Export formats
Session Buddy exports to JSON, CSV, Markdown, and plain text. Sessionat currently exports to JSON only. If you migrate data across tools, Session Buddy's format coverage is still best-in-class.
Sessionat vs Session Buddy
Session Buddy is the highest-rated Chrome session manager ever shipped — 4.7 stars on 25,000 reviews, fifteen years of continuous development. It is the gold standard for local session saving. It also has no AI, no scheduled auto-save, and a v4 rewrite that still pulls 1-star reviews in 2026. Sessionat respects the bar they set — then adds what they won't.
Installs (Chrome)
Sessionat
2,000+
Session Buddy
1,000,000+
Rating
Sessionat
4.3★ (35)
Session Buddy
4.7★ (25,100)
Last update
Sessionat
April 2026
Session Buddy
February 2026
Pricing
Sessionat
Free · Pro $19/mo
Session Buddy
Free (donations)
Data verified April 2026
The trade-off
The honest trade-off
Session Buddy's v3→v4 rewrite in 2024 was painful. The developer (a solo maintainer, laid off mid-project) rebuilt the whole thing for Manifest V3 over 4–6 months. Users who loved v3 still post 1-stars asking for it back. The v4.1.1 release (February 2026) fixed many pain points but the review scars remain visible.
What Session Buddy does not have, at all: AI anywhere, timer-based auto-save (it only saves on crash / explicit action), cloud sync, cross-device restore. Hansifer (the developer) has repeatedly said cloud sync is not on the roadmap.
Sessionat is not trying to replace Session Buddy's best quality — its crash recovery and 15-year track record. We're building for the user who wants all of that plus “where's that spec I read two weeks ago?” answered in plain English.
| Feature | Sessionat | Session Buddy |
|---|---|---|
| Crash recovery | ||
| Export to JSON / CSV / MD | JSON only | |
| Works offline | ||
| Timer auto-save (e.g. every 20% tab change) | ✗ | |
| AI semantic search | ✗ | |
| AI chat about browsing history | ✗ | |
| Bulk AI categorization | ✗ | |
| Cross-device sync | Pro tier | ✗ |
| Keyword search across all saved sessions | ||
| Privacy: local-first storage | ||
| Team / multi-user support | Pro (5 seats) | ✗ |
Honest assessment
What Session Buddy does better
Track record
Fifteen years of continuous operation with zero major trust incidents. 4.7★ on 25,000 reviews — the highest rating of any serious session manager in the category, period.
Crash recovery depth
Session Buddy's crash recovery is famously thorough — it catches state that other tools miss. Both tools recover from crashes; theirs has been battle-tested longer.
FAQ
Real questions we get about Session Buddy.
Can I import my Session Buddy backup into Sessionat?
Yes. Export from Session Buddy as JSON (Backup → Export). Import in Sessionat via Settings → Import. Sessions, collections, and tab URLs all round-trip.
Does Session Buddy have AI search?
No. Session Buddy has keyword search within saved tab titles/URLs, but no semantic / natural-language search, and no AI chat. The developer has not signaled AI features on the public roadmap.
Is Session Buddy being abandoned?
No — v4.1.1 shipped in February 2026 and active development continues. The slow release cadence is because it is a solo-maintainer project. It is not dying; it is sustaining.
Why is Session Buddy rated 4.7★ but reviews are full of complaints?
Most of the 1-stars are users who preferred v3's UI and lost muscle memory in the v4 rewrite (2024). The underlying functionality is still solid; the complaints are mostly about the transition pain, not current state.
What does Sessionat do that Session Buddy actively refuses to do?
Three things: AI of any kind, timer-based auto-save (every N minutes or N% tab change), and cloud sync. Session Buddy's developer has publicly declined all three on philosophical grounds — which is a legitimate position, just not ours.
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