Momentum has been in the Chrome Web Store since 2013, and the store counts two million users. Two reasons tend to send people looking for a Momentum alternative: something they want belongs to Plus, or they would like to move things around the page. Below: what Momentum does well, where its paid plan starts, six other pages, and when to stay.
What people like about Momentum
By Momentum's own pages, each day brings a new photo, a quote and a mantra. The clock sits in the middle with a greeting, and under it is room for one goal for the day. A to-do list, links, weather, search and a calendar are there too. All of that is free, and it works without an account. The store shows 4.5 from 13.7K ratings, and an update three days before we read the listing.
Why some people look elsewhere
The Plus line. Momentum Plus costs $39.95 a year in US dollars, and the pricing page shows no monthly price. Listed under Plus are your own photos and quotes, skipping the day's photo, custom colours and fonts, extra to-do lists, the site blocker, the Pomodoro timer, soundscapes and the links to task managers such as Todoist, Asana and Trello. Focus mode is free for a limited time each day; once that is used, the help centre says, a new session waits until tomorrow. If you would gladly pay for that list, stay: Plus has a 30-day money-back guarantee. If not, look around.
The layout. Momentum lets you switch each part of the page on or off and drag tasks and links into a new order. The help pages we read describe no way to move the clock, the to-do list or the weather somewhere else. For many people that is the point: someone has already decided where things go. If you want the tasks on the left and the clock in a corner, that is the limit.
How we ordered the alternatives
First place goes on the second reason above: how much of the page is yours to arrange, meaning what is on it, where it sits and how it looks. Backs is built around that. The other five are ordered on things you can check: how much of the Plus list each gives without paying, its ratings, its last update, and how open its maker is about adverts and money.
What Backs lacks is as easy to list: no daily quote, site blocker, soundscapes, calendar or links to task managers, and no record yet. It is version 1.0, launched in September 2026, with three ratings. Bonjourr and Tabliss are open source, free in full, and made for Firefox and Edge too.
Momentum alternatives, ranked
Backs
Free, Premium €3.99 a month or €39.99 a yearOurs, and our pick for anyone leaving Momentum over the layout. Backons for tasks, notes, a Pomodoro timer, clocks, weather, bookmarks and search go where you put them, in colours taken from your photo.
Bonjourr
Free, donations welcomeA calm page inspired by iOS whose listing calls it an alternative to Momentum: photos that change through the day, a clock, quotes, quick links, notes with checklists, weather and a Pomodoro timer.
Tabliss
FreeIts listing calls it a completely free alternative to extensions like Momentum, and says it needs no permissions. Photos, a greeting, quotes, a to-do list, notes and quick links.
Infinity New Tab
No price listedA grid of site icons more than a photo and a greeting, with wallpapers, weather, to-dos and notes. 4.6 from 11.8K ratings; its Pro listing has 4.9 from 24.8K.
Homey
Free with adverts, Premium $2 a month or $18 a yearLive wallpapers, daily quotes, weather, notes with reminders and bookmarks laid out like the apps on a phone. 4.8 from 6.5K ratings, updated in August 2026.
start.me
Free with adverts, Pro $25 a yearLess a photo with a clock than a page of bookmarks, feeds, notes and to-do lists kept on start.me's servers, so it looks the same in any browser you log in to.
Side by side
Momentum is the first row, for reference. 'None listed' means the maker's pages we read do not mention one; nobody looked inside the extension.
| Extension | Price | Your own background | Pomodoro timer | Account | Browsers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Momentum | Free, Plus $39.95 a year | Listed under Plus | Listed under Plus | Optional | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari |
| Backs | Free, Premium €3.99 a month | Yes | Yes | Not needed | Chrome |
| Bonjourr | Free, donations welcome | Yes | Yes | Not needed | Chrome, Firefox, Edge |
| Tabliss | Free | Yes | None listed | Not needed | Chrome, Firefox, Edge |
| Infinity New Tab | No price listed | Yes | None listed | Optional | Chrome, Edge |
| Homey | Free with adverts, Premium $2 a month | With Premium | None listed | Optional | Chrome, Edge |
| start.me | Free with adverts, Pro $25 a year | Yes | None listed | Needed | Any browser |
Should you switch?
Stay with Momentum if you use what Plus is for. If your tasks live in Todoist, Asana or Trello and you like seeing them on every new tab, that is what the subscription buys, and no listing we read for the six above mentions the same. Stay if you move between browsers, Safari included. And stay if a long record matters: thirteen years in the store is evidence a newcomer cannot offer, Backs included.
Switch if what you want is on the Plus list and one of these has it without a subscription, or if you want to arrange the page yourself. Or do neither yet: Momentum's help centre notes that the extension can be switched off at chrome://extensions without removing it. Switch it off, give something else a week, and switch it back on if you miss it.
Questions and answers
- Is Momentum free?
- The main page is: the daily photo, quote and mantra, the clock, a daily goal, a to-do list, links, search, weather and a calendar, with no credit card or account. Focus mode is free for a limited time each day.
- What does Momentum Plus cost?
- $39.95 a year in US dollars, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The pricing page shows no monthly price.
- Is there a free alternative to Momentum?
- Bonjourr and Tabliss have no paid plan, and both name Momentum on their store listings. Backs, Homey and start.me have a free plan with a paid one above it; on the last two it shows adverts.
- Which Momentum alternative is open source?
- Bonjourr and Tabliss, whose code is public on GitHub. Backs is not, and the pages we read for the others do not say their code is public.
- Can I move my Momentum to-dos to another extension?
- Not automatically, as far as its help centre shows: we found no article on exporting tasks, and Backs has no import from Momentum, so a list is retyped. If you use Momentum logged out, the help centre says, your data lives in that browser and goes when the extension is removed, so copy your list first.
Photo via Unsplash