Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Raft review

Free#9 of 27 in Tab Management Software

A focused Chrome extension for recovering sessions and reducing inactive-tab memory use.

8.3/10Editor score
Visit Raft
Raft8.3 Visit Raft

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Raft is a free, open-source Chrome extension for people who keep many tabs open and want a reliable way to reduce memory use and recover browser sessions. It automatically suspends inactive tabs while protecting pinned and audio-playing tabs. It also saves browser windows, tabs, and tab groups, preserving group names, colors, and collapsed state. Search by title or URL helps locate saved sessions, while selected tabs or complete sessions can be restored, including as suspended tabs. Raft is most suitable for individual Chrome users who value recovery and local data handling over broad browser coverage or shared workspaces.

Its strongest area is session protection. Automatic saves and recovery snapshots provide additional ways to return to earlier browser states, and duplicate cleanup can close repeated tabs across browser windows. Raft also imports sessions from OneTab, Session Buddy, Tab Session Manager, and Toby, which can simplify a move from another tab manager. Encrypted session synchronization through Google Drive adds cross-device access, while Raft operates locally by default. These features make it a practical fit for users whose main concern is preserving browsing context and controlling inactive-tab memory use.

Pricing is straightforward: every feature is free, with no paid tier, subscription, or in-app purchase. That makes the full feature set available without separating suspension, restoration, search, snapshots, cleanup, imports, or sync into different plans. The trade-off is scope. Raft supports Chrome through an extension and does not provide workspace support, so it is less suited to teams that need shared organization or users who want one tab system across multiple browsers. Choose Raft for free Chrome-based recovery and memory savings; consider an alternative if broader platform coverage or collaborative workspaces matter more.

Raft pros and cons

  • Where it wins
    • Suspends inactive tabs using Chrome's native tab discarding
    • Restores windows, tab groups, selected tabs, and saved sessions
    • Encrypted Google Drive sync plus imports from four tab tools
  • Where it doesn't
    • Chrome-only coverage limits browser choice
    • No workspace support for shared tab organization
    • Google Drive sync is optional and tied to one integration

Raft fact sheet, pricing and score →

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Last updated · How we research and update