Masthead — A Magazine-Style New Tab is a strong option, but it is not the right fit for everyone. Below are 10 alternatives compared on rating, install base, pricing and the use case each one actually wins on.
Masthead replaces your new tab with a calm, magazine-style homepage: your bookmarks and your news, side by side, both under your control. WHAT IT DOES • Your bookmarks, organised into sections you name — keep work tabs, recipes, and side projects in their own spaces and switch between them with one click • Live headlines from publications you choose — over 130 sources across News, Business, Sports, Sci & Tech, Film & TV, Music, Gaming, Food, Travel, Health, and Humour • A clean three-column layout that puts bookmarks on the left, the feed in the middle, and topic switching on the right • Source diversity built in — top stories rotate publishers on each refresh so no one outlet dominates PRIVACY • Nothing leaves your computer. No analytics, no telemetry, no account • Your bookmarks, sources, sections, and preferences all live in chrome.storage.local and only there • Headlines fetched directly from each publisher — no third-party proxy or aggregator • Open source-style transparency: every publisher we contact is declared in the extension manifest HOW IT WORKS A short onboarding lets you pick a name, choose news sources, and select the topics that matter to you. After that, every new tab opens to your bookmark sections and a fresh wave of headlines. Add or rename bookmark sections, swap sources, reorder topics, or reset and start over at any time from Settings. Collapse the sidebar when you want to read; expand it when you want to jump. Built for people who miss the feel of a real newspaper homepage — and who want their bookmarks to feel like part of it, not buried in a menu.
| Extension | Rating | Users | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masthead — A Magazine-Style New Tab (original) | 5.0 | 8 | Free | Replace your new tab page with a personalised magazine — live headlines from publications you choose, alongside your bookmarks. |
| IE Tab | 4.3 | 4M+ | Freemium | Display web pages using IE within Chrome. Use Java, Silverlight, ActiveX, Sharepoint, and more. |
| Speed Dial [FVD] - New Tab Page, 3D, Sync... | 4.7 | 400K+ | Free | New Tab Page Replacement with 3D Speed Dial and predefined images, sync and organize your bookmarks, groups, and most visited |
| Infinity New Tab | 4.6 | 400K+ | Free | Infinity New Tab allows you to customize your New Tab page |
| Bonjourr · Minimalist New Tab Page | 4.9 | 300K+ | Free | A beautiful and customizable new tab page inspired by iOS, designed for a calm and focused browsing experience. |
| Speed Dial 2 New tab | 4.1 | 300K+ | Free | Speed Dial 2 is an easy-to-use extension that lets you save and organize your most visited websites and customize your new tab page. |
| Tab Manager Plus for Chrome | 4.7 | 200K+ | Free | Quickly find open tabs, see all windows in one view, find duplicates and limit tabs per window. The best Tab Manager for Chrome. |
| Auto Tab Discard (suspend) | 4.2 | 200K+ | Free | Increase browser speed and reduce memory load when you have numerous open tabs. |
| GNTD: Glass New Tab Dashboard | 4.9 | 200K+ | Free | Glass-style new tab dashboard. Search uses Chrome Search API and respects the user's default search engine. |
| Tab Reloader (page auto refresh) | 4.2 | 100K+ | Free | An easy-to-use tab reloader with custom reloading time for individual tabs and more! |
| Tab for a Cause | 4.4 | 100K+ | Free | Raise money for charity with every browser tab you open! |
Display web pages using IE within Chrome. Use Java, Silverlight, ActiveX, Sharepoint, and more.
Why it replaces Masthead — A Magazine-Style New Tab: Covers similar ground in the Tab Management category: Display web pages using IE within Chrome. Use Java, Silverlight, ActiveX, Sharepoint, and more.
![Speed Dial [FVD] - New Tab Page, 3D, Sync... Chrome extension logo](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/w3K2CDl4n-0LZVksR5dwGR4Su5USBhNXQQc1-1isyFxaaGGsja7_8_NntP_Gy5bu6gzLS3Kv0pHRM13ZmohkLTAOn4w=s128-rj-sc0x00ffffff)
New Tab Page Replacement with 3D Speed Dial and predefined images, sync and organize your bookmarks, groups, and most visited
Why it replaces Masthead — A Magazine-Style New Tab: Covers similar ground in the Tab Management category: New Tab Page Replacement with 3D Speed Dial and predefined images, sync and organize your bookmarks, groups, and most visited
Infinity New Tab allows you to customize your New Tab page
Why it replaces Masthead — A Magazine-Style New Tab: Covers similar ground in the Tab Management category: Infinity New Tab allows you to customize your New Tab page
A beautiful and customizable new tab page inspired by iOS, designed for a calm and focused browsing experience.
Why it replaces Masthead — A Magazine-Style New Tab: Covers similar ground in the Tab Management category: A beautiful and customizable new tab page inspired by iOS, designed for a calm and focused browsing experience.
Speed Dial 2 is an easy-to-use extension that lets you save and organize your most visited websites and customize your new tab page.
Why it replaces Masthead — A Magazine-Style New Tab: Covers similar ground in the Tab Management category: Speed Dial 2 is an easy-to-use extension that lets you save and organize your most visited websites and customize your new tab page.
Quickly find open tabs, see all windows in one view, find duplicates and limit tabs per window. The best Tab Manager for Chrome.
Why it replaces Masthead — A Magazine-Style New Tab: Covers similar ground in the Tab Management category: Quickly find open tabs, see all windows in one view, find duplicates and limit tabs per window. The best Tab Manager for Chrome.
Increase browser speed and reduce memory load when you have numerous open tabs.
Why it replaces Masthead — A Magazine-Style New Tab: Covers similar ground in the Tab Management category: Increase browser speed and reduce memory load when you have numerous open tabs.
Glass-style new tab dashboard. Search uses Chrome Search API and respects the user's default search engine.
Why it replaces Masthead — A Magazine-Style New Tab: Covers similar ground in the Tab Management category: Glass-style new tab dashboard. Search uses Chrome Search API and respects the user's default search engine.
An easy-to-use tab reloader with custom reloading time for individual tabs and more!
Why it replaces Masthead — A Magazine-Style New Tab: Covers similar ground in the Tab Management category: An easy-to-use tab reloader with custom reloading time for individual tabs and more!
Raise money for charity with every browser tab you open!
Why it replaces Masthead — A Magazine-Style New Tab: Covers similar ground in the Tab Management category: Raise money for charity with every browser tab you open!
Direct comparisons with the extensions people weigh against it.
IE Tab is the closest match. Covers similar ground in the Tab Management category: Display web pages using IE within Chrome. Use Java, Silverlight, ActiveX, Sharepoint, and more.
Yes — Speed Dial [FVD] - New Tab Page, 3D, Sync..., Infinity New Tab, Bonjourr · Minimalist New Tab Page are free.
