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Best Productivity ResourcesBy Shushant LakhyaniVerified creator

Desktop App

Zen Browser

A calm, Firefox-based browser with vertical tabs, workspaces and split view.

Visit Zen Browser4.6

  • Rating

    4.6 / 5

  • Pricing

    Free

  • Difficulty

    Beginner

  • Works on

    Windows, macOS, Linux

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What is Zen Browser?

Zen Browser is a free, open-source web browser built on Firefox and designed to keep browsing calm and focused. Tabs sit in a vertical sidebar, workspaces separate projects, split view puts two pages side by side, and compact mode hides the toolbars, while Firefox extensions keep working as usual.

Third-party open-source projects. We are not affiliated with their authors; repositories are provided as-is by their maintainers. Review each project's license, code and security before installing. See our Disclaimer.

Pros: what Zen Browser does well

  • Workspaces keep projects apart
  • Split view without extra windows
  • Free and open source

Cons: where it falls short

  • No mobile app yet
  • Updates sometimes change features or break custom mods

Who Zen Browser is for

People who keep many tabs open and want a tidier, more focused way to browse.

Who can skip it

Anyone happy with their current browser and a handful of tabs.

Zen Browser alternatives

Not sold on Zen Browser? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.

All Focus resources

Zellij

Focus: terminal multiplexer, developer tool and workspace. Shares open source and github with Zen Browser. Adds Offline. Same 4.6 rating.

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.6Visit

AeroSpace

Focus: tiling window manager, window management and keyboard shortcuts. Shares open source and github with Zen Browser. A Mac app, not a desktop app. Rated 4.7 (Zen Browser: 4.6).

Mac AppFreemacOS
4.7Visit

Amethyst

Focus: window manager, tiling and mac utility. Shares open source and github with Zen Browser. A Mac app, not a desktop app. Adds Offline. Same 4.6 rating.

Mac AppFreemacOS, Offline
4.6Visit

Ferdium

Focus: messaging, all-in-one and franz alternative. Shares workspaces and open source with Zen Browser. Rated 4.5 (Zen Browser: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.5Visit

Tridactyl

Focus: keyboard shortcuts and vim. Shares firefox and open source with Zen Browser. A browser extension, not a desktop app. Adds Firefox. Rated 4.5 (Zen Browser: 4.6).

Browser ExtensionFreeFirefox
4.5Visit

Atuin

Focus: shell history, terminal and command line. Shares open source and github with Zen Browser. Rated 4.7 (Zen Browser: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit

Free alternatives to Zen Browser

Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.

btop

Focus: system monitor, terminal and processes. Shares open source and github with Zen Browser. Adds Offline. Rated 4.7 (Zen Browser: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit

chezmoi

Focus: dotfiles, config management and command line. Shares open source and github with Zen Browser. Adds Offline. Rated 4.7 (Zen Browser: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit

htop

Focus: process viewer, system monitor and terminal. Shares open source and github with Zen Browser. Rated 4.7 (Zen Browser: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit

Hugo

Focus: static site, blog and documentation. Shares open source and github with Zen Browser. Rated 4.7 (Zen Browser: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit

Starship

Focus: shell prompt, terminal and developer tool. Shares open source and github with Zen Browser. Adds Offline. Rated 4.7 (Zen Browser: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit

Yazi

Focus: file manager, terminal ui and developer tool. Shares open source and github with Zen Browser. Adds Offline. Rated 4.7 (Zen Browser: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
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