprise.
Key features
Session Buddy
- Save and restore sessions
- Store open tabs with one click and restore them to the original windows, one window or the current window, with pinned tabs and window positions kept.
- Tab history and crash recovery
- A timeline of past tab states lets you restore tabs after a crash or restart, with custom intervals and cleanup rules.
- Bookmark collections
- Group bookmarks by topic or project, color-code and pin collections, and detect duplicates.
- Unified search
- Search across open tabs, collections and tab history together, with query syntax and filters by item type.
- Import and export formats
- Copy or export tabs and bookmarks in more than 15 formats, including plain text, JSON, CSV, Markdown and HTML.
- Backups
- Automatic backups let you restore deleted items, and a manual one-click backup covers the whole library.
Workona
- Spaces for each project
- Keep the tabs, docs and links for a project together and see only the current space's tabs, with the rest a click away.
- Autosave and backups
- Tabs in a space are saved automatically and can be restored after a crash; Pro keeps 90 days of session backups.
- Sync and tab suspension
- Spaces sync between computers, and idle tabs can be suspended to reduce browser memory use.
- Universal search
- A search shortcut finds tabs and spaces from anywhere in the browser, and the search bar can sit on the new tab page.
- Doc templates and automation
- Space and document templates can create Google Docs, Sheets and Slides and populate folders for a new project.
- Team spaces
- Shared spaces, viewer and editor sharing, and space presence let teammates work from the same set of resources.
Plans
Session Buddy
Session Buddy$0
Every feature is available without a login; the site asks for donations instead.
Workona
Free$0
For individuals, free forever, with limits on the number of spaces and sections per space.
Pro$7
per month and up, billing period not shown
Unlimited spaces and sections, 90-day session backups, space integrations and templates.
Team$8
per user / month and up, minimum 3 users
Everything in Pro plus shared spaces, team templates, centralized billing and priority support.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited users and teams, admin controls, SSO, auto-provisioning and domain restrictions.
Ways to pay less
Session Buddy
No public discounts listed.
Workona
- Education
50% education discount
Users with school email addresses can get 50% off Pro and Team for two years after verification, via support.
- Nonprofit
50% nonprofit discount
Verified 501(c)(3) charities can get 50% off Pro, Team and Enterprise subscriptions by contacting support.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Session Buddy or Workona?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Session Buddy is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $7 a month for Workona. Session Buddy is free, and Workona starts at $7 per month and up (billing period not shown).
Which has a free plan, Session Buddy or Workona?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Session Buddy and Workona have a free plan.
Which platforms do Session Buddy and Workona run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Workona lists a web app. Both list a browser extension. 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.